NHTSA Vehicle Safety Scraper

Scrape free vehicle safety data from the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — the federal agency responsible for vehicle safety standards in the United States.

No API key, no proxy, no authentication required. All data is publicly available.

What you can scrape

Mode	Data
Safety Ratings	NCAP crash test star ratings by vehicle variant
Consumer Complaints	Driver-reported safety problems by make/model/year
Recalls	Official NHTSA safety recalls by make/model/year
VIN Decode	Full vehicle specs decoded from a 17-character VIN
Vehicle Makes	All 12,000+ vehicle makes in the NHTSA VPIC database

Input

Field	Type	Description
mode	select	One of: safetyRatings, complaints, recalls, decodeVin, vehicleMakes
make	text	Vehicle manufacturer (e.g. Toyota, Ford, Honda)
model	text	Model name (e.g. Camry, F-150, Civic)
modelYear	integer	Four-digit year, 1950–2027
vin	text	Single VIN to decode (mode=decodeVin)
vins	list	Multiple VINs to decode in batch (mode=decodeVin)
maxItems	integer	Max records to emit (default: 100, max: 5000)

Output

Safety Ratings

{
  "vehicleId": 13200,
  "make": "TOYOTA",
  "model": "CAMRY",
  "modelYear": 2019,
  "vehicleDescription": "2019 Toyota Camry 4 DR FWD",
  "overallRating": "5",
  "overallFrontCrashRating": "4",
  "sideBarrierRating": "5",
  "rolloverRating": "4",
  "rolloverPossibility": "10.0%",
  "complaintsCount": 45,
  "recallsCount": 3,
  "url": "https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/13200",
  "scrapedAt": "2025-01-01T00:00:00+00:00"
}

Consumer Complaints

{
  "odiNumber": 11739363,
  "make": "TOYOTA",
  "model": "CAMRY",
  "modelYear": 2020,
  "component": "POWER TRAIN",
  "summary": "Transmission jolts when reapplying throttle.",
  "dateComplaintFiled": "05/21/2026",
  "dateOfIncident": "05/16/2026",
  "crash": false,
  "fire": false,
  "numberOfInjuries": 0,
  "numberOfDeaths": 0,
  "vin": "4T1G11AK2LU",
  "scrapedAt": "2025-01-01T00:00:00+00:00"
}

Recalls

{
  "nhtsaCampaignNumber": "20V682000",
  "make": "TOYOTA",
  "model": "CAMRY",
  "modelYear": 2019,
  "reportReceivedDate": "04/11/2020",
  "component": "FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP",
  "summary": "Low-pressure fuel pump may fail.",
  "consequence": "Engine can stall while driving.",
  "remedy": "Dealers will replace the fuel pump assembly.",
  "scrapedAt": "2025-01-01T00:00:00+00:00"
}

VIN Decode

{
  "vin": "1HGBH41JXMN109186",
  "make": "HONDA",
  "model": "Civic",
  "modelYear": "2021",
  "bodyClass": "Sedan/Saloon",
  "vehicleType": "PASSENGER CAR",
  "engineDisplacement": "1.5",
  "engineCylinders": "4",
  "fuelTypePrimary": "Gasoline",
  "driveType": "Front-Wheel Drive(FWD)",
  "manufacturerName": "HONDA OF AMERICA MFG., INC.",
  "plantCity": "MARYSVILLE",
  "plantCountry": "UNITED STATES (USA)",
  "scrapedAt": "2025-01-01T00:00:00+00:00"
}

Vehicle Makes

{
  "makeId": 449,
  "makeName": "TOYOTA",
  "scrapedAt": "2025-01-01T00:00:00+00:00"
}

Use cases

• Automotive research — Compare crash test ratings across vehicles before purchasing
• Fleet safety management — Monitor recalls affecting your fleet by make/model
• Insurance analytics — Correlate complaint rates with insurance risk models
• Legal research — Track recall and complaint history for litigation support
• Consumer apps — Provide safety ratings and recall alerts to car shoppers
• Vehicle data enrichment — Decode VINs to enrich vehicle databases

Data source

All data is served by the US Department of Transportation / NHTSA:

• Safety Ratings API: https://api.nhtsa.gov/SafetyRatings/
• Complaints API: https://api.nhtsa.gov/complaints/
• Recalls API: https://api.nhtsa.gov/recalls/
• VPIC (VIN decode & makes): https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/

Data is free, public, and updated regularly by NHTSA.

FAQ

How current is the data?
NHTSA updates their database continuously. Complaints and recalls reflect real-time submissions.

What model years are covered for safety ratings?
NHTSA NCAP safety ratings cover model years approximately 1990–present, though coverage varies by make/model.

How many complaints exist for a given vehicle?
Popular vehicles can have hundreds to thousands of complaints. A 2020 Toyota Camry has 200+ complaints on file.

Can I decode any VIN?
Yes — the VPIC API decodes any valid 17-character VIN and returns up to 100+ vehicle attributes.

Is there a rate limit?
NHTSA does not publish an official rate limit. The scraper uses small delays between requests to remain respectful of the free public API.

What happens when no safety rating exists?
Not all vehicles receive NHTSA crash testing. If no record is found, the scraper reports 0 results for that make/model/year.