Ford led automakers with more than 3.3 million recalls

• Vehicle recalls in the U.S. more than doubled in Q2 2025, hitting the highest quarterly total in over a year.

• Ford led all automakers with over 3.3 million vehicles recalled across 49 safety campaigns.

• Nearly 95% of vehicles recalled involved defects posing a risk of crash or injury, with back-over prevention systems topping the list.

U.S. drivers are facing a surge of vehicle safety recalls as summer travel season begins, with more than 7.3 million vehicles recalled between April and June, according to BizzyCars Q2 2025 Recall Report. The figure represents the highest quarterly total in over a year and more than double the volume recorded in Q1.

This spike in recalls comes just as families are preparing for summer travel, said Ryan Maher, CEO of BizzyCar. Most of these issues involve serious safety risks, so its critical that drivers schedule repairs without delay.

Ford tops the charts

Ford Motor Company led all manufacturers this quarter, recalling over 3.3 million vehicles across 49 separate campaigns, accounting for nearly half of all vehicles affected. General Motors and Honda followed as the next most-affected automakers.

Notably, 94.6% of all vehicles recalled in Q2 involved defects posing a risk of crash or injury if left unaddressed. Among the most significant issues:

• Back-over prevention systems, impacting 2.59 million vehicles.

• Engine and engine cooling problems, affecting 1.14 million vehicles.

• Service brakes, hydraulic issues, involving 775,000 vehicles.

The severity of the safety concerns prompted authorities to issue three Do Not Drive warnings and three Park Outside advisories, underscoring the urgent nature of many of these defects.

Remote repairs growing, but physical fixes still needed

While technology is making some recall fixes more convenient, traditional repairs remain essential. BizzyCar reports that over one million vehicles this quarter were eligible for Over-the-Air (OTA) software updates rather than a dealership visit.

However, OTA fixes still represent only 14.7% of all recalls since early 2022, highlighting that most safety repairs still require in-person service, particularly for critical systems like steering, brakes, and seats.

OTA updates offer convenience, but they also eliminate critical dealership touchpoints, Maher noted. Many safety fixes still depend on trained technicians and certified parts. Dealerships remain the front line of recall completion.

Stay safe this summer

Drivers are urged to check their vehicle identification number (VIN) on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website or contact their dealership to see if their vehicle is under recall.

With millions of vehicles affected, prompt action could help prevent accidents or injuries on the road.

Consumers have been paying as much as 261% for loans in the Ocean State

• Rhode Island was the only New England state that still allowed the high-interest loans, which are generally regarded as predatory.
• The action capped 15 years of effort by consumer groups.
• Borrowers commonly get trapped in an endless cycle of debt that far exceeds the original cost of the loan.

After a long struggle almost fifteen years after legislation was first introduced Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee has signed into law a bill that will prohibit payday lenders from charging annual percentage rates (APRs) higher than 36%.

The law will take effect on January 1st, 2027. The typical rate for a payday loan in the state has been 261% APR, according toresearchfrom the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL).

Thanks to the dedication of Rhode Island lawmakers and advocates, the Ocean State will no longer have payday loan sharks. This law will prevent payday lenders from draining millions of dollars in fees annually and instead keep that money in the pockets of Rhode Islanders who really need it,saidCRL Policy Counsel Monica Burks.

While the laws effective start date is way too far from now, these predatory lenders will hopefully see the writing on the wall and stop their usury sooner. We are pleased to see Rhode Island become the 21st state, alongside the District of Columbia, to stop payday loans from trapping people in debt, Burks said.

Gov. McKee, a Democrat, had endorsed the measure. "Payday borrowers are much more than a data point - they are Rhode Islanders who need a few hundred dollars to pay for an unexpected car repair or medical bill. Rhode Island cannot continue to allow these lenders to prey upon our working residents with exorbitant interest rates and fees," he said in a March 2025 letter submitted to a state legislative committee studying the legislation.

Consumers forced the issue after years of inaction, with protests and legislative pressure.

"Rhode Island is the only state in New England that allows this form of predatory lending, charging outrageously high interest rates that suck the life out of our communities, suck the life out of people who are already living in poverty, primarily people of color," said Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwasser with the RI Interfaith Coalition to Reduce Poverty, at a recent protest outside a payday loan office.

