# NHTSA Vehicle Recalls and Complaints Scraper (`parselab/nhtsa-vehicle-safety-scraper`) Actor

Look up official NHTSA vehicle safety recalls and owner complaints by make, model and year. Get recall campaign numbers, affected components, consequences, remedies and units affected, plus complaint crash, fire, injury and death flags. Export the results to CSV or Excel.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/parselab/nhtsa-vehicle-safety-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [ParseLab](https://apify.com/parselab) (community)
- **Categories:** Business, Other
- **Stats:** 1 total users, 0 monthly users, 0.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $15.00 / 1,000 results

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 and Complaints Scraper

This NHTSA scraper looks up official vehicle safety recalls and owner complaints for any make, model and year. In recall mode you get the campaign number, the affected component, what the defect can cause, the manufacturer's remedy and, if you turn it on, how many vehicles are affected. In complaint mode you get every consumer complaint with crash, fire, injury and death flags, the VIN prefix and the owner's own description.

Insurers, dealers, used car buyers, fleet managers, lawyers and journalists use it to check a vehicle's safety history in bulk instead of searching one car at a time.

### What can you do with this NHTSA scraper?

- Check recalls for a Honda Accord 2020
- Find every NHTSA recall campaign for a make and model
- See how many vehicles are affected by a recall
- Find owner complaints about a specific vehicle
- List complaints that involve a crash, fire, injury or death
- Find recalls that tell owners to park outside or stop driving
- See which recalls can be fixed with an over-the-air update
- Track recall activity for a fleet of vehicles
- Export NHTSA recall and complaint data to CSV or Excel

### Two modes

| Mode | What you get |
|---|---|
| **Recalls** | Official safety recall campaigns for the vehicle |
| **Owner Complaints** | Consumer complaints filed with NHTSA for the vehicle |

### What data can you extract from NHTSA?

Recall fields:

| Field | What it holds |
|---|---|
| `campaignNumber` | NHTSA campaign ID, for example 20V771000 |
| `manufacturer` | Company that issued the recall |
| `component` | The part or system with the problem |
| `summary` | What is wrong and which vehicles are covered |
| `consequence` | What could happen if it is not fixed |
| `remedy` | How the manufacturer will fix it |
| `notes` | Extra owner guidance and hotline numbers |
| `reportReceivedDate` | Date the recall was reported |
| `parkIt`, `parkOutside` | Whether owners are told to stop driving or park outside |
| `overTheAirUpdate` | Whether a software update fixes it |
| `affectedUnits` | Estimated vehicles affected (turn on the option below) |
| `recordUrl` | Link to the recall on nhtsa.gov |

Complaint fields:

| Field | What it holds |
|---|---|
| `odiNumber` | NHTSA complaint ID |
| `crash`, `fire` | Whether a crash or fire was reported |
| `numberOfInjuries`, `numberOfDeaths` | Reported harm |
| `dateOfIncident`, `dateComplaintFiled` | Key dates |
| `vinPrefix` | First characters of the VIN |
| `components` | Systems involved |
| `summary` | The owner's description |
| `products` | Vehicle year, make and model |

### How to scrape NHTSA recalls

1. Choose **Recalls** or **Owner Complaints**.
2. Enter the make, model and model year. All three are needed.
3. For recalls, switch on **Fetch affected-units count** if you want the number of vehicles affected.
4. Click **Start** and export the dataset as CSV, Excel or from the Apify console.

### Input example

```json
{
  "recordType": "recall",
  "make": "honda",
  "model": "accord",
  "modelYear": 2020,
  "fetchDetails": true,
  "maxItems": 20
}
```

### Output example

```json
{
  "recordType": "recall",
  "manufacturer": "Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)",
  "campaignNumber": "20V771000",
  "component": "ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:BODY CONTROL MODULE:SOFTWARE",
  "consequence": "Various system malfunctions such as inoperative windshield wipers, defroster, rearview camera, or exterior lighting can increase the risk of a crash.",
  "reportReceivedDate": "10/12/2020",
  "parkIt": false,
  "overTheAirUpdate": false,
  "affectedUnits": 737233,
  "recordUrl": "https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls?nhtsaId=20V771000"
}
```

### How much does it cost to scrape NHTSA?

You pay per result: $20 per 1,000 results plus a tiny start fee. The free plan returns up to 10 results per run. The affected-units option makes one extra lookup per unique campaign, so it adds a little time but no extra cost per result.

### Who uses vehicle safety data?

- **Used car buyers and dealers** check a car's recall history before a purchase.
- **Insurers** look for patterns of complaints on specific models.
- **Fleet managers** watch recalls across the vehicles they run.
- **Lawyers and journalists** research defect trends.

### FAQ

**Do I need an NHTSA account?**
No. The Actor works without any login.

**Why do I need the make, model and year?**
NHTSA looks up recalls and complaints per vehicle, so all three are needed for each search. Run the Actor once per vehicle you care about.

**Can I search by VIN?**
Not in this version. Search by make, model and year.

**Are complaints verified?**
No. Complaints are reported by owners and are not checked by NHTSA before they are published.

### Automate and connect

Schedule the Actor from the Apify console to refresh the data daily or weekly. Send finished datasets to Google Sheets, Zapier, Make or n8n, or trigger a webhook when a run ends, so your reports and alerts update without manual work.

### Legal note

This Actor collects information that is publicly visible on the website. Check the source site's terms and your local rules before using the data.

### Support

Missing a field or found a bug? Open an issue from the Actor page.

# Actor input Schema

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Free users: Limited to 10 items (preview). Paid users: Optional, max 1,000,000.

## `recordType` (type: `string`):

Recalls: official safety recall campaigns. Complaints: consumer-filed complaints (crash/fire/injury flags, VIN prefix, free-text description).

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

Vehicle make, e.g. 'honda', 'ford', 'tesla'.

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

Vehicle model, e.g. 'accord', 'f-150', 'model 3'.

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

Four-digit model year, e.g. 2020.

## `fetchDetails` (type: `boolean`):

For each recall, look up its campaign detail to include the estimated number of vehicles affected nationwide. Off by default for speed; turn on for the full picture at the cost of one extra request per unique recall campaign.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "maxItems": 10,
  "recordType": "recall",
  "fetchDetails": false
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `overview` (type: `string`):

No description

# 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 = {
    "maxItems": 10
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("parselab/nhtsa-vehicle-safety-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 = { "maxItems": 10 }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("parselab/nhtsa-vehicle-safety-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 '{
  "maxItems": 10
}' |
apify call parselab/nhtsa-vehicle-safety-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,parselab/nhtsa-vehicle-safety-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/VfDBs29aPNHF8w8Vn/builds/3ex3OZ0mYlt2tmsOj/openapi.json