NHTSA Vehicle Complaints & Safety Ratings Scraper

Here is one real result, with every field the actor returns:

{
  "mode": "complaints",
  "odiNumber": "11757413",
  "make": "HONDA",
  "model": "ACCORD",
  "modelYear": "2020",
  "component": "FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM",
  "crash": false,
  "fire": false,
  "numberOfInjuries": 0,
  "numberOfDeaths": 0,
  "dateOfIncident": "2026-07-11",
  "dateComplaintFiled": "2026-08-17",
  "vin": "1HGCV1F33LA",
  "manufacturer": "Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)",
  "summary": "The fueling system is/has failed. The car randomly stops accelerating while on the highway. The car has stopped accelerating while I was on I95, causing others to have slammed on brakes and swerved to avoid hitting me.",
  "vehicleCount": 1,
  "ncapOverallRating": null,
  "ncapFrontCrashRating": null,
  "ncapSideCrashRating": null,
  "ncapRolloverRating": null,
  "ncapFrontDriverRating": null,
  "ncapFrontPassengerRating": null,
  "ncapSideDriverRating": null,
  "ncapSidePassengerRating": null,
  "ncapRolloverPossibility": null,
  "ncapVehicleDescription": null,
  "ncapVariantCount": null,
  "aiTopIssues": null,
  "aiSeverity": null,
  "aiRecurringDefect": null,
  "aiBuyerAdvice": null,
  "source": "NHTSA",
  "observedAt": "2026-08-20T23:24:41.554Z",
  "error": null
}

The most complete NHTSA vehicle-complaints scraper available. It returns every field the official complaints database exposes for a make, model and year, including the full consumer defect narrative, crash, fire, injury and death flags, and the affected component. It adds two optional enrichments: government NCAP 5-star crash-test ratings for the same vehicle, and an AI defect analysis over the whole complaint set. Six filters and a summary mode let you target exactly the vehicles and defects you need.

Input . Output . Pricing . Examples

Table of contents

• What it does
• Quickstart
• Input reference
• Output reference
• Example output record
• Run via API and CLI
• Fetch results
• Billing and limits
• FAQ and troubleshooting
• More scrapers at scrapers.lat

What it does

Search US vehicle safety complaints by make, model and model year and get one clean row per complaint, or one aggregate row per vehicle.

• Complaints mode returns one record per consumer complaint: the ODI number, affected component, crash and fire flags, injury and death counts, incident and filing dates, partial VIN, manufacturer and the full consumer defect narrative.
• Summary mode returns one aggregate row per make/model/year: total complaints, crash and fire counts, total injuries and deaths, the most-complained components with counts, the earliest and latest complaint dates, and a few recent narratives.
• NCAP safety ratings (opt-in add-on) attach the government 5-star crash-test ratings for the same vehicle: overall, front, side and rollover ratings plus driver and passenger scores.
• AI defect analysis (opt-in add-on) reads the complaint set and returns the top recurring issues, an overall severity, whether a recurring defect is present, and practical advice for a used-car buyer.

Filters: component contains, crashes only, fires only, single year or a year range.

Quickstart

{
  "mode": "complaints",
  "make": "Honda",
  "model": "Accord",
  "modelYear": 2020,
  "maxResults": 10
}

Scan a range of model years and keep only airbag complaints that involved a crash:

{
  "mode": "complaints",
  "make": "Toyota",
  "model": "Camry",
  "yearFrom": 2018,
  "yearTo": 2021,
  "component": "AIR BAGS",
  "crashOnly": true,
  "maxResults": 200
}

Input reference

Name	Type	Required	Description	Example
mode	string	no	complaints (one row per complaint) or summary (one aggregate row per vehicle). Default complaints.	summary
make	string	yes	Vehicle make, case-insensitive.	Honda
model	string	yes	Vehicle model, case-insensitive.	Accord
modelYear	integer	yes*	Single four-digit model year.	2020
yearFrom	integer	no	Start of a model-year range (inclusive).	2018
yearTo	integer	no	End of a model-year range (inclusive).	2021
component	string	no	Keep only complaints whose component contains this text.	BRAKES
crashOnly	boolean	no	Keep only complaints that reported a crash.	true
fireOnly	boolean	no	Keep only complaints that reported a fire.	true
safetyRatings	boolean	no	Add-on: attach NCAP 5-star ratings for the vehicle. Paid plans only.	true
aiDefectAnalysis	boolean	no	Add-on: AI analysis of the complaint set. Paid plans only.	true
maxResults	integer	no	Maximum result records for the run. Free plans capped at 10.	200

*Provide either modelYear or a yearFrom / yearTo range. Make, model and at least one year are required.

