85,000 cars in North Carolina pegged with 'do not drive' recalls, CARFAX data shows

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Are you driving a car that has an urgent safety recall of "do not drive" or "park outside?"

According to the most recent CARFAX data, more than 2.5 million cars are tagged with these urgent safety recalls, yet they remain unrepaired, with thousands of these cars on the road in North Carolina.

Out of the 2.5 million cars on the road that are tagged with safety recalls of do not drive or park outside, CARFAX data shows 85,000 of those cars are in North Carolina. Breaking that down the numbers even further 29,000 of those are in the Triangle.

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A do not drive recall advises drivers not to operate their vehicles because a serious safety issue could lead to an accident or physical harm. One of the most recent do not drive recalls involves 90,000 older model BMWs due to the potential of exploding airbags.

A park outside recall is issued for vehicles with a high risk of causing a fire.

"The fire risk is so great that not only do they not want you to park it inside the garage, they don't want you to park it next to the garage. If you can park it, park it away from any structure," Patrick Olsen with CARFAX said.

Olsen adds while manufacturers do send these urgent recall notices via mail, if the car has been sold to someone other than the original owner, drivers may not know about the recalls or if they know about it and are not taking action.

"One thing I think a lot of consumers do is they've gotten a recall notice that they got months to go or years ago, and they think, 'well by this point nothing's happened, so I must be in the clear,' and nothing could be farther from the truth," Olsen said.

There are about 200 separate models from various automakers. To see the list of those 200 cars with do not drive" or park outside recalls, click here.

To see if your car is impacted by any recall at all you can check here.. If your car has a recall you can get the specified repair work done for free at a dealership affiliated with the brand of their vehicle.