VIN Decoder Bulk: Specs, Recalls, MPG & Fuel Cost per Mile

Paste a list of VINs and get one clean row per vehicle: year, make, model, trim, engine, drive type and body from NHTSA vPIC, every NHTSA safety recall campaign for that model, EPA city/highway/combined MPG, and fuel cost per mile from this week's EIA gas price for your state, right next to the IRS business mileage rate.

• 🚗 Built for fleets, gig drivers and used-car buyers: rideshare and delivery fleets, dealers, flippers, insurers, lenders and app developers.
• 🏛️ Official US government data only: NHTSA, EPA and EIA open data. No scraping, no proxies, no API key.
• ⛽ Real running costs: MPG × the latest weekly EIA retail price = $/mile, $/100 miles and annual fuel cost for your mileage.
• 💲 $2.00 per 1,000 VINs ($0.002 per VIN). No start fee and no monthly rental. Apify compute is included.

What does this VIN decoder do?

For each VIN it:

1. Decodes the VIN with NHTSA's vPIC batch API (50 VINs per call): model year, make, model, trim, series, body class, vehicle type, drive type, doors, cylinders, displacement, horsepower, fuel type, hybrid/EV level, transmission, GVWR, manufacturer and assembly plant. It also checks the VIN's check digit.
2. Lists NHTSA recall campaigns for that model year, make and model from NHTSA's official bulk recall file: campaign number, components, defect summary, consequence, remedy, dates, units affected, and Do Not Drive / Park Outside advisories, with a link to the recall on nhtsa.gov.
3. Matches the vehicle to EPA fuel-economy data (fueleconomy.gov) using engine size, cylinders, drive and hybrid/EV type: city, highway and combined MPG (or kWh/100 mi for EVs), EPA annual fuel cost and CO₂ per mile. When several EPA versions fit, it tells you so (epaMatchQuality, mpgCombinedRange).
4. Prices the fuel with the latest weekly EIA retail price for the vehicle's grade (regular, midgrade, premium or diesel) in your state or region, and returns fuel cost per mile, per 100 miles and per year.
5. Adds the IRS business standard mileage rate (76¢/mile for July 1 to Dec 31, 2026) and the difference between that rate and your fuel cost per mile.

In a local test on Oct 27, 2026, 4 VINs were decoded, matched to 18 recall campaigns and EPA data, and priced in about 6 seconds.

⚠️ Important: recalls are by model, not by VIN

This Actor cannot confirm whether a recall applies to a specific car or is still open (unrepaired). NHTSA's public data lists recalls by model year, make and model; only the manufacturer knows which VINs are affected and which were repaired. Every row includes this note. To check open recalls on one car, enter the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls or ask a dealer. (We deliberately do not use api.nhtsa.gov, which says it is not meant for bulk VIN lookups.)

Use cases

• Rideshare and delivery fleets: screen every vehicle for recall campaigns with Do Not Drive warnings, and compare real fuel cost per mile across the fleet.
• Gig drivers: see what a car really costs per mile in fuel versus the 76¢ IRS mileage deduction.
• Used-car dealers and flippers: decode auction lists in bulk, flag models with serious recalls, and add MPG to listings.
• Insurance, lending and leasing: standardize year/make/model/trim from VINs and enrich applications.
• App and spreadsheet builders: call it from the Apify API, Zapier, Make, n8n, Google Sheets or AI agents.

How to use it

1. Click Try for free.
2. Paste your VINs, one per line.
3. Set your state (for the gas price) and miles driven per year.
4. Click Start, then download the results as JSON, CSV or Excel, or get them through the API.

Input example

{
  "vins": ["4T1B11HK8JU080221", "1FTFW1ET9DFC10312", "3GNAXUEV9KL221234", "JTDKARFU4K3082224"],
  "state": "TX",
  "annualMiles": 30000,
  "includeRecalls": true,
  "includeFuelEconomy": true
}

(These are sample VINs with valid check digits, used only for testing.)

