Næstved · 19 Aug 2026
When a manufacturer recalls cars to repair a safety defect, neither the owner nor a prospective buyer can find out for themselves whether that particular car has had the job done. This is the core of a proposal from the Swedish trade association Fordonsjuristen, which in a press release calls for an open Swedish register of completed recalls.
"This type of register increases road safety. The police can carry out more precise checks, garages can help customers discover recalls that have not been honoured, and both car dealers and consumers get a better picture of the car's safety status," says Jörgen Hallén from Fordonsjuristen.
The register shows the model, not the car
There is a European register for product safety, Safety Gate, formerly known as Rapex, where recalls are published. It shows which models are covered, but not whether a particular car has actually had the repair. Several European countries have therefore introduced registers where you can enter your own number plate or chassis number and see if there is anything outstanding. The UK and Germany have had this option for a number of years, and Italy introduced a similar register earlier this year.
Today, the manufacturer knows it, and almost no one else
According to Fordonsjuristen, in practice only the manufacturer, the importer and their own authorized dealers have the full picture of whether a particular car has had the recall work carried out. The consequence is that a used car can change hands while a safety repair is still missing. Hallén also states that experience shows that between 10 and 20 percent of the recalled cars never come in for repair, and that cars are therefore driving around with known safety defects.
The workshop calls it a campaign
What the car owner knows as a recall is called a campaign in the workshop's language. It is the manufacturer who issues the campaign, and a brand workshop can look it up in the manufacturer's own system. An independent workshop is without that access, and that is the gap the proposal is about. The vehicle lawyer mentions the Digital Servicebook as one of the ways independent garages can go. With a subscription, the workshop can search the manufacturers' campaigns and see if a car is covered by something that the manufacturer needs to repair, and this is information the customer would otherwise have to go elsewhere to get.
The case is a good illustration of why we are building the Digital Servicebook. The car's history is scattered with the person who carried out the work, and the person who needs to be able to document it is typically the owner, who cannot access it himself. We gather the car's digital information in one place so that it can be used when it matters, whether it is in connection with a warranty case, a sale or a question about whether the car is safe. If you want to know what a subscription gives access to, you can contact us.
