When the recall fix isn't available yet

What the message means

"Recall incomplete, remedy not yet available" means two things at once. Your car is covered by a safety recall and hasn't been fixed, and the manufacturer doesn't have a repair ready to perform. There's nothing to book yet.

It's more common than people expect. A manufacturer has to report a safety defect to NHTSA quickly (NHTSA's process document puts it at five working days from when the company knew or should have known), and it has to tell owners within 60 days. Designing a fix, making the parts and getting them to thousands of dealers can take much longer than that.

Why the fix lags the recall

NHTSA's recall booklet says there will usually be a gap between the recall decision and the date the remedy is ready. The manufacturer uses that time to identify the owners, work out the repair procedure, train dealers, ship parts, and send the letters that explain how the campaign will run.

When the gap is long, owners hear about the recall twice. NHTSA's process document says that if the remedy isn't ready within 60 days, the manufacturer must send a first letter that tells owners about the recall, and a second letter once the fix is available. The booklet calls the first one an interim notice, and says it should include anything the owner can do in the meantime to make the failure less likely.

In NHTSA's recall text for the vehicles on this site, 149 of 2,234 recall campaigns (7%) mention interim notices to owners. The most recent:

What to do while you wait

• Read the interim letter closely. It carries the manufacturer's safety advice for the waiting period. For some defects that advice is minor. For others it's to park outside or not to drive the car at all, and our do-not-drive recall guide covers those.
• Keep your address current with your state's motor vehicle agency, since the remedy letter goes to the registered owner.
• Check the VIN every few weeks at nhtsa.gov/recalls, or add the car to NHTSA's SaferCar app, which alerts you when something changes.
• Ask the dealer to note your VIN for the campaign, so you hear when parts arrive.
• Keep receipts if the defect fails and you pay for a repair before the official fix is out. You may be able to claim that money back (see recall reimbursement).

What the manufacturer owes you

The obligation doesn't go away because the part is late. NHTSA's booklet says that once a recall is initiated, owners are entitled to the remedy free of charge and within a reasonable time.

Federal law gives "reasonable time" a benchmark. Under 49 U.S.C. 30120(c), if a manufacturer chose to repair and fails to repair a car adequately within 60 days of the owner presenting it, that's treated as evidence it failed to repair within a reasonable time. In that case the manufacturer has to replace the vehicle with an identical or reasonably equivalent one, or refund the purchase price minus a reasonable allowance for depreciation. NHTSA can extend the 60 days for good cause, and must publish its reason in the Federal Register.

Timing matters here. The statute says bringing the car in before the date the manufacturer gave for the remedy doesn't count as presenting it. The 60 days run from when you present the car after the fix is supposed to be available, not from the first recall letter. If the remedy date arrives and your dealer still can't do the work, write down the date you brought the car in and who you spoke to.

When NHTSA steps in

If NHTSA decides a recall can't be completed in a reasonable time, it can require the manufacturer to speed things up. Under 49 CFR 577.12, an accelerated remedy program can mean more sources of replacement parts, or repairs at shops other than the brand's dealers. If owners have to pay those other shops or parts suppliers, the manufacturer must reimburse them, and the notice has to say how.

NHTSA also watches parts supply as part of its recall management. Its process document lists the availability of the remedy, meaning whether the dealer network has parts and can do the repairs, among the things it may investigate after a recall is filed. That's what a recall query is for, and our guide to NHTSA investigation stages explains how those work.

If you think the wait is unreasonable

Start with the manufacturer's customer line (the number is in the recall letter) and ask for the expected remedy date in writing. If a dealer refuses a remedy that's available, NHTSA's advice is to notify the manufacturer immediately.

If that goes nowhere, file a complaint with NHTSA describing the recall number, the dates and what you were told. NHTSA's recall staff review how recalls are carried out, and owner reports are part of the evidence. Our complaint guide covers how.

A note on used cars

A car can change hands while a recall is waiting for parts, and the letters follow the registration. If you're buying a used car, run the VIN before you pay. An open recall with no remedy yet is something to price in, since you may be the one waiting. Our used-car research guide covers the rest of that check.