Output example

A real row from a test run on Oct 27, 2026 (recall list and texts shortened here):

{
  "vin": "4T1B11HK8JU080221",
  "checkDigitValid": true,
  "decodedOk": true,
  "modelYear": 2018,
  "make": "TOYOTA",
  "model": "Camry",
  "trim": "L/LE/SE/XLE",
  "bodyClass": "Sedan/Saloon",
  "driveType": "4x2",
  "engineCylinders": "4",
  "displacementL": "2.5",
  "engineHP": "203",
  "fuelTypePrimary": "Gasoline",
  "transmissionStyle": "Automatic",
  "plantCity": "GEORGETOWN",
  "plantState": "KENTUCKY",
  "recallCount": 8,
  "hasDoNotDriveRecall": false,
  "hasParkOutsideRecall": false,
  "recalls": [
    {
      "campaignNumber": "25V028000",
      "components": ["FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP"],
      "summary": "Toyota ... is recalling certain 2018 Camry ... The low-pressure fuel pump ...",
      "consequence": "Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall, increasing the risk of a crash.",
      "remedy": "Dealers will replace the fuel pump assembly, free of charge. ...",
      "reportReceivedDate": "2025-01-22",
      "potentiallyAffected": 858,
      "doNotDrive": false,
      "parkOutside": false,
      "nhtsaUrl": "https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls?nhtsaId=25V028000"
    }
  ],
  "recallNote": "Recalls are matched by model year, make and model ... This does NOT confirm whether a recall applies to this specific VIN or is still open ...",
  "epaMatchQuality": "exact",
  "epaModel": "Camry LE/SE",
  "mpgCity": 28,
  "mpgHighway": 39,
  "mpgCombined": 32,
  "epaAnnualFuelCost": 2100,
  "co2GramsPerMile": 277,
  "fuelGrade": "regular",
  "fuelPricePerGallon": 4.269,
  "fuelPriceArea": "U.S.",
  "fuelPriceWeek": "2026-10-26",
  "fuelCostPerMile": 0.1334,
  "fuelCostPer100Miles": 13.34,
  "annualFuelCostAtCurrentPrice": 2001.09,
  "irsMileageRateCents": 76,
  "irsRatePeriod": "2026-07-01 to 2026-12-31",
  "irsRateMinusFuelCostPerMile": 0.6266
}

Turn on Include the full vPIC decode to add all ~150 NHTSA fields (airbags, driver-assist systems, wheelbase, battery and more) as a nested vpic object.

Pricing

$0.002 per VIN, or $2.00 per 1,000 VINs. No start fee and no monthly rental, and Apify compute is included. You are charged only for VINs that NHTSA vPIC actually decodes (a make and model come back with no fatal error). VINs that vPIC cannot decode are still saved, with charged: false and an error explaining why, at no cost. Malformed entries (not 17 characters, or containing I, O or Q) are skipped and not charged. Set Maximum cost per run in Apify and the Actor stops exactly at your limit.

VINs	Cost
100	$0.20
1,000	$2.00
10,000	$20.00

Data sources and credits

• NHTSA vPIC (Product Information Catalog and Vehicle Listing), DecodeVINValuesBatch. Free public service; NHTSA information may be distributed or copied.
• NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010), which NHTSA updates daily.
• EPA / DOE fueleconomy.gov vehicle data (vehicles.csv). Public domain.
• Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Weekly Retail Gasoline and Diesel Prices. EIA publishes state prices for CA, CO, FL, MA, MN, NY, OH, TX and WA; every other state gets its PADD region price, and the area used is shown in fuelPriceArea.
• IRS standard mileage rates (Notice 2026-10 and Announcement 2026-11).

This Actor is independent and is not endorsed by NHTSA, EPA, DOE, EIA or the IRS.

FAQ

Can it tell me if a recall on my car was fixed? No. Public NHTSA data is by model, not by VIN. Check one VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a dealer.

Why do some rows say epaMatchQuality: approximate? A VIN doesn't always pin down one EPA version (for example 2WD vs AWD, or two engines). We pick the closest match by engine, cylinders, drive and powertrain and give the MPG range in mpgCombinedRange.

Does it work for trucks, motorcycles and older cars? vPIC decodes VINs from 1981 on, including trucks, buses, trailers and motorcycles. EPA MPG covers light-duty cars and trucks from 1984 on. Heavy trucks and motorcycles get specs and recalls but no MPG.

Electric vehicles? EVs get kWh/100 miles. Enter your electricity price ($/kWh) to get cost per mile; otherwise we use EPA's annual cost estimate.

How fast is it? Thousands of VINs per run. vPIC is called in batches of 50, and the recall, EPA and EIA files are downloaded once per run.

Is this legal to use? Yes. All the sources are US government open data that may be redistributed. We don't scrape any website or use the NHTSA endpoint that isn't meant for bulk lookups.

Need another field or found a mismatch? Open an issue on the Actor's Issues tab.