I-TIP: How to check your car for open recalls

Roughly one in six cars in Canada has an open recall, according to figures from CarProof a service that sells car history data to dealers and the public and a 2016 CBC investigation.

• Millions of vehicles with potentially dangerous recalls still on road

Many car owners don't even know if their car has a defect or not, but there are a few easy ways to find out.

One of the easiestis Transport Canada's website, which has a recall database that is searchable by make, model and year.

Manufacturers typically list recent recalls on their corporate websites, andoccasionally use social media to tell the public about recalls on their models.

Some manufacturers also allow you to search theirsite for open recallsby entering your vehicle identification numberinto a search engine.

Your VIN is a 17-character alphanumeric code, typically found at the base of your windshield or on a sticker on the inside of your door jamb.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administrationalso allows car owners to search its database for open recalls by plugging in your VIN and it works for Canadian cars, too.

And you can always call your dealership to check if there are any outstanding maintenance or defect issues on your make and model.

If you're buying a used car, you should be able to find out from your dealership whether there are recalls on the car that haven't been addressed.

If you want a full car history, you can also use a paid service like CarProof but be prepared to shell out more than $50 for a verified report.