CENTREVILLE, Va. -

The pandemic certainly reinforced the importance vehicles are to their owners, as Ally Financial highlighted in a consumer survey last fall.

But while acknowledging the numbers are declining, CARFAX pointed out this week that millions of those vehicles are in operation with an open recall.

CARFAX said its data shows the number of vehicles on the road with open safety recalls is down 5% from 2020, but analysts noted that means there are still more than 53 million recalled vehicles on the road today that haven’t been repaired.

CARFAX also noted that pickup trucks and minivans are the vehicles currently in operation that are most likely to have unfixed recalls.

CARFAX went on to mention Southern states continue to top the list with the highest open-recall percentages including Mississippi at 26%, Texas (24%) and Louisiana (24%).

CARFAX data indicated these are the top 10 states with the highest number of recalled vehicles:

— California: 6.3 million

— Texas: 5.3 million

— Florida: 3.3 million

— New York: 2.1 million

— Pennsylvania: 1.9 million

— Ohio: 1.9 million

— Georgia: 1.8 million

— Illinois: 1.7 million

— North Carolina: 1.7 million

— Michigan: 1.5 million

“The number of vehicles on the road with open recalls peaked at 63 million in 2017, so we’re heading in the right direction but there’s still a long way to go,” CARFAX general manager of data Faisal Hasan said in a news release.

“We’re teaming up with the vehicle manufacturers to try to help raise awareness around recalls. The goal is to make the information readily available for owners to boost the closure rates for open recalls,” Hasan continued.

Hasan also noted that the decrease in open recalls in recent years can be attributed to increased use of free recall-monitoring services such as CARFAX Car Care. There are currently more than 24 million Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) registered in CARFAX Car Care.

The company highlighted this free service continuously monitors vehicles for open recalls after owners enter their license plate or VIN. The service notifies owners if a recall has been issued for a vehicle they have registered.

“Because recalls are issued regularly even for older models, it’s crucial that owners be aware of new federal actions,” CARFAX said.

Car Care user Paul Lambert described his experience using the service in that CARFAX news release.

“What really stood out to me about CARFAX Car Care was the recall notifications,” Lambert said. “I received a recall notice which was on the books with Toyota but hadn’t been widely known as Toyota did not yet have a fix for it. It’s extremely useful to have another set of eyes on my vehicle and it’s needs, plus I’m not being charged for it. Sometimes there is a free lunch.”

CARFAX also mentioned there has also been a growing effort from departments of motor vehicles around the country to provide free supplemental recall notifications to consumers, including during the registration, renewal and inspection processes.

“Taking any vehicle off the road to be fixed can be an inconvenience. However, recall repairs are often completed in only an hour or two, and most take less than a day. And federal law requires that all recall work be completed at no charge to owners,” CARFAX said.

Owners can check whether their vehicle has an open recall for free at CARFAX or view a state map by visiting www.carfax.com/recall/.