# Automotive Recall Scraper (`e-commerce/automotive-recall-scraper`) Actor

- **URL**: https://apify.com/e-commerce/automotive-recall-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [E Commerce](https://apify.com/e-commerce) (community)
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.10 / 1,000 recall checkeds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Automotive Recall Scraper

Paste vehicle **VINs** in bulk and get every open safety recall for each one. Each VIN is decoded to its make, model and year, then checked against [NHTSA](https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls), the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — one record per VIN, charged per VIN.

### What does the Automotive Recall Scraper do?

- **Takes VINs in bulk.** Paste a list, upload a file, or point at a Google Sheet. Each VIN comes back as one record.
- **Decodes every VIN** to its make, model and model year, so you do not have to supply them.
- **Returns every recall** NHTSA lists for that vehicle, with the NHTSA campaign number, a summary, the safety risk, the remedy and the manufacturer's notes.
- **Answers for every VIN.** A VIN with no open recalls comes back with an empty recall list — a valid, charged answer — so a batch never silently drops a VIN.
- **Returns everything NHTSA publishes.** Nothing is filtered out, so your own matching or cleaning rules stay yours.

### What you get per VIN

| Field | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `vin` | The VIN you asked about. |
| `make`, `model`, `modelYear` | Decoded from the VIN. |
| `recallCount` | How many recalls this vehicle has. |
| `recalls[]` | One entry per recall, each with the fields below. |

Each recall entry carries:

| Field | Source |
| --- | --- |
| `nhtsaRecallNumber` | NHTSA campaign number, e.g. `19V060000`. |
| `summary` | What is being recalled and why. |
| `safetyRisk` | The safety risk the defect creates. |
| `remedy` | How the manufacturer will fix it. |
| `manufacturerNotes` | The manufacturer's notes, e.g. how to reach them. |
| `manufacturerRecallNumber` | The manufacturer's own recall number. Per-VIN OEM data — see below. |
| `recallStatus` | Whether this specific VIN's recall is still open or has been completed. Per-VIN OEM data — see below. |
| `additionalProperties` | Everything else NHTSA publishes: component, report date, park-it / park-outside / over-the-air-update flags. |

#### Per-VIN recall status

`manufacturerRecallNumber` and `recallStatus` are per-VIN values that come from the vehicle manufacturer, not from NHTSA's public recall feed, which is at the make/model/year level. They are returned as `null` from the NHTSA lookup and are filled by the manufacturer/OEM recall source when it is enabled for your run.

### Quick start

1. Paste your VINs into **VINs**, one per line — or upload a file, or point at a Google Sheet.
2. Optionally set **Maximum VINs**, which caps the run.
3. Click **Start** and export the dataset to JSON, CSV, Excel or XML.

### Input parameters

| Field | Type | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `vins` | array | The VINs to look up — one row per recall. |
| `sources` | array | Which sources to use: `nhtsa`, `carfax`, or both (default). NHTSA gives the full recall list with notes; CARFAX adds the per-VIN open/closed status and the manufacturer recall number. |
| `maxResults` | integer | Stop after this many VINs. Optional — leave empty to look up every VIN you provided. |

Output is one row per recall (a VIN with no recalls still returns one row stating that), charged once per VIN.

# Actor input Schema

## `vins` (type: `array`):

Paste the 17-character VINs you want to check, one per line. Each VIN comes back as one record listing every safety recall for that vehicle: the NHTSA campaign number, what is being recalled, the safety risk, the remedy and the manufacturer's notes. A VIN with no open recalls comes back with an empty recall list, so every VIN you enter gets an answer.

Recalls are sourced from NHTSA, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and cover vehicles sold in the United States. Everything NHTSA publishes is returned and nothing is filtered out, so any matching or cleaning rules stay yours.

## `sources` (type: `array`):

Where to look recalls up. NHTSA returns the full list of recalls for the vehicle with the summary, safety risk, remedy and the manufacturer's notes. CARFAX adds, per VIN, the manufacturer's own recall number and whether each recall is still open on that specific car. Pick both to get everything. Leave empty to use both.

## `carfaxCookie` (type: `string`):

Required for the CARFAX fields (manufacturer recall number and per-VIN open/closed status). Paste the cookie from a signed-in carfax.com/recall browser session (DevTools → Application → Cookies → the `datadome` value, or the whole cookie header). It expires after a few hours, so refresh it before a run. Leave empty to use NHTSA only.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Stop after looking up this many VINs. Leave empty to look up every VIN you provided.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "vins": [
    "1HGCR2F3XFA000000",
    "1FTFW1ET5EFA00000",
    "19XFC2F59GE000000"
  ],
  "sources": [
    "nhtsa",
    "carfax"
  ]
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `recalls` (type: `string`):

Every recall found, one row per recall.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "vins": [
        "1HGCR2F3XFA000000",
        "1FTFW1ET5EFA00000",
        "19XFC2F59GE000000"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("e-commerce/automotive-recall-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "vins": [
        "1HGCR2F3XFA000000",
        "1FTFW1ET5EFA00000",
        "19XFC2F59GE000000",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("e-commerce/automotive-recall-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "vins": [
    "1HGCR2F3XFA000000",
    "1FTFW1ET5EFA00000",
    "19XFC2F59GE000000"
  ]
}' |
apify call e-commerce/automotive-recall-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,e-commerce/automotive-recall-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/c1jW4adlSSUJsdHTP/builds/pYRlLf8eeafl9iMpI/openapi.json