Vehicle Model-Year Risk Comparator: best & worst years to buy (NHTSA recalls, complaints, crash ratings)

Which year of this car should I buy, and which should I avoid? Enter a make, model and a range of years. The Actor pulls official US government (NHTSA) recall, owner-complaint and NCAP crash-test data for every year, scores each year 0–100 (higher = more risk), ranks them best to worst, and labels each one best pick / average / avoid.

There are many plain recall-lookup tools. This one compares the years of one model against each other, which is the question used-car buyers actually ask.

What you get for each model year

• Recall count, "park it / park outside" recalls, NHTSA campaign numbers and recalled components
• Owner complaint count, complaints about serious systems (airbags, brakes, steering, fuel, powertrain, engine, electrical, speed control)
• Crash and fire complaints, reported injuries and deaths
• Top 5 complaint components
• Average NCAP overall star rating (1–5)
• riskScore (0–100, relative to the other years), rankBestToWorst, verdict

Who it's for

Used-car buyers, dealers, car-content and review sites ("best/worst years" articles), insurers, fleet buyers, and mechanics.

Input

Field	Example	Notes
make	Toyota
model	Camry	Use the NHTSA name, e.g. Silverado 1500, not Silverado. If no data is found, the Actor suggests names it knows.
modelYears	2016-2019 or 2014,2016	1–30 years
vehicles	[{"make":"Honda","model":"Civic","modelYears":"2016-2018"}]	Compare several models in one run (overrides the fields above)
includeSafetyRatings	true	Adds NCAP stars
maxVehicles	10	Safety cap

{
  "vehicles": [
    {"make": "Toyota", "model": "Camry", "modelYears": "2016-2019"},
    {"make": "Hyundai", "model": "Sonata", "modelYears": "2011-2013"}
  ]
}

Example output

Toyota Camry 2016–2019, real data from an October 2026 run:

Year	Recalls	Complaints	NCAP	Risk score	Verdict
2016	2	189	5.0	23.9	best pick
2017	3	148	5.0	32.3	average
2018	8	748	5.0	87.0	avoid
2019	6	398	5.0	46.3	average

One dataset row (shortened):

{
  "make": "TOYOTA", "model": "CAMRY", "modelYear": 2018,
  "recallCount": 8, "parkItOrOutsideRecalls": 0,
  "recallCampaigns": ["..."], "recallComponents": ["..."],
  "complaintCount": 748, "seriousSystemComplaints": 0,
  "crashComplaints": 0, "fireComplaints": 0, "injuries": 0, "deaths": 0,
  "topComplaintComponents": [{"component": "...", "count": 0}],
  "ncapOverallRating": 5.0, "dataFound": true,
  "riskScore": 87.0, "rankBestToWorst": 4, "verdict": "avoid"
}

If NHTSA has no data for a vehicle, you get one row with an error and suggestedModels, and you are not charged for it.

Use with AI agents (MCP)

Connect this Actor to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or any MCP client with Apify's hosted MCP server:

https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=jyaussie/vehicle-year-risk-comparator

Example prompts:

• "Which Ford Focus model years have the most NHTSA recalls and complaints?"
• "Best and worst years to buy a Honda CR-V?"
• "Compare NHTSA car recalls for Toyota Camry 2012-2018."

Pricing

Pay per event: $0.01 per model year analysed. A 7-year comparison costs $0.07. No platform usage fees.

Data source & disclaimer

• Data comes only from the free, official NHTSA public APIs (api.nhtsa.gov, US government open data). This Actor is not affiliated with or endorsed by NHTSA.
• US-market vehicles only. Models sold in Europe or elsewhere under the same name may differ, and non-US recalls are not included.
• Complaints are unverified owner reports, and counts depend on how many cars were sold. The risk score only compares years of the same model with each other. It is not an absolute safety rating, not a vehicle history report, and not professional advice. Always check a specific car by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls and have it inspected.
• Output holds only aggregate counts: no complaint narratives, VINs or other personal data.