Any individual interested in buying (or selling) a vehicle will soon be able to submit VIN information at various websites and find out, immediately, if a vehicle has any unrepaired recalls. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently said it would move forward with new rules (first announced in August 2013) that will require all major automakers and motorcycle manufacturers to provide owners with online access to recall information on vehicles searchable by VIN beginning August 20, 2014.The search feature will be available at NHTSA’s www.safercar.gov website, as well as the automakers’ websites. The websites must be updated weekly, at a minimum. The rules apply to automakers that sell at least 25,000 vehicles a year, and motorcycle manufacturers that sell at least 5,000 motorcycles per year. The manufacturers must make information available on uncompleted recalls for at least 15years from the date they first provided the list of recalled vehicles to dealers.Under the new rules, automakers also will be required to provide vehicle owners with direct notice of recalls within 60 days of notifying NHTSA that a recall is occurring. The new rules also require bolder warnings on recall letters sent to vehicle owners.