Lobbyists not happy

Not everyone is happy with the new law.William Murphy, the former House Speaker who now works as a lobbyist for Purpose Financial Inc., parent company of Advance America, said the measure would bring economic harm to Rhode Island.

Passage of this legislation will cause Advance Americas employees to lose their jobs and health coverage that they and their families depend on, Murphy said in an emailto the Rhode Island Current newspaper.

The state will now have eight additional vacant storefronts. Importantly, thousands of Rhode Islanders will lose much needed immediate access to credit and the ability to make their own personal financial choice. There are no equal alternatives for people in Rhode Island.

In 2022, the most recent data available, Rhode Island borrowers paid an estimated $2.8 million on interest and fees associated with payday loans, based on the $28.2 million of money borrowed across 80,650 loans, according to arecent CRLreport.

Long cycles of debt

Payday loans have been shown to pull people into long cycles of repeat reborrowing that pull them deep into debt. Research from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) shows that four out of every five payday loans are reborrowed within two weeks.

Polling consistently shows a strong majority of Republican, Democratic, and independent voters support strong interest rate caps, as shownin several state ballot initiatives, including in Nebraska, where in 2020 a cap was enacted with support from over 80% of voters.

The 21 states, alongside D.C., with strong interest rate caps that stop the payday loan debt trap are: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, and West Virginia.

While the sales may have cooled, scammers have not

• Scammers often strike after Prime Day, targeting consumers with fake delivery messages while they wait for packages.

• AI-powered are becoming harder to spot, mimicking legitimate messages from Amazon, UPS, and FedEx.

• Experts urge consumers to be proactive, avoid clicking suspicious links, enable two-factor authentication, and verify messages through official apps.

The most recent iteration of Amazons Prime Day has recently come to a close.

While many consumers are used to the spike in during the multi-day sales event, it may be less well-known that scammers like to strike in the days following the sales.

To help navigate the scam risks, ConsumerAffairs talked to Clayton LiaBraaten, Senior Executive Advisor at Truecaller, to learn about this next wave of , who's most at risk, and what to watch for in the coming days.

Post-Prime Day, we see a spike in delivery-related as consumers place orders and await packages, LiaBraaten said. Fraudsters know this is the perfect opportunity to impersonate shipping carriers like Amazon, UPS, or FedEx.

Both consumers who have participated in Prime Day and those who have avoided shopping altogether will face the same threats.

What to look out for

LiaBraaten shared the biggest warning signs consumers should be aware of:

• Be vigilant for messages that urge you to act fast, reschedule a missed delivery, or confirm a shipping address.

• Scammers rely on patterns of urgency and familiarity; the latter is crucial to gaining trust.

• If you get a text or email that looks like it's from a retailer or delivery service, dont click links or input any information unless youve verified the contact through the official website or app.

The rise of AI in

LiaBraaten explained that the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has made it easier than ever for scammers to attack at any time.

With the rise of AI and machine learning, scammers are crafting more identical texts and emails that resemble the actual sender, and it's becoming harder to detect the legitimate from the illegitimate, he said.

Using fonts, language, tone, and company graphics, AI is making it easier than ever for scammers to have a leg up on how they present these tactics. It is not perfect consumers must look for signs like odd grammar, strange email addresses, or requests that dont match order activity. Legitimate companies dont ask for sensitive data via SMS or email.

Stay vigilant post-Prime Day

The biggest thing to note: everyone is a target for these kinds of . However, that doesnt mean theyre unavoidable.

LiaBraaten urges consumers to be vigilant when checking emails or reading texts, and take extra security measures to protect data and personal information.

Turn on two-factor authentication for your accounts and dont reuse or share passwords, he said.

Regarding delivery updates, do not follow suspicious links; go directly to your Amazon or carrier app and log into your account to see legitimate, real-time updates. And never provide personal, financial, or login info from an unsolicited message. If something feels off, it probably is.

Dont be reactive

LiaBraatens final piece of advice: be proactive, not reactive.

Scammers are social engineers and evolve quickly, but they still rely on one thing: human response, he said.

We must slow down and not be reactive. It is more beneficial to be proactive to avoid these scammers and stay skeptical, i.e., verify before clicking. By doing so, we take away their power.

If you have loved ones who are not as technically savvy, educate them on how to safely navigate this online space and introduce them to the tools that work on their behalf to block these scammers proactively.

Poison control centers report an alarming 763% increase in cases

By Truman Lewis of ConsumerAffairs