As a result of the government shutdown, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has stopped many of the activities, reports AOL Autos.
The agency said in a statement that it has stopped issuing recall notifications, stopped investigating potential automotive defects and would no longer evaluate consumer complaints “due to a lapse of Federal Government funding.”
Consumers can continue to file complaints on the agency’s website, but they will not be investigated until funding is restored. Likewise, automakers can continue to announce their own recalls to the general public, though not all of them elect to do so.
NHTSA also said that rulemaking will be postponed, as well as new car assessments that include crash tests and star ratings that many use to make car-buying decisions. In the short term, that may not mean much for motorists, but if the shutdown lingers, it could hurt consumers.
Source: AOL Autos
