NHTSA opened a docket on recall completion that names OTA updates and automated vehicles
The agency called the industry to a November meeting on why safety recalls go uncompleted, and its notice puts over-the-air software updates, connected-vehicle technology and automated vehicles at the center of the question.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration published a notice of public meeting in the Federal Register on September 28, under the title “Recalls Next: Technological Innovations and Safety Recalls”. The notice was filed for public inspection on September 25 and signed by administrator Jonathan Morrison. The meeting is set for November 5 at the Department of Transportation’s headquarters in Washington, with registration closing October 29 and the docket open for comment until December 5.
The agency set out the scale it is working against. In 2025 it administered nearly 900 vehicle safety recalls affecting more than 29.2 million vehicles in the United States, and said those figures “have remained generally stable over the past 5 years”.
Its framing of what has changed is where the software content sits. The notice said that as new vehicle technologies have come to market the complexity of safety recalls has increased, and that manufacturers are increasingly using digital communications, connected-vehicle technologies, mobile repair and over-the-air updates in ways that can reduce the time and burden of obtaining a remedy. It added that automated vehicles are increasingly coming online, which it said is prompting new conversations about the recall process.
The format is keynote addresses, industry executive panels and facilitated workshop tables. The agency said it intends to use the input to inform its upcoming activities.
The notice states twice that the event will not be live streamed or recorded.