EPA Fuel Economy Vehicle Ratings

Export EPA fuel economy ratings from the official FuelEconomy.gov vehicle API. Find vehicle configurations by model year, make and model, or retrieve known EPA vehicle IDs. Each default-dataset row contains city, highway and combined MPG or MPGe, fuel cost, tailpipe CO2, drivetrain, engine, and official source links.

Vehicle inventory teams can enrich model catalogs; fleet analysts can compare efficiency across trims; researchers can build repeatable snapshots of the EPA's published ratings. This Actor reads public source records, not VIN-specific owner data.

What is included?

The Actor walks EPA's year → make → model → configuration menus, then fetches each configuration detail. Alternatively, give it known EPA IDs to retrieve directly. Both paths use the same normalized output and any supplied year, make and model filters. A vehicle model can have several engine/transmission configurations, each with its own ID.

Who is it for?

• Fleet planners comparing configurations before a purchase.
• Automotive catalog managers joining EPA IDs to model-year data.
• Analysts comparing electric and gasoline vehicles with a consistent source reference.
• Scheduled data pipelines that take snapshots and compare successive datasets downstream.

This is not a historical change log: schedules run a fresh lookup; keep and compare previous datasets yourself.

Why use this Actor?

The official FuelEconomy.gov API exposes menu choices and vehicle details separately. This Actor traverses those choices and returns one typed row per EPA configuration, with both the official vehicle ID and source link retained. That saves catalog teams from writing menu traversal, detail requests, deduplication, and MPG/MPGe field mapping for every new model year. Unlike a VIN decoder, it reports EPA-rated configurations, not a vehicle-specific build or ownership history. Filter a known ID directly when you already have an EPA key, or discover configurations by year/make/model when you do not. It does not claim to outperform other Store actors in coverage or update frequency.

Which fields are exported?

Field	Meaning
vehicleId, year, make, model	EPA configuration identifier and model identity.
cityMpg, highwayMpg, combinedMpg	EPA primary fuel ratings; for electric vehicles these can represent MPGe.
alternateFuelCity, alternateFuelHighway, alternateFuelCombined	Alternate-fuel ratings; zero can mean not applicable.
fuelType, alternateFuelType	EPA's fuel descriptions.
annualFuelCostUsd	EPA's annual estimate, not a quote for your own driving.
tailpipeCo2GramsPerMile	Direct tailpipe emissions; not full lifecycle emissions.
drive, transmission, cylinders, engineLiters, electricMotor, vehicleClass	Powertrain and vehicle descriptions, nullable when unavailable.
sourceUrl, vehiclePageUrl, sourceUpdatedAt, retrievedAt	Provenance and retrieval dates.

How do I get started?

1. Set a model year, such as 2024.
2. Optionally narrow to EPA's exact make Toyota and model Prius.
3. Set maxItems to limit configurations and run the Actor.
4. Open the Vehicle ratings dataset view or download JSON, CSV or Excel from the run's default dataset.
5. Retain vehicleId and sourceUrl when joining records to your own vehicle table.

For direct lookup, omit year/make/model and provide vehicleIds: ["47243"].

What input options are available?

Input	Use
year	EPA model year; required when using make or model.
make	Exact EPA make name; year required.
model	Exact EPA model name; year and make required.
vehicleIds	One or more numeric EPA IDs; can be combined with search.
maxItems	Maximum candidate configurations, 1–500, default 25.

When year is supplied with IDs, the year also starts menu discovery; the IDs and discovered configurations are deduplicated. Filters apply to both. Use only IDs when you do not want discovery. The limit counts candidates before detail filters, so a mismatched ID can reduce output below the limit. A broad year-only request stops at the first maxItems configurations in EPA menu order, not a random or complete nationwide sample.

What does a record look like?

This is from the EPA 2024 Toyota Prius record with ID 47243 (2026-09-24 retrieval); timestamps can change:

{
  "vehicleId": "47243",
  "year": 2024,
  "make": "Toyota",
  "model": "Prius",
  "cityMpg": 57,
  "highwayMpg": 56,
  "combinedMpg": 57,
  "fuelType": "Regular",
  "annualFuelCostUsd": 1150,
  "tailpipeCo2GramsPerMile": 155,
  "drive": "Front-Wheel Drive",
  "engineLiters": 2,
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.fueleconomy.gov/ws/rest/vehicle/47243"
}

The actual dataset also includes the remaining fields in the schema. Missing source values are null; alternate-fuel values can be zero when not applicable.

How much does it cost to export EPA vehicle ratings?

This Actor charges $0.005 per start and one item event per saved configuration. At the BRONZE spend tier, an item costs $0.003464. At FREE it costs $0.0039836; SILVER $0.0027019; GOLD, PLATINUM and DIAMOND $0.0020784 each. Tiers depend on qualifying aggregate monthly Apify Store spend, not the number of this Actor's items.

Estimated BRONZE totals: one record $0.008464; five $0.02232; ten $0.03964; 25 $0.0916; 100 $0.3514. A filtered-out result is not charged as an item. Apify compute and API transport are not separately billed to you by this Actor. These are estimates, not guaranteed invoices; adjustments, refunds, fraud, disputes, taxes, corrections, and contractual clawbacks can affect creator payouts. Check the live Pricing tab before large jobs.

