Mitchell now has integrated VIN-specific recall notices into its estimating systems, providing real-time recall data directly from the manufacturer when the VIN is decoded.
“It is estimated that tens of millions of vehicles on the road today currently have open recalls and there are many reasons why vehicle owners might not be aware that the vehicle they are driving has a safety system recall,” said Debbie Day, executive vice president and general manager, Auto Physical Damage, for San Diego-based Mitchell. “As part of our commitment to proper and safe repairs within the automotive collision repair and claims industries, we are working closely with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to give their customers and their repair facilities access to these and other important recall notifications.”
To better enable its recall data to reach the collision industry market, Mazda is the first OEM to provide Mitchell access to its recall data, giving collision repair users of Mitchell Estimating/UltraMate estimating systems instant notification of an open Mazda recall when the VIN is decoded.
“As our vehicles age, many owners turn to independent repair and body shop facilities to have service work performed,” said Rob Milne, director, Takata Action Team, Mazda North American Operations. “Our partnership with Mitchell enables us to increase the opportunity to inform Mazda owners that their vehicle is affected by an open safety recall.”
Mitchell said it is in discussions with other OEMs “to make sure this safety data gets out to the market in a smart and efficient manner – every time a vehicle goes in for a repair.”
