Approximately 46 million vehicles on the road today, one in every five, were recalled and never repaired, according to a report from Carfax. That figure is likely to rise, considering last year saw a record 64 million vehicles recalled.

Not all of the recall issues concern high-risk problems, but many of them do. Some pertain to issues such as faulty oil sensors, which pose few risks to motors, while problems such as randomly inflating airbags could spark one or more fatal accidents with little or no warning.

"It's a very major public safety problem," said Chris Basso, a Carfax used-car specialist. "When those recalled cars go unfixed, they compound over the years, and it increases the chance of those parts failing."

While the onus is on the automakers to issue the recalls and facilitate the repairs, car lots aren't required to complete repairs on recalled cars before selling them to consumers. However, federal regulators are pushing for that to change.

Car dealers, in general, are said to be in opposition to the proposed changes that would require them to repair recall issues before getting customers to sign and drive. They are, in general, open to legislation that would require them to disclose recall information to potential customers.

The latest push to require more effort from car dealers and manufacturers to fix or communicate recall issues to customers is being led by Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and the new head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Mark Rosekind.

"We cannot allow vehicles with potentially dangerous defects to leave used-car lots without the necessary repairs," said Rosekind.

It may be a worrying picture: coming off a record-breaking year for car recalls then finding out one-fifth of the vehicles on the roadways haven't had recall issues addressed.

Consumer Reports, however, believes that the spotlight on recall issue is sparking positive change.

"Take a public that's ready to complain -- and often willing to sue -- plus a more aggressive federal government and you end up with record-breaking recalls," said Consumer Reports.

Consumer Reports also noted that cars are actually much safer. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recently reported that 2011 model year vehicles, the latest in the report, have been getting ratings of zero deaths per million registered vehicles.

The publicity surrounded defect and the occasional cover-ups of the issues have "turned a harsh spotlight on the problem and created an expectation of safer cars," says Consumer Reports.