The trouble with recalls.(CR Investigates)

A dangerous, defective, or unhealthful product could be in your driveway, kitchen, playroom, or medicine cabinet right now--even though it has been subject to a government recall.

In recent years, the number of recalls has risen substantially. Annual auto recalls have more than doubled since the early 1990s. Nearly 19 million vehicles were recalled in 2002--about 1 of 11 on the road. Last year, recalls of products such as packaged food, drugs, and medical devices were up nearly 24 percent over 1999. And 2004 is on a record pace for household-product recalls. In all, more than 5,000 recalls were initiated last year, covering more than 60 million products.

Whether the reason is better policing, more diligent reporting of problems to agencies, or worse products, the rise in recalls doesn't necessarily mean that more faulty products are being repaired or returned to stores. A large percentage of them remain on the road and in the home: almost one-third of all vehicles subject to recall; more than half of toys, clothes, appliances, tools, and electronics gear; and three-fourths of child car seats.

Part of the reason lies in the system itself. Despite talk years ago about consolidating recall authority there is no single recalls czar with the power to banish all problem products from the marketplace immediately--or else. What we have is a complex, decentralized system granting recall authority to six federal agencies, each with its own rules and procedures. (For a matchup of agencies with the products they cover, see Close Up, on the facing page.) When a manufacturer resists a recall, the agencies are empowered to take it to court, but they prefer to gain a company's cooperation. If many companies were to balk at recalling flawed products, the agencies simply wouldn't have the money of staff to force them all to do the right thing.

Critics contend that a system that cannot quickly pull problem products from consumers' hands is far from perfect--and they're right. The system can break down because product flaws aren't reported to agencies in the first place, because companies are unable--or unwilling--to track down and notify customers once defects are recognized, because product owners can't identify model numbers once they've tossed the packaging, of because of consumer apathy or the passage of time.

By the time a baby carriage is recalled, for example, it might have been passed from one new parent to another, or donated to charity. The owner of a recalled toaster might toss it rather than return it to the store. Or a consumer might consider a flaw such as a missing warning label too trivial to worry about. Such situations lower the "completion rate," insider-speak for the percentage of recalled products that are destroyed or returned for a fix, exchange, or refund.

But a major reason that products officially declared problematic are still in homes and garages is that word too rarely reaches the people who need to hear. For every Firestone/Ford Explorer mediafest, there are thousands of choking hazards, breaking straps, and contaminated foods that get little publicity.