Photo: AP

More than 25 percent of used vehicles sold at eight CarMax locations across the U.S. contained safety defects that weren’t repaired, despite being under recall, according to a review by car safety advocates. Some of the cars included unrepaired Takata airbags, which have been linked to numerous deaths.


Problems with used cars with open recalls being sold aren’t new. But the study—conducted by the Center For Auto Safety, the Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety Foundation and the MASSPIRG Education Fund—found sales of vehicles with unfixed safety recalls have doubled, compared to a previous sutdy in 2015 that looked at five CarMax locations.


The review—which can be found here—looked at nearly 1,700 vehicles being sold at locations in California, Massachusetts and Connecticut. A total of 461 contained at least one safety defect under recall and not yet repaired. Of that, 41 had a recall for which a repair is no longer available, 45 contained air bag inflators made by Takata.

“Data documenting these defects is readily available to CarMax which makes calling an unrepaired recalled car ‘safe’ is deceptive on its face,” said Jason Levine, the Center for Auto Safety’s executive director, in a statement.

Regulators have focused on the practice in recent years. Earlier this year, New York’s state attorney general, Eric Schneiderman reached a settlement with auto dealers in the state to provide a disclosure of open recalls to potential buyers.

General Motors and a pair of auto dealers reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission last year over allegations they sold used vehicles with open recalls, despite being marketed as safe to drive.


Update, 1:15 p.m.: CarMax sent the following statement: