# NHTSA Manufacturer Communications Change API (`rustic_soybean/nhtsa-manufacturer-communications-change-api`) Actor

Monitor manufacturer technical service bulletins by vehicle and date. Not a recall lookup.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/rustic_soybean/nhtsa-manufacturer-communications-change-api.md
- **Developed by:** [Chris Johnson](https://apify.com/rustic_soybean) (community)
- **Categories:** Automation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$50.00 / 1,000 completed nhtsa record or website analyses

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

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 Manufacturer Communications Change API

Normalize the **public NHTSA manufacturer communications** feed into product-level, machine-readable records. Designed for fleet software, repair networks, and automotive intelligence agents that need a repeatable feed of manufacturer bulletins, service campaigns, warranty extensions, and other communications.

### What it does

Reads the current NHTSA 2025–2026 manufacturer communications TSV flat file, filters by make/model/model year and **NHTSA file-added date**, collapses duplicate component rows, and returns stable record keys and content fingerprints. Pass previous key/hash pairs with `changesOnly: true` to detect records that are new to your baseline or whose content has changed.

A manufacturer communication is **not** necessarily a recall. This tool does **not** determine VIN applicability or certify that a vehicle is safe. NHTSA updates its public files periodically; the Actor does not claim real-time data.

### Example input

```json
{"make":"Ford","addedSince":"2026-01-01","maxResults":10}
```

### Output

One dataset item per matched product-level communication. Each item contains NHTSA identifier, manufacturer document ID, make/model/year, communication and file-added dates, communication type, summary, component systems, stable `key`, `fingerprint`, and `changeType`. A `SUMMARY` record in the default key-value store records source freshness, counts, truncation, and errors.

### Change detection

The first run returns `NOT_COMPARED` (not falsely labeled new). Store the returned `key` and `fingerprint` pairs. On later runs pass `previousFingerprints` and `changesOnly: true`. New keys become `NEW_TO_BASELINE`; changed hashes become `CHANGED`; identical records are omitted.

### Coverage and limitations

This release covers the NHTSA **2025–2026 received-date** archive, not all historical years. `addedSince` filters the date added to the flat file; it is not the bulletin's original publication date. The source can include multiple rows per communication/product/component; this Actor normalizes them into one product-level record. Source schema changes fail visibly rather than silently emitting wrong fields. The full bulletin PDF is not extracted.

Official sources: NHTSA Datasets and APIs and its `TSBS.txt` field dictionary. The data are public government records, not advice, warranty coverage, recall status, or a substitute for manufacturer service information.

# Actor input Schema

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

Optional case-insensitive make filter, such as Ford.

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

Optional model substring filter.

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

Optional exact model year.

## `addedSince` (type: `string`):

Optional inclusive YYYY-MM-DD date; uses NHTSA Date Added to File, not manufacturer communication date.

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

Maximum number of matching communications

## `previousFingerprints` (type: `array`):

Optional prior key/hash pairs for deterministic change comparison.

## `changesOnly` (type: `boolean`):

Requires previousFingerprints; no fabricated first-run change claims.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "make": "Ford",
  "addedSince": "2026-01-01",
  "maxResults": 25,
  "changesOnly": false
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

## `summary` (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 = {
    "make": "Ford",
    "addedSince": "2026-01-01"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("rustic_soybean/nhtsa-manufacturer-communications-change-api").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": "Ford",
    "addedSince": "2026-01-01",
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("rustic_soybean/nhtsa-manufacturer-communications-change-api").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": "Ford",
  "addedSince": "2026-01-01"
}' |
apify call rustic_soybean/nhtsa-manufacturer-communications-change-api --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,rustic_soybean/nhtsa-manufacturer-communications-change-api"
        }
    }
}
```

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/FTehjfLUiooanSnVU/builds/AyYQt82Wcp5Np6m2U/openapi.json