VIN Decoder in Bulk – Specs, Recalls, Complaints & NCAP Safety Ratings

Decode Vehicle Identification Numbers in bulk with the official NHTSA data used by US dealers, insurers and fleets. For every VIN you get year, make, model, trim, body, engine, fuel, drivetrain, transmission, assembly plant and safety equipment, plus the vehicle's open safety recalls, an owner-complaints summary and NHTSA 5-Star (NCAP) crash ratings, in one row.

No API key, no login. $1 per 1,000 decoded VINs. Invalid or undecodable VINs are free.

What it does

• Bulk decoding through NHTSA's vPIC batch API (50 VINs per call). Thousands of VINs per run.
• Specs: make, model, model year, trim, series, manufacturer, vehicle type, body class, cab type, doors, seats, drive type, cylinders, displacement, horsepower, engine model, fuel type (primary/secondary), electrification level, battery kWh, transmission, GVWR class and plant city/state/country.
• Safety equipment: ABS, ESC, adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, lane departure warning, blind-spot monitoring, backup camera.
• Recalls for the make/model/year: campaign number, date, component, summary, consequence, remedy, and the "park it" / "park outside" and over-the-air fix flags.
• Owner complaints summary: total complaints, complaints with crash or fire, injuries, deaths, and the top 5 complaint components.
• NCAP crash ratings: overall, frontal, side and rollover stars for the best-matching variant (drive type, doors, cab), plus every rated variant of that model year.
• Check-digit validation (9th character) and NHTSA's decode notes, so you can spot typos.
• All ~150 vPIC fields on request (includeAllFields).
• Invalid VINs (wrong length, I/O/Q letters) and VINs NHTSA cannot decode get a free error row. Duplicates are decoded once.

Use cases

• Used-car marketplaces and dealers: fill listing specs and show open recalls from a VIN.
• Insurance and lending: verify year, make, model and body before quoting.
• Fleet managers: check a whole fleet for open recalls and "park it" warnings.
• Auto parts and repair shops: identify engine, transmission and drivetrain.
• Data enrichment of CRM, auction or DMV exports.

Input example

{
  "vins": ["1HGCM82633A004352", "5YJ3E1EA7KF317000", "1FTFW1E50KFA12345"],
  "includeRecalls": true,
  "includeComplaints": true,
  "includeSafetyRatings": true
}

Output example

{
  "vin": "1FTFW1E50KFA12345", "decoded": true, "modelYear": 2019, "make": "FORD", "model": "F-150",
  "manufacturer": "FORD MOTOR COMPANY", "vehicleType": "TRUCK", "bodyClass": "Pickup", "cabType": "Crew/Super Crew/Crew Max",
  "driveType": "4WD/4-Wheel Drive/4x4", "engineCylinders": 8, "displacementL": 5, "engineHp": 395, "fuelTypePrimary": "Gasoline",
  "plantCity": "DEARBORN", "plantCountry": "UNITED STATES (USA)", "esc": "Standard", "backupCamera": "Standard",
  "checkDigitValid": true,
  "recallsCount": 9,
  "recalls": [{"campaignNumber": "20V097000", "reportDate": "2020-02-21", "component": "EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS",
               "remedy": "Ford will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the body control module, free of charge…",
               "parkIt": false, "parkOutside": false, "overTheAirUpdate": false}],
  "complaintsCount": 61, "complaintsWithCrash": 0, "complaintsWithFire": 0,
  "ncapOverallRating": "5", "ncapFrontCrashRating": "5", "ncapSideCrashRating": "5", "ncapRolloverRating": "4",
  "ncapVehicleDescription": "2019 Ford F-150 Super Crew PU/CC 4x4"
}

Pricing (pay per event)

Event	Price
VIN decoded (specs + recalls + complaints + NCAP ratings)	$0.001
Actor start	$0.00005

Invalid and undecodable VINs are free. Set a maximum cost per run and the Actor stops cleanly at that limit.

Actor	Price per VIN
This Actor	$0.001 (all enrichments included)
s-r/vin-decoder	$0.0015

Competitor price from the Apify Store on 2026-10-18.

FAQ

Does it work for non-US vehicles? NHTSA covers vehicles sold in the US and Canada. Many European or Asian-market VINs decode only the make and year; those rows are returned free with an explanation.

Are recalls specific to my VIN? Recalls are listed for the make, model and model year (that is what the public API provides). To confirm whether a specific car's recall was already repaired, check the manufacturer or nhtsa.gov/recalls with the VIN.

Where does the data come from? NHTSA's public vPIC, Recalls, Complaints and Safety Ratings APIs (US government data). This Actor is not affiliated with or endorsed by NHTSA.

Use with AI agents (Apify MCP)

Works as a tool in the Apify MCP server: an agent can decode a VIN and answer "what engine does this car have and does it have open recalls?".