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CENTREVILLE, Va. — Carfax attempted to pinpoint how many used vehicles went up for sale in 2009 that were part of a manufacturer recall but never repaired.

The vehicle history report provider revealed on Monday that at least 1.4 million used units fell into this category, according to a study Carfax conducted.

The study also indicated California, Virginia and Texas had the most vehicles for sale with open recalls last year. Each state had more than 100,000.

"Unrepaired open recalls are an important factor in vehicle evaluations," stated Larry Gamache, communications director at Carfax. "As many as one in three recalled vehicles go unfixed by their owners. It's a matter of safety — every day these cars are bought and sold and being driven on our roads.

"Carfax is working with leading manufacturers and consumer advocates to alert people to open recalls and make sure more of these are fixed," he added.

Carfax mentioned it receives open recall information for Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Ferrari, Ford, GMC, Hummer, Hyundai, Isuzu, Jeep, Kia, Lincoln, Lotus, Maserati, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mercury, Mitsubishi, Pontiac, Porsche, Saab, Saturn, Subaru, Suzuki and Volvo vehicles.

In addition, Honda and Acura began making their open recall information available through Carfax Vehicle History Reports last week.

The report provider shared the perspective of one automaker in particular who has had a long-standing relationship with Carfax. Robert Case serves as operations manager of recall and service programs at Ford.

"Ford is committed to communicating safety recall information to vehicle owners in an open and transparent manner as part of our commitment to top quality," Case emphasized.

"Ford was the first major automaker to establish a relationship with Carfax to provide open safety recall information as we recognized the Carfax Vehicle History Report as a valuable tool used by many consumers and business entities," Case added.

Open recalls are available online through various channels. Carfax offers a free recall check at www.carfax.com/recall, while federal and consumer-advocate officials disseminate information through www.safercar.gov and www.iihs.org.