# NHTSA Vehicle Recalls & Complaints: Car Recall Lookup (`lepidata/nhtsa-recalls-complaints`) Actor

Look up US vehicle recalls and owner complaints by make, model and year from NHTSA's public API: campaign number, component, summary, remedy and dates. Unofficial. Confirm recalls at nhtsa.gov.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/lepidata/nhtsa-recalls-complaints.md
- **Developed by:** [Lepi Data](https://apify.com/lepidata) (community)
- **Categories:** Business, Other
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.10 / 1,000 vehicle recalls

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

## NHTSA Vehicle Recalls & Complaints

*Unofficial tool. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) or the U.S. Department of Transportation.*

Look up safety recalls and owner complaints for US vehicles by make, model and model year, and export them as one row per record. It's for dealers, used-car buyers and sellers, fleet managers, repair shops and researchers.

**Input:** one or more make, model and year combinations (or recall campaign numbers), and a mode: recalls, complaints or both.

**Output (recalls):** campaign number, component, summary, consequence, remedy, notes, report date, units affected (campaign lookups), park-it and park-outside flags, and a link to the recall on nhtsa.gov. **Output (complaints):** complaint ID, components, filed and incident dates, crash and fire flags, injury and death counts, and NHTSA's redacted summary.

**This is not safety advice.** Recall status can change. Always confirm open recalls for a specific vehicle by its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Have a VIN? Use our NHTSA VIN decoder Actor.

### Vehicle recalls and car complaints input

- `make`, `model`, `modelYear`: one vehicle, e.g. Honda / Accord / 2020
- `vehicles`: more vehicles as `[{"make":"Ford","model":"F-150","modelYear":2021}]` (up to 200)
- `campaignNumbers`: NHTSA recall campaign numbers, e.g. `20V314000`
- `include`: `both` (default), `recalls` or `complaints`
- `complaintsFiledFrom`: YYYY-MM-DD
- `maxResults`: up to 10,000

### Output fields

Recall rows: `campaignNumber`, `manufacturer`, `make`, `model`, `modelYear`, `reportReceivedDate`, `component`, `summary`, `consequence`, `remedy`, `notes`, `potentialUnitsAffected`, `parkIt`, `parkOutside`, `overTheAirUpdate`, `recallUrl`, `confirmAt`

Complaint rows: `odiNumber`, `manufacturer`, `make`, `model`, `modelYear`, `dateComplaintFiled`, `dateOfIncident`, `components`, `crash`, `fire`, `numberOfInjuries`, `numberOfDeaths`, `summary`

The partial VIN in complaint records is dropped, and emails and phone numbers are removed from complaint summaries.

Free status rows (not charged): `no-results`, `invalid-input`, `api-error`, `free-plan-limit`, `charge-limit-reached`.

**Example:** `{"make":"Honda","model":"Accord","modelYear":2020,"include":"both","maxResults":10}`

### Ready-made examples

- [Ford F-150 (2021) Recalls and Complaints](https://apify.com/lepidata/nhtsa-recalls-complaints/examples/ford-f150-2021-recalls-complaints): NHTSA safety recalls and owner complaints for the 2021 Ford F-150 in one table; change the make, model and year for any vehicle.

Unofficial examples. Not affiliated with or endorsed by any company or agency named above.

### Data source and compliance

- Source: NHTSA's public recalls and complaints API (api.nhtsa.gov). No key. Paced at about 2 requests a second.
- Not safety advice. Confirm open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
- No NHTSA or DOT logos are used.
- Free-plan accounts get up to 100 results per run.

**Pricing.** Pay per result: $0.10 per 1,000 records ($0.0001 each), the same price on every plan, no start fee. Free status rows are never charged.

# Actor input Schema

## `make` (type: `string`):

Vehicle make as NHTSA lists it, e.g. Honda, Ford, Tesla. Give at least one of make + model + modelYear, a vehicles list, or recall campaign numbers; with none, the run returns a free invalid-input row and nothing is charged.

## `model` (type: `string`):

Model, e.g. Accord, F-150, Model 3.

## `modelYear` (type: `integer`):

4-digit model year, e.g. 2020. Used with make and model.

## `vehicles` (type: `array`):

Optional list of more vehicles: \[{"make":"Ford","model":"F-150","modelYear":2021}]. Up to 200.

## `campaignNumbers` (type: `array`):

Optional NHTSA recall campaign numbers, e.g. 20V314000. Returns every vehicle covered by each recall.

## `include` (type: `string`):

What to return for each vehicle.

## `complaintsFiledFrom` (type: `string`):

YYYY-MM-DD. Only complaints filed on or after this date.

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

Total recall + complaint rows, up to 10,000.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "make": "Honda",
  "model": "Accord",
  "modelYear": 2020,
  "include": "both",
  "maxResults": 10
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `items` (type: `string`):

All rows from this run.

# 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 = {
    "make": "Honda",
    "model": "Accord",
    "modelYear": 2020,
    "maxResults": 10
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("lepidata/nhtsa-recalls-complaints").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 = {
    "make": "Honda",
    "model": "Accord",
    "modelYear": 2020,
    "maxResults": 10,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("lepidata/nhtsa-recalls-complaints").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 '{
  "make": "Honda",
  "model": "Accord",
  "modelYear": 2020,
  "maxResults": 10
}' |
apify call lepidata/nhtsa-recalls-complaints --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,lepidata/nhtsa-recalls-complaints"
        }
    }
}
```

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/4GpZ9cepnXzOkAsrR/builds/CkjERFVcn60T4XeQv/openapi.json