Your car has approximately 30,000 parts, each of which has a role to play in getting you from one point to the next. Some parts, such as your steering wheel and seat belt, are easily visible, while others are hidden from view. Regardless of the component’s name, location, or function, a defective part can lead to an injury or fatal car accident.
7 Car Parts More Likely to Be Defective
There are seven key parts of your car that are more likely to be defective than the others. These parts include:
1. Airbags
Your airbags play a critical role in reducing your risk of death and traumatic brain injury in a car accident. Although they are a standard feature in newer vehicles, these common safety features depend on a complicated sequence of steps involving a chemical reaction to work properly, which can pose a problem.
When airbags fail, they either do not deploy when intended or can inflate with so much force that they cause injury. Airbag defects happen more often than you may realize, with tens of millions of Takada airbags alone being recalled for defects since 2014.
2. Seat Belts
Another critical safety feature of your automobile is the seat belt. This simple device can keep you from being ejected from your car in a rollover crash. When worn properly, it can also prevent you from suffering severe head and body trauma in a motor vehicle accident. Seat belts have now been standard vehicle safety features for several decades.
However, defects in the design or materials of seat belts can result in them becoming unlatched and failing in an accident. Another potential defect is that the seat belt cannot adequately restrain you, allowing you to hit your head or body on parts of your car in a crash.
Seat belt defects continue to occur and result in periodic recalls. Approximately 300,000 Honda vehicles were recalled in 2023 alone because of potential seat belt defects. If you were injured because of the malfunction of the seat belts of your car, you could talk with a car accident attorney to get legal assistance to get fair compensation for the damages you’re facing.
3. Brakes
You may not notice a defect with your brakes until you either see a puddle of brake fluid underneath your car or you press on the brake pedal, and nothing happens. If your brakes malfunction on a busy road, the only thing that may stop you is a collision with another object or vehicle.
Your brakes are a complex system of numerous parts working together to bring your car to a halt. A failure in any of these parts can lead to a failure of the entire system, increasing the chance of brake defects arising. In recent years, GM recalled over one million vehicles due to faulty and defective brakes.
4. Steering System
There is more involved in changing your car’s direction of travel than simply turning the steering wheel. Modern drivers take their power steering system for granted and the ease with which it allows them to turn their steering wheels. Without power steering, drivers would find the process of maneuvering their vehicles much more challenging.
A sudden loss of power steering due to a defect makes the wheel feel heavy and sluggish. You will need to apply significantly more pressure and force to turn the wheel. Other defects with the steering system include steering wheels that come loose from the column, as is what happened with over a million Ford vehicles in 2018.
5. Fuel Pump
The fuel pump is one of those hidden car parts you might not think much about. However, this small but critical part of your car is responsible for ensuring that the engine receives a sufficient amount of fuel to start and continue running. If your fuel pump is broken or defective, your car may stall or fail to start.
In 2023, Honda recalled about 2.6 million vehicles over concerns of defective fuel pumps. The recall indicated that an improperly designed impeller in the pump could cause the entire pump to fail, even while driving. This event could lead to an accident if the vehicle suddenly lost power.
6. Windshield Wipers
Anyone who has tried driving in heavy rain without working windshield wipers can appreciate the important role their wipers play in safe driving. Although your windshield wiper system is simpler than other parts of your car, defects in the materials used to manufacture the components can lead to failures.
In 2023, Ford issued a recall of nearly 225,000 trucks over concerns that the arms on which windshield wiper blades are mounted could break without warning. This sudden failure of the wipers could keep drivers from having a clear view ahead of them in dangerous weather conditions and lead to an accident.
7. Headlights
Your vehicle’s headlights are another component that you may not give much thought to until they do not work properly. Properly functioning headlights are critical to your ability to see objects ahead of you at night and in poor weather. Additionally, headlights are designed to make you visible to other drivers without distracting or blinding them.
Your headlights are more complicated than a light switch at home, though. Modern cars can have daytime running lights that are programmed to automatically deactivate when your regular headlights are on to reduce glare and visibility issues.
As owners of some GM SUVs found out, an issue with the software controlling the headlights is just one potential headlight-connected defect that can be encountered.
Addressing Defective Parts in Your Vehicle
Defective car parts can lead to serious accidents. Manufacturers may issue recall alerts through the mail. If your car is affected by a recall, make sure to follow the instructions in the notice to either have the defective part repaired or replaced.And if you do suffer an accident due to a defective car part, a car accident lawyer can determine whether you’re eligible to seek compensation for your injuries. They can also guide you on your next steps going forward.
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