Many Long Island Drivers Aren't Bringing In Recalled Vehicles

COMMACK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A new survey finds that millions of cars nationwide have been recalled, but they have yet to be repaired.

As CBS2's Jessica Moore reported Wednesday, some owners on Long Island are not responding to recall notices.

When Amityville Honda owner Alan Aronstein got a recall notice to fix a problem in his vehicle's engine, he brought it right in. He was shocked to learn that nearly half a million vehicles with defects are still being operated on Long Island roads because their owners did not respond to a recall notice from their dealers.

"Honda does notify the customer, but I guess they're not listening," Aronstein said. "I don't know. It doesn't make any sense to me."

Honda dealerships face the most recalls because of the car company's reliance on the now infamous Takata airbags. They sometimes shatter in humid conditions, sending shrapnel flying and injuring or killing dozens.

Yet, there are still Long Islanders driving around with the tainted airbags.

"We're up to almost 70 percent of them," said Ricky Alessi, general manager of Atlantic Honda in Bay Shore.

Alessi said his dealership has been so busy with Takata recall repairs that they opened an additional customer service center, and they do everything possible to reach affected customers.

"First they will send a letter to the house to the registered owner from the DMV – they'll get their address," said service advisor Nicholas Squeo. "If they don't respond by coming in within a certain amount of days, they will start calling the customer at their house."

Some independent repair shops rely on online computer programs to find out if a vehicle is under federal mandate recall. The service manager at a repair shop in Commack told CBS2 some customers put off the free recall repairs, worrying that a dealership might find other things wrong and stick them with a big bill.

But that mindset has other drivers fearing the consequences.

"If you have an accident, there are other people involved," said Phyllis Ehrhardt of Commack. "They get hurt or killed – it's dangerous."

Affected dealerships said they are now even searching private auto sale records to round up the reluctant recall owners.

The national recall repair survey was conducted by California-based Recall Masters.