How do scheduled comparisons work?

Set an Apify schedule with a fixed input such as {"year":2024,"make":"Tesla","maxItems":8}. Export each run's dataset to your own storage and compare vehicleId plus sourceUpdatedAt and the fields of interest. This Actor does not send change alerts, retain prior snapshots, or determine what changed between runs.

How can I enrich an existing catalog?

If your catalog already contains EPA IDs, supply vehicleIds. For a named model, query the year/make/model menu, then join vehicleId, year, make and model with your own catalog. EPA does not guarantee that one model string maps to one configuration. Avoid merging distinct drivetrain or transmission rows into one rating.

Integrations: how do ratings reach a catalog or fleet report?

1. Catalog enrichment: Export the Actor's default dataset as JSON using the Apify API or a dataset integration. Join on your stored vehicleId where available; otherwise review the candidate rows by year, make, model, drive and transmission before mapping a product to one EPA configuration. Store sourceUrl alongside the rating for auditability.
2. Fleet comparison: Run once per model-year/make of interest, then send the resulting dataset to a spreadsheet or warehouse. Group by fuelType and configuration, compare combinedMpg with the appropriate MPG/MPGe unit, and use annualFuelCostUsd only as EPA's standardized estimate, not your fleet's realized cost.
3. Recurring snapshot pipeline: Schedule the same input on Apify, export each run's dataset to your own storage with its run date, and compare rows by vehicleId. Implement the diff and any notifications downstream; this Actor neither retains prior runs nor sends alerts.

Can I call it through the Apify API?

Yes. Replace YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN with your own token and keep it out of committed files. The sync endpoint returns the default dataset items:

curl -X POST 'https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/automation-lab~epa-fuel-economy-vehicle-ratings/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"year":2024,"make":"Toyota","model":"Prius","maxItems":10}'

JavaScript:

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';
const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const run = await client.actor('automation-lab/epa-fuel-economy-vehicle-ratings').call({
    vehicleIds: ['47243'], maxItems: 1,
});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

Python:

import os
from apify_client import ApifyClient
client = ApifyClient(os.environ['APIFY_TOKEN'])
run = client.actor('automation-lab/epa-fuel-economy-vehicle-ratings').call(
    run_input={'vehicleIds': ['47243'], 'maxItems': 1}
)
items = client.dataset(run['defaultDatasetId']).list_items().items
print(items)

Can I use this with MCP?

For Claude Code, install Apify's hosted MCP endpoint scoped to this Actor:

claude mcp add --transport http apify \
  'https://mcp.apify.com?tools=automation-lab/epa-fuel-economy-vehicle-ratings'

For Claude Desktop, Cursor, and VS Code, configure the equivalent HTTP MCP endpoint in the editor's MCP settings:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      "url": "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=automation-lab/epa-fuel-economy-vehicle-ratings"
    }
  }
}

Example prompt: “Get EPA vehicle ID 47243 and explain the combined MPG, annual fuel cost and tailpipe CO2, citing the source URL.” Your MCP client may require Apify authentication.

What are the source limits?

The official API may revise ratings, model labels or yearly coverage. MPG and MPGe are different physical measures; interpret EPA's fuel type before comparing vehicles. Annual fuel cost depends on EPA's standardized assumptions, not current local pump prices. Tailpipe CO2 does not include fuel production or electricity generation. This Actor does not decode VINs or promise tax-credit eligibility.

How are API failures handled?

Transient timeouts, network failures, HTTP 429 and server errors receive up to two bounded retries with backoff. Invalid IDs, permanent HTTP errors, and unrecognized data shapes fail rather than silently fabricating rows. An unknown but validly requested model can return an empty dataset. Reduce the scope and verify the spelling against EPA's exact model names if that happens.

What happens to data and how can I get help?

The Actor uses no AI provider, personal accounts, paid third-party API, proxy, external cache, or persistent cross-run state. Input IDs, normalized EPA records, and operational logs remain in Apify storage under your account's retention settings. Delete runs and datasets through Apify's storage controls. Errors may include an official EPA URL or status but do not log secret tokens. For product issues, use the Actor's Apify Store issue form with the run ID and non-sensitive input details.

Is this data legal to use?

The Actor accesses the public U.S. government FuelEconomy.gov API. Follow the source's terms and attribution guidance; check downstream licensing and suitability for your own application. Avoid presenting EPA estimates as your own certification or personalized guarantee. No login or private consumer data is collected.

FAQ

Why do I get fewer rows than maxItems? EPA may have fewer configurations for your filter, or an explicit ID may be excluded by the same filter. maxItems is a ceiling, not a target.

Why is an EV's rating shown under cityMpg? EPA's primary city08 field can represent MPGe on electric vehicles. Check fuelType when interpreting units.

Why do some alternate fields contain zero? EPA reports zero in non-applicable alternate-fuel fields; zero is not an independently measured fuel rating.

Can I monitor changes automatically? Schedule runs and compare stored datasets downstream; no built-in diff or notification is emitted.

Related tools

For other U.S. environmental datasets, see EPA Air Quality & AQI Lookup. Air quality observations are a separate product from vehicle fuel-economy ratings.