NHTSA Vehicle Recall Checker

Checks vehicles against the official NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) recall database. Provide a list of VINs and get detailed recall information for each vehicle, including campaign numbers, affected components, safety consequences, and recommended remedies.

What it does

• Validates and decodes each VIN using the NHTSA vPIC API
• Looks up all recalls for the decoded make/model/year
• Returns structured recall data with campaign numbers, components, and remedies
• Handles invalid VINs gracefully with error messages
• Respectful rate limiting on the government API

Input parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
vins	array of strings	Yes	List of 17-character VINs to check for recalls

Output fields

Field	Type	Description
vin	string	The VIN that was checked
make	string	Decoded vehicle make
model	string	Decoded vehicle model
year	string	Decoded model year
has_recalls	boolean	Whether the vehicle has any recalls
recall_count	integer	Number of recalls found
recalls	array	Detailed recall records (see below)

Recall record fields

Field	Type	Description
campaign_number	string	NHTSA campaign number (e.g., "23V456000")
component	string	Affected vehicle component
summary	string	Description of the defect
consequence	string	Safety consequence if not repaired
remedy	string	Recommended repair/remedy
report_date	string	Date the recall was reported
manufacturer	string	Vehicle manufacturer

Example output

{
  "vin": "1HGCV1F3XPA123456",
  "make": "HONDA",
  "model": "Accord",
  "year": "2023",
  "has_recalls": true,
  "recall_count": 2,
  "recalls": [
    {
      "campaign_number": "23V456000",
      "component": "AIR BAGS",
      "summary": "The front passenger air bag may not deploy correctly in a crash.",
      "consequence": "An improperly deployed air bag increases the risk of injury in a crash.",
      "remedy": "Dealers will replace the front passenger air bag module, free of charge.",
      "report_date": "07/15/2023",
      "manufacturer": "Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)"
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

• Pre-purchase inspection: Check any vehicle for open recalls before buying
• Fleet management: Bulk-check fleet vehicles for safety compliance
• Dealer compliance: Ensure inventory vehicles have no outstanding recalls
• Insurance verification: Verify recall status for underwriting
• Data enrichment: Add recall data to existing vehicle datasets

Pricing

Pay per result: $1 per 1,000 results (affordable utility)

Data source

All data comes from the official NHTSA API (api.nhtsa.gov). This is public government data — the actor provides convenient bulk access with structured output.

Built by OTDCheck

This actor is part of the OTDCheck vehicle market intelligence suite.