It takes more than one recall to undermine the loyalty of customers to their favorite vehicle brands, according to a new study by The Polk Company. In fact, loyalty stands firm until a customer experiences three or more recalls, and then customer loyalty quickly erodes, according to the study. Polk found that in light of the recent spate of recalls in the industry, it is vitally important for vehicle manufacturers to keep the number of recalls per customer at a low level to avoid future loss of its customer base. The Polk study compared loyalty of consumers affected by manufacturer recalls with the loyalty of those who were not. Data was gathered through a survey research study conducted with a sample of new vehicle buyers during the first six months of the 2000 model-year. It showed that, for new-vehicle buyers on average, loyalty to the previous manufacturer decreased by 9 percent for owners affected by a third or fourth recall and by 16 percent for those with five recalls or more. "We can surmise from this that consumers are willing to tolerate mistakes, as long as they are taken care of immediately, honestly, and with minimum disruption," said Karen Piurkowski, Polk's managing director of loyalty. "Having one or two recalls does not necessarily drive owners to defection, but as the number of recalls increases, consumer confidence decreases." According to the study, more than four out of every 10 owners who purchased new vehicles during the first half of the 2000 model-year reported they had a recall on their previous vehicle. The manufacturer with the best recall performance (lowest percentage of customers being impacted by a recall) was Mercedes-Benz. Less than one of five Mercedes-Benz owners experienced a recall during ownership. Toyota Motor Sales (including Lexus) was in second place closely behind Mercedes-Benz. Nissan (including Infiniti) ranked third, Mitsubishi fourth, and General Motors fifth, according to the study.