The signals are there. The challenge is knowing when to act.
A dealer sees the same fault on three vehicles. Warranty claims begin showing an increase in the same repair. Customer complaints point to a recurring problem. Meanwhile, connected vehicle data may be revealing something that hasn’t yet reached the service department.
Each signal tells part of the story. But are these isolated incidents, an emerging quality issue, or the beginning of something that could require a customer campaign or recall?
The real challenge isn’t collecting more information. It’s connecting the information, evaluating the risk, and getting the right people involved before a problem escalates.
That’s the work behind MAPconnected’s Recall, Customer Campaigns & Legal Xchange Group.
The conversations OEMs need to be having
Throughout 2026, OEM representatives from Kia, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Ford, GM and other manufacturers brought their experiences to the table. The discussions focused on decisions that cross traditional departmental boundaries and often require coordination among quality, warranty, service, legal, regulatory, and field operations teams.
The conversations have evolved around several important questions:
February | Over-the-Air Updates & Regulatory Management
As software updates become another way to address vehicle issues, how do manufacturers evaluate the underlying risk, manage regulatory responsibilities, and determine when an OTA update is enough?
March | Vehicle Buyback Management & Accountability
When a repair doesn’t resolve the problem, who owns the next step? Members explored how manufacturers track repeat issues and manage accountability across the OEM, dealership, supplier, and field organization.
April | Inside the Recall Decision
Warranty claims, field incidents, customer complaints, and technical investigations can tell very different stories. How do teams weigh those signals, align internally, and determine when an issue warrants a recall or another customer action?
October | The Connected Vehicle, Customer Support & Data
At the 2026 MAPconnected Summit, two conversations hosted by Consumer Reports examined how long manufacturers should support connected vehicles and how much vehicle data they actually need. Both raised a bigger question: Is the information available today enough to make better decisions for tomorrow’s customer?
What makes MAPconnected Xchange Groups different?
These aren’t traditional networking groups or vendor-led presentations. MAPconnected Xchange Groups are invitation-based, member-driven peer communities designed to bring professionals with similar responsibilities together to benchmark practices, exchange experiences, and work through challenges that are difficult to solve within a single organization.
The format is built around confidential, noncompetitive give-and-take. Members help define the agenda, contribute their own experiences, compare approaches, and leave with perspectives they can take back to their organizations.
The value is in hearing how other manufacturers approach the same decisions, where their processes differ, and what lessons can be applied.
How participation works:
- Invitation & Approval: Participation requires an invitation, with approval based on professional role and relevance to the group’s focus.
- Active Membership: An active MAPconnected Annual Membership is required.
- Give-and-Take Benchmarking: Members are expected to contribute experiences and insights, not simply attend and listen.
- Member-Driven Agenda: Participants help shape the topics, priorities, and engagement format around the challenges that matter most to the group.
Who should participate?
The Recall, Customer Campaigns & Legal Xchange Group is intended for OEM executives and senior managers responsible for:
- Recall and Customer Campaign Management
- Quality, Warranty and Vehicle Buyback
- Field Operations and Customer Experience
- Finance, Risk Management and Legal
- OTA Software Updates and Connected Vehicle Issues
- Autonomous Vehicle Incidents and Emerging Regulatory Requirements
It is particularly valuable for leaders who want to compare peer approaches to decision frameworks, risk assessment, organizational accountability, and customer satisfaction.
An ongoing conversation, not a one-time meeting.
The annual format combines in-person discussion with virtual flexibility:
- 3–4 benchmarking sessions annually
- 1 in-person Xchange session at the MAPconnected Service & Warranty Lifecycle Summit
- 3 virtual peer roundtables planned for February, May, and August
The annual Summit provides an opportunity to bring the group together face-to-face, while virtual sessions keep the conversations moving throughout the year.
Where does the conversation go in 2027?
Evan Tomer, Senior Manager, Campaigns and Analysis at Hyundai, will now serve as the group’s ambassador.
As MAPconnected begins shaping its 2027 Xchange Group discussions, we are inviting additional OEM leaders to help determine which challenges deserve attention.
Potential discussion areas include:
- Recall vs. Customer Campaign Decisions: Establishing decision frameworks, evaluating risk, and determining when an issue requires action.
- Early Warning & Predictive Quality: Connecting warranty claims, field reports, customer complaints, and connected vehicle data to identify emerging problems.
- Legal & Regulatory Alignment: Managing escalation, legal involvement, regulatory engagement, and disclosure responsibilities.
- Customer Communication & Brand Trust: Balancing transparency, customer expectations, liability, and consistent messaging.
- Cross-Functional Accountability: Defining decision ownership across quality, warranty, service, legal, and executive leadership.
- AI, Data & Emerging Risk: Applying analytics and AI to identify patterns earlier, including software, OTA, EV, battery, and cybersecurity-related concerns.
- Financial Exposure & Cost Management: Understanding recall costs, campaign exposure, financial reserves, and executive reporting.
These are starting points, not a fixed agenda. The most valuable topics will come from the challenges OEM participants are actually facing.
Bring your experience. Help shape the discussion.
A recall decision can affect far more than the quality department. It touches customer confidence, dealership relationships, regulatory exposure, financial performance, and brand reputation.
The advantage of participating in MAPconnected is having a trusted network of industry peers who understand those pressures. Instead of working through every challenge independently, members have an opportunity to compare how other manufacturers approach difficult decisions, challenge existing assumptions, and identify better ways forward.
If your responsibilities touch recalls, customer campaigns, field quality, warranty, regulatory affairs, or legal, we want your perspective in the 2027 conversation.
Through MyWarrantyNetwork membership, qualified OEM professionals can participate in these discussions throughout the year.
Help shape the 2027 agenda. Bring the challenges your organization is working through and the questions you want to put in front of your peers.
