NHTSA Vehicle Safety Scraper

Extract vehicle safety data from the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — completely free, no API key or proxy required.

Decode any Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), look up safety recalls, NCAP crash test ratings, consumer complaints, vehicle models, and the full list of vehicle makes — all from NHTSA's official public APIs.

Data Source

Data is served by two NHTSA public APIs:

• VPIC API (vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api) — VIN decoding and vehicle catalog lookups
• NHTSA Safety API (api.nhtsa.gov) — recalls, safety ratings, and complaints

Both APIs are completely free with no authentication or API key needed.

Modes

Mode	Description
decodeVIN	Decode a VIN to full vehicle specs (make, model, year, engine, transmission, plant, etc.)
getVehicleModels	List all vehicle models for a given make and model year
getRecalls	Official NHTSA safety recalls for a make/model/year
getSafetyRatings	NCAP crash test star ratings for a make/model/year
getComplaints	Consumer-reported safety complaints for a make/model/year
getMakes	All vehicle makes in the NHTSA VPIC database (12,000+)

Input

Field	Type	Description
mode	String (select)	Data to fetch — see modes above (default: decodeVIN)
vin	String	17-character VIN to decode (mode=decodeVIN)
vins	Array	Multiple VINs for batch decode (takes precedence over vin)
make	String	Vehicle make (e.g. Toyota, Ford) — required for most modes
model	String	Vehicle model (e.g. Camry, F-150) — required for recalls/ratings/complaints
modelYear	Integer	Four-digit model year (1950–2027)
maxItems	Integer	Maximum records to return (1–500, default 20)

Output

decodeVIN

{
  "vin": "1HGBH41JXMN109186",
  "make": "HONDA",
  "model": "Civic",
  "modelYear": "2021",
  "bodyClass": "Sedan/Saloon",
  "engineCylinders": "4",
  "engineDisplacement": "1.5",
  "fuelType": "Gasoline",
  "transmissionStyle": "Continuously Variable Transmission(CVT)",
  "vehicleType": "PASSENGER CAR",
  "plantCity": "MARYSVILLE",
  "plantCountry": "UNITED STATES (USA)",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-06-03T10:00:00+00:00"
}

getRecalls

{
  "nhtsaId": "20V682000",
  "manufacturer": "Toyota Motor Engineering",
  "make": "TOYOTA",
  "model": "CAMRY",
  "modelYear": 2022,
  "subject": "Fuel Pump May Fail",
  "component": "FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP",
  "summary": "The fuel pump impeller may crack and cause the engine to stall.",
  "consequence": "If the engine stalls while driving, a crash may occur.",
  "remedy": "Dealers will replace the fuel pump assembly, free of charge.",
  "reportReceivedDate": "09/17/2020",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-06-03T10:00:00+00:00"
}

getSafetyRatings

{
  "make": "TOYOTA",
  "model": "CAMRY",
  "modelYear": 2022,
  "vehicleDescription": "2022 Toyota Camry 4 DR FWD",
  "overallRating": "5",
  "overallFrontCrashRating": "5",
  "overallSideCrashRating": "5",
  "rolloverRating": "4",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-06-03T10:00:00+00:00"
}

Use Cases

• Fleet & Insurance — decode VINs in bulk to enrich vehicle databases
• Safety Research — track recall history and complaint patterns by make/model
• Automotive Apps — look up NCAP ratings to compare vehicle safety
• Data Journalism — investigate recall patterns across manufacturers
• Car Shopping — check if a specific vehicle has open recalls before purchase

FAQs

Is an API key required? No. NHTSA provides completely free public APIs with no authentication.

What VIN format is accepted? Standard 17-character VINs (North American vehicles). The VPIC API handles validation.

How current is the recall data? NHTSA recalls are updated continuously. The API reflects the live NHTSA database.

What makes/models are available for safety ratings? Only vehicles that have participated in NCAP crash testing. Not every make/model/year has ratings.

Can I decode multiple VINs at once? Yes — provide a list of VINs in the vins field for batch decoding.

What is the rate limit? NHTSA imposes no documented rate limit on public API use. The scraper adds small delays between requests to be polite.