December 2023 Vehicle Recalls: What You Need to Know
This report covers every vehicle safety recall campaign that appeared in the NHTSA public database during December 2023. Our daily ingest pulled 40 campaigns from 17 different brands this month. Below is a plain-language breakdown of what was recalled, which brands were most affected, and what to do if a listed vehicle is in your driveway.
The brand with the most campaigns this month was Mercedes-Benz, with 9 campaigns, followed by Ford at 4. A high campaign count for a single brand in a single month isn't inherently a quality signal. It often reflects a single defect rolled out across multiple model years or configurations, or proactive self-reporting after an internal investigation. The more useful question for an owner is whether any of these campaigns actually apply to the vehicle in your driveway, which depends on the VIN.
The most common component category in this month's recalls was Electrical, appearing in 8 campaigns. Clusters like this tend to come from either a shared supplier component used across several automakers or from a single manufacturer discovering a pattern across multiple model lines and filing campaigns together. Either way, it's worth a closer look if your vehicle sits in that category.
Of the 40 campaigns indexed for December 2023, 5 (13%)contain language about fire, crash, injury, or death in the consequence field. Those are the campaigns we've flagged as "Most Critical" below. A critical flag doesn't necessarily mean anything has happened to the vehicles on the road (NHTSA often describes potentialconsequences in the same language), but it's a reasonable filter when you're prioritizing which open recall to schedule first.
Everything that follows is drawn directly from NHTSA's public recall feed with no editorial alteration of the underlying campaign details. The grouping, totals, and "most critical" filter are computed live from that dataset by RecallScanner. If you want to verify any specific entry, the NHTSA campaign number links out to the original government record.
Top Components Affected
Most Critical Recalls
Volvo Trucks North America (Volvo Trucks) is recalling one 2020 VNL truck. The steering gear assembly may have been assembled incorrectly with fewer recirculating balls than are required, which may result in a loss of steering control.
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2024 Kona vehicles. The 12-Volt battery cables may chafe against the engine control module bracket and short circuit during a crash.
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2024 i5 eDrive40 and i5 M60 vehicles. During vehicle start-up, the artificial sound generator control unit may experience a fault and fail to generate the external pedestrian warning sound. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 141, "Minimum Sound Requirements for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles."
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Ford Focus and 2018-2022 Ford EcoSport vehicles. The oil pump drive belt or drive belt tensioner may fail, resulting in a loss of engine oil pressure.
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023 Soul and 2024 Seltos vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error, the side curtain air bags may deploy unexpectedly.
Recalls by Brand
Mercedes-Benz9 recalls
STRUCTURE:CRITICAL FASTENERS
STRUCTURE:CRITICAL FASTENERS
STRUCTURE:BODY
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP
POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:DIFFERENTIAL UNIT
SUSPENSION:FRONT
STRUCTURE:BODY:ROOF AND PILLARS
STRUCTURE:BODY
Ford4 recalls
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:OIL/LUBRICATION:PUMP
POWER TRAIN:AXLE HUBS
STEERING:COLUMN
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:TURN SIGNAL:BULBS
Volvo3 recalls
STEERING
STEERING:LINKAGES:KNUCKLE:SPINDLE:ARM
EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS
Audi3 recalls
AIR BAGS:SIDE/WINDOW
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:TRACTION BATTERY THERMAL:MANAGEMENT:SOFTWARE
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:CHARGING:CABLE/CORD:ONBOARD
Toyota3 recalls
AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM/PCM/TECM)
Porsche3 recalls
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:CHARGING:CABLE/CORD:ONBOARD
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:TRACTION BATTERY
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
BMW2 recalls
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS:EXTERNAL/PEDESTRIAN ALERT
ENGINE
Land Rover2 recalls
STRUCTURE:BODY
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:TAIL LIGHTS
Tesla2 recalls
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ADAS:AUTONOMOUS/SELF DRIVING:SOFTWARE
Honda2 recalls
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V BATTERY:CABLES
Hyundai1 recall
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V BATTERY:CABLES
Kia1 recall
AIR BAGS
GMC1 recall
STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR
Nissan1 recall
STEERING:RACK AND PINION
Chevrolet1 recall
STRUCTURE:BODY:ROOF AND PILLARS
Volkswagen1 recall
STRUCTURE
Infiniti1 recall
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:LIGHTING CONTROL MODULE
What Should You Do?
- Check your VIN to see if your specific vehicle is affected
- Contact your dealer to schedule a free recall repair
- Sign up below to get notified about future recalls for your vehicle
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