If you're having car troubles, chances are you aren't alone. The same stuff seems to go wrong with each model vehicle. But what if the problem is so chronic even the manufacturer thinks the faulty part is a dud? They announce a recall. We've seen huge recalls on the evening news, but most recalls don't get publicity. That's ok, because you can rely on your dealership's service department to let you know that they can fix the problem free since it's affected by a recall. Yeah, right! It's up to you to look up any active recalls for your vehicle and take the appropriate action. It's a good idea to look your car up even if you aren't having any problems. Many recalls have an expiration date, so if your car has a faulty widget you should go ahead and have it replaced, and free of charge.