Output reference

Name	Type	Description
mode	string	complaints or summary.
odiNumber	string	NHTSA ODI complaint identifier (complaints mode).
make	string	Vehicle make.
model	string	Vehicle model.
modelYear	string	Model year.
component	string	Affected component(s), semicolon separated (complaints mode).
crash	boolean	Complaint reported a crash.
fire	boolean	Complaint reported a fire.
numberOfInjuries	number	Injuries reported.
numberOfDeaths	number	Deaths reported.
dateOfIncident	string	Incident date (YYYY-MM-DD).
dateComplaintFiled	string	Filing date (YYYY-MM-DD).
vin	string	Partial VIN supplied by the complainant.
manufacturer	string	Manufacturer named in the complaint.
summary	string	Consumer defect narrative.
vehicleCount	number	Number of vehicles on the complaint.
totalComplaints	number	Total complaints for the vehicle (summary mode).
crashCount	number	Complaints reporting a crash (summary mode).
fireCount	number	Complaints reporting a fire (summary mode).
totalInjuries	number	Total injuries across complaints (summary mode).
totalDeaths	number	Total deaths across complaints (summary mode).
topComponent	string	Most-complained component (summary mode).
topComponentCount	number	Count for the top component (summary mode).
topComponents	array	Top components with counts (summary mode).
latestComplaintDate	string	Most recent complaint date (summary mode).
earliestComplaintDate	string	Earliest complaint date (summary mode).
recentSummaries	array	A few recent complaint narratives (summary mode).
ncapOverallRating	string	NCAP overall 5-star rating (safety add-on).
ncapFrontCrashRating	string	NCAP overall front crash rating (safety add-on).
ncapSideCrashRating	string	NCAP overall side crash rating (safety add-on).
ncapRolloverRating	string	NCAP rollover rating (safety add-on).
ncapFrontDriverRating	string	NCAP front driver-side rating (safety add-on).
ncapFrontPassengerRating	string	NCAP front passenger-side rating (safety add-on).
ncapSideDriverRating	string	NCAP side driver-side rating (safety add-on).
ncapSidePassengerRating	string	NCAP side passenger-side rating (safety add-on).
ncapRolloverPossibility	number	NCAP rollover probability (safety add-on).
ncapVehicleDescription	string	NCAP tested vehicle description (safety add-on).
ncapVariantCount	number	Number of tested variants found (safety add-on).
aiTopIssues	array	Top recurring defect themes (AI add-on).
aiSeverity	string	Overall severity (AI add-on).
aiRecurringDefect	boolean	Whether a recurring defect is present (AI add-on).
aiBuyerAdvice	string	Used-car buyer advice (AI add-on).
source	string	Data source.
observedAt	string	When the record was scraped (ISO 8601).
error	string	Error message for a failed query, if any.

Example output record

A summary-mode record with both add-ons enabled, from a real run:

{
  "mode": "summary",
  "make": "HONDA",
  "model": "ACCORD",
  "modelYear": "2020",
  "totalComplaints": 348,
  "crashCount": 13,
  "fireCount": 2,
  "totalInjuries": 10,
  "totalDeaths": 1,
  "topComponent": "FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE",
  "topComponentCount": 54,
  "topComponents": [
    "FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE (54)",
    "ENGINE (32)",
    "AIR BAGS (26)",
    "FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM (18)",
    "SERVICE BRAKES (17)"
  ],
  "latestComplaintDate": "2026-08-18",
  "earliestComplaintDate": "2019-09-30",
  "ncapOverallRating": "5",
  "ncapFrontCrashRating": "5",
  "ncapSideCrashRating": "5",
  "ncapRolloverRating": "5",
  "ncapVehicleDescription": "2020 Honda ACCORD 4 DR FWD",
  "ncapVariantCount": 1,
  "aiSeverity": "high",
  "aiRecurringDefect": true,
  "aiTopIssues": [
    "Airbag deployment issues",
    "Fuel system failures",
    "Engine head gasket failures",
    "Electrical system malfunctions",
    "Forward collision avoidance system errors"
  ],
  "aiBuyerAdvice": "If considering a used 2020 Honda Accord, be cautious of potential airbag and engine issues. Ensure a thorough inspection and check for any recalls.",
  "source": "NHTSA",
  "observedAt": "2026-08-20T23:30:00.000Z"
}

Run via API and CLI

Start a run with the API:

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/scrapers_lat~nhtsa-vehicle-complaints-scraper/runs?token=YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"mode":"complaints","make":"Honda","model":"Accord","modelYear":2020,"maxResults":50}'

Run with the Apify CLI:

apify call scrapers_lat/nhtsa-vehicle-complaints-scraper \
  --input '{"mode":"summary","make":"Toyota","model":"Camry","yearFrom":2018,"yearTo":2021,"safetyRatings":true}'

Fetch results

Read the dataset items once the run finishes:

$curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/actor-runs/RUN_ID/dataset/items?token=YOUR_TOKEN&format=json"

Add &format=csv or &format=xlsx to export to CSV or Excel.

Billing and limits

• Pay per result. You are charged per returned record, plus a one-time actor-start fee per run. Empty or failed queries return no billable records.
• Add-ons are opt-in and charged only on success. NCAP safety ratings are charged once per vehicle only when real ratings are returned. AI defect analysis is charged once per vehicle only when a usable analysis is produced. Both are available on paid Apify plans.
• Free Apify plans are capped at 10 results per run and cannot use the paid add-ons.
• Spend cap respected. Set a maximum total charge on the run and the actor stops emitting billable records once it is reached, so you never receive data beyond what you pay for.

FAQ and troubleshooting

No results came back. Check the make and model spelling against how the vehicle is listed by the regulator (for example F-150, Accord). Complaints exist only for vehicles sold in the US, and only for model years that were actually produced.

The NCAP ratings are null. Not every make/model/year has been crash-tested. When no test exists the ratings stay null and the add-on is not charged.

Some fields are null. Complainants do not always supply a VIN or incident date, and summary-only fields are null in complaints mode (and the reverse). Null means the source did not provide that value.

How current is the data? Complaints reflect the live regulator database at the time of the run, including recently filed complaints.

More scrapers at scrapers.lat

• NHTSA Vehicle Recalls Scraper: official safety recall campaigns by make, model and year.
• NHTSA VIN Decoder: decode any US VIN into make, model, trim, engine and plant.
• CPSC Recalls Scraper: consumer-product safety recalls.

Browse the full catalog at scrapers.lat.

This actor is an independent tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by NHTSA or any government agency. It reads only public information.