Vehicle recalls in Singapore
How owners can check LTA recall records and how Singapore law handles notices and rectification for safety-related vehicle defects.
Primary source: https://onemotoring.lta.gov.sg/content/onemotoring/home/owning/vehicle-recall.html
Vehicle manufacturers may recall vehicles when they find defects that need rectification. In Singapore, the motor dealer or importer is responsible for informing LTA and affected vehicle owners, and for arranging rectification works (OneMotoring, Vehicle Recall).
Check recall status
Owners can use LTA's Electronic Vehicle Recall System (EVRS) to check whether their vehicle is affected by a recall, view vehicles recalled in the past six months, and check the rectification status recorded for a recalled vehicle. Recall information is added to EVRS when LTA is notified by a motor dealer or importer (OneMotoring, Vehicle Recall).
If a vehicle is affected, the motor dealer or importer will contact the owner directly to notify them and arrange rectification. LTA advises owners to check with their motor dealer for the latest recall information (OneMotoring, Vehicle Recall).
Safety-related defect notices
The Road Traffic Act sets a statutory process for a safety-related defect: a defect in a vehicle’s design or construction liable to cause a significant risk of personal injury or death to a vehicle user or another road user. The definition also includes some defects in components supplied to the manufacturer and sold as original equipment. When a manufacturer or dealer becomes aware of such a defect in a vehicle it made or sold, it must notify the Registrar, people who obtained the vehicle from it, and current owners identified through warranty information or vehicle-registration records (Road Traffic Act 1961, s. 23A(1), (9)).
A statutory notice must describe the defect, assess the safety risk, give directions for rectifying it, and state when and where to present the vehicle for rectification. An owner must produce the vehicle within the period stated in the notice or another period allowed by the Registrar (Road Traffic Act 1961, s. 23A(3), (7)). The Act therefore provides a deadline through the notice; it does not set one universal number of days for every recall.
After giving a safety-defect notice, the manufacturer or dealer must submit a report to the Registrar within one month and provide further reports at any later intervals the Registrar requires. A manufacturer or dealer who fails to give the required notice or report, or to rectify a vehicle presented under the notice, may be fined up to $2,000 per vehicle, capped at $50,000; a continuing offence after conviction can draw a further fine of up to $500 per day (Road Traffic Act 1961, s. 23A(4)–(5)).
Failure to produce the vehicle by the notice deadline, or another period allowed by the Registrar, is an offence under section 23A(7). Section 23A(7) does not state a separate penalty; under the Act’s default penalty provision, section 131(2), conviction may result in a fine up to $1,000 or imprisonment up to 3 months, or both, for a first offence, and a fine up to $2,000 or imprisonment up to 6 months, or both, for a second or subsequent offence (Road Traffic Act 1961, ss. 23A(7) and 131(2)).
Coverage debt
- The current official sources do not state whether an affected vehicle may be driven while awaiting rectification. Follow the directions and timing in any defect notice and check with the dealer for current recall information; do not infer a blanket driving restriction from an EVRS listing.