Used-car dealers keep selling vehicles despite safety recalls. We found dozens for sale.

The aftermath of a 2004 head-on collision that killed two sisters from California. They’d rented a Chrysler PT Cruiser that, unbeknownst to them, had an open recall for a power-steering hose defect. (Provided)

Under federal law, a rental car company can’t hand a customer the keys unless all safety recalls have been repaired, but there’s no such requirement for consumers buying a used car.

Which means what’s being touted as a “certified preowned” car on a dealer’s lot could still be a vehicle that has open, unaddressed recalls for safety issues like having a known fire risk or a problem with sudden acceleration. Those used cars could even be subject to an “urgent, do not drive” recall because their airbag inflators might explode.