Several additional steps, including a public hearing, will take place before final determination is made that a safety defect exists.

By law, new car dealers are not permitted to sell recalled vehicles without first fixing the safety defects.

But that may actually be a positive development, since each recall indicates an attempt to fix some sort of safety defect.

They also have 50 other less serious safety defects, which would cost an additional $50 million per reactor to resolve.

We've been saying this is not a safety defect.

Additionally, vehicles that are cited by the police for safety defects must also obtain a certificate.

Last year, a jury fell one vote short of finding that Ford had concealed the safety defect, prompting the judge to issue his decision.

Recalls by automakers have become commonplace, but safety defects that cause injuries are far less so.

Consumers who think their vehicles have safety defects can make reports to the agency by calling the hot line at (888) 327-4236.

A recent Commission-funded survey found that almost one in three of the ferries checked had serious safety defects.