Vehicle Complaints: NHTSA Owner Safety Complaints by Model

Search official NHTSA owner safety complaints by make, model and model year. Returns ODI number, components, complaint text, incident and filing dates, crash/fire flags, injuries, deaths and partial VIN. Optional component keyword filter. Free public-domain data, no API key.

What does Vehicle Complaints do?

Get official US owner safety complaints for any vehicle make, model and year, with crash, fire, injury and component details.

What can you use it for?

• Research common failures before buying a used car.
• Spot emerging defect trends for a model before a recall.
• Support lemon-law, warranty and insurance case research.
• Feed fleet-risk and automotive-quality dashboards.

Why use this Actor?

• Fast and cheap: lightweight HTTP-based Actor with no browser, so runs finish in seconds and cost very little.
• No API keys or accounts needed for the data source (see notes below).
• Clean, structured JSON that you can export as CSV, Excel, JSON or XML, or pull through the Apify API and integrations.
• Scheduling, webhooks and integrations: run it daily and send results to Google Sheets, Slack, Zapier, Make, n8n or your own API.

Input

Configure the run in the Input tab (all fields have sensible defaults).

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
make	string	yes	-	e.g. honda, toyota, ford.
model	string	yes	-	e.g. accord, camry, f-150.
modelYear	integer	yes	-	e.g. 2018.
component	string	no	-	Optional. Keep only complaints whose components contain this text, e.g. air bags, brakes, steering, electrical.
maxResults	integer	no	50	Maximum number of complaints.

Example input

{
  "make": "honda",
  "model": "accord",
  "modelYear": 2018,
  "maxResults": 20
}

Output

Results are stored in the default dataset. Download them from the Output tab or via the API.

Example result

{
  "odiNumber": 11772646,
  "make": "HONDA",
  "model": "ACCORD",
  "modelYear": 2018,
  "manufacturer": "Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)",
  "components": "FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE",
  "summary": "SUPPLEMENTAL DATA FOR ACTIVE ODI CASE #XXX. P1: SYSTEMIC SAFETY RECALL FALSIFICATION (NHTSA 23V-858) This submission supplements active ODI Case #XXX against...",
  "dateOfIncident": "2026-10-02T00:00:00.000Z",
  "dateComplaintFiled": "2026-10-21T00:00:00.000Z",
  "crash": false,
  "fire": false,
  "numberOfInjuries": 0,
  "numberOfDeaths": 0,
  "partialVin": "1HGCV1F37JA",
  "url": "https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2018/HONDA/ACCORD",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-10-23T20:39:44.721Z"
}

Output fields

Field	Type	Example
odiNumber	number	11772646
make	string	"HONDA"
model	string	"ACCORD"
modelYear	number	2018
manufacturer	string	"Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)"
components	string	"FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE"
summary	string	"SUPPLEMENTAL DATA FOR ACTIVE ODI CASE #XXX. P1: SYSTEMIC...
dateOfIncident	string	"2026-10-02T00:00:00.000Z"
dateComplaintFiled	string	"2026-10-21T00:00:00.000Z"
crash	boolean	false
fire	boolean	false
numberOfInjuries	number	0
numberOfDeaths	number	0
partialVin	string	"1HGCV1F37JA"
url	string	"https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2018/HONDA/ACCORD"
scrapedAt	string	"2026-10-23T20:39:44.721Z"

How much does it cost?

The Actor is billed by Apify according to the pricing shown on the Pricing tab of this page. Runs are small and fast, and the Apify Free plan includes monthly platform credits so you can try it at no cost. You can set a maximum cost per run, and the Actor stops cleanly when that limit is reached.

Notes and limitations

• US NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation data (US federal work, public domain). Enter make and model as they appear on the vehicle, e.g. honda / accord / 2018.
• Complaints are returned newest filing first. Complaint text is written by vehicle owners and is not verified by NHTSA.
• The optional component filter keeps complaints whose component list contains your text, e.g. 'air bags', 'brakes', 'electrical'.

Tips

• Start with a small test run, then scale up the input.
• Use Schedules to automate recurring runs and Webhooks or Integrations to deliver the data where you need it.
• Call the Actor from your code with the Apify API or the official JavaScript and Python clients.

FAQ

Are complaints the same as recalls?

No. Complaints are owner reports filed with NHTSA. Recalls are official campaigns; use the NHTSA Vehicle Recalls actor for those.

Why is the VIN incomplete?

NHTSA publishes only the first 11 characters of the VIN to protect owner privacy.

Feedback

Found a bug or need an extra field? Open an issue from the Issues tab of this Actor and it will be looked at quickly.

More tools from the same author

• Vehicle Recalls: NHTSA Safety Recalls by Make, Model & Year - Find official US safety recalls for any vehicle make, model and year with components, risks and remedies.
• VIN Decoder: Make, Model, Year, Engine & Plant (NHTSA, Bulk) - Decode vehicle VINs in bulk: make, model, year, trim, body, engine, fuel, drive type and plant.
• Product Recalls: CPSC Consumer Product Safety Recall Search - Search official US CPSC consumer product recalls by product, company, hazard and date with remedies and units.