🚗 NHTSA Vehicle Intelligence — VIN Decoder + Recalls + Complaints + Safety Ratings

Decode any VIN and instantly get comprehensive vehicle data from four official NHTSA public APIs. Get make, model, year, engine specs, safety features, recall history, consumer complaints, and crash test ratings — all in one API call.

⚡ Why this actor?

NHTSA maintains the most authoritative vehicle safety database in the US, but the data is spread across four different APIs with different formats. This actor combines them into a single, clean output:

• 🔑 VIN Decode: 25+ fields including make, model, year, engine, drivetrain, body type, and safety equipment
• 🔔 Recall History: Every NHTSA safety recall for the vehicle — campaign numbers, components, summaries, remedies
• 📝 Consumer Complaints: Real complaints filed with NHTSA — crash/fire flags, injury counts, component details
• ⭐ Safety Ratings: NCAP crash test ratings — overall, frontal, side, rollover, and side pole scores

💰 Key features

• 🚀 Fast: Pure API calls — no browser, no proxy. Decodes a VIN in seconds.
• 📊 Comprehensive: 4 data sources combined into one record per VIN.
• 📦 Batch processing: Decode up to 50 VINs per run.
• 🏛️ Official data: Directly from NHTSA — the US government's vehicle safety authority.
• 💲 Affordable: Just $2.00 per 1,000 VINs decoded.
• 📋 Clean output: Flat vehicle specs + structured recall/complaint/rating arrays. Ready for CSV, JSON, or API integration.

📦 What data can you extract?

Vehicle Specifications (from VIN Decode)

Field	Example
Make	Honda
Model	Accord
Model Year	2003
Trim	EX
Body Class	Sedan/Saloon
Vehicle Type	Passenger Car
Drive Type	FWD
Doors	4
Engine Cylinders	4
Engine Displacement	2.4L
Engine HP	160
Fuel Type	Gasoline
Transmission	Automatic
Plant Country	United States
Manufacturer	Honda Motor Co.
ABS, ESC, Traction Control	Yes/No
Airbags (front, side, curtain)	Type info

Recall Data

• NHTSA campaign number
• Affected component
• Issue summary & consequence
• Recommended remedy
• Report received date

Complaint Data

• ODI number
• Component affected
• Consumer summary
• Crash and fire flags
• Injury and death counts
• Date filed

Safety Ratings (NCAP)

• Overall rating (1-5 stars)
• Frontal crash rating
• Side crash rating
• Rollover rating
• Side pole crash rating

💲 How much does it cost?

NHTSA Vehicle Intelligence uses pay-per-event pricing — you only pay for what you decode:

• $2.00 per 1,000 VINs

Example costs:

What you decode	VINs	Cost
Single VIN lookup	1	$0.002
Small fleet check	50	$0.10
Used car lot inventory	500	$1.00
Insurance batch	5,000	$10.00

🎯 Use cases

• 🏪 Used car dealerships: Decode inventory VINs and check for open recalls before listing vehicles for sale
• 🛡️ Insurance companies: Batch-verify vehicle specs, safety equipment, and recall status for underwriting
• 🚛 Fleet management: Monitor your fleet for open recalls and safety issues across all vehicles
• 🔍 Vehicle history services: Enrich vehicle reports with official NHTSA recall and complaint data
• 🏠 Consumer research: Check a vehicle's safety record before buying — recalls, complaints, and crash test scores
• 📊 Automotive analytics: Aggregate complaint and recall trends by make/model/year for market research
• 🔧 Repair shops: Look up recall status for customer vehicles and identify common complaint patterns
• 💻 Auto tech platforms: Integrate comprehensive vehicle data into apps, dashboards, and APIs

📥 Input

Field	Type	Description	Default
vin	string	VIN number(s) — comma-separated or one per line. Up to 50 per run.	required
includeRecalls	boolean	Include NHTSA safety recall data	true
includeComplaints	boolean	Include consumer complaint data	true
includeSafetyRatings	boolean	Include NCAP crash test ratings	true

💡 Example input

Single VIN:

{
    "vin": "1HGCM82633A004352"
}

Multiple VINs:

{
    "vin": "1HGCM82633A004352, 5YJSA1E26MF123456, 1FTEW1EP0KFC12345",
    "includeRecalls": true,
    "includeComplaints": true,
    "includeSafetyRatings": true
}

VIN decode only (no extras):

{
    "vin": "1HGCM82633A004352",
    "includeRecalls": false,
    "includeComplaints": false,
    "includeSafetyRatings": false
}

📤 Output

Each VIN produces one dataset record with decoded vehicle specs plus optional recall, complaint, and safety rating arrays:

{
    "vin": "1HGCM82633A004352",
    "make": "HONDA",
    "model": "Accord",
    "modelYear": 2003,
    "trim": "EX",
    "bodyClass": "Sedan/Saloon",
    "vehicleType": "PASSENGER CAR",
    "driveType": "FWD",
    "doors": 4,
    "engineCylinders": 4,
    "engineDisplacementL": 2.4,
    "engineHP": 160,
    "fuelType": "Gasoline",
    "transmissionStyle": "Automatic",
    "transmissionSpeeds": "5",
    "plantCountry": "UNITED STATES (USA)",
    "plantCity": "MARYSVILLE",
    "plantState": "OHIO",
    "manufacturer": "AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO., INC.",
    "gvwr": "Class 1C: 3,001 - 3,500 lb",
    "abs": "Standard",
    "esc": null,
    "tractionControl": null,
    "airbagFront": "1st Row (Driver and Passenger)",
    "airbagSide": "1st Row (Driver and Passenger)",
    "airbagCurtain": null,
    "recalls": [
        {
            "nhtsaCampaignNumber": "14V373000",
            "component": "AIR BAGS",
            "summary": "Honda is recalling certain 2003 Accord vehicles...",
            "consequence": "An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments...",
            "remedy": "Honda will notify owners and dealers will replace...",
            "reportReceivedDate": "06/11/2014"
        }
    ],
    "recallCount": 5,
    "complaints": [
        {
            "odiNumber": "10012345",
            "component": "ENGINE",
            "summary": "The vehicle stalls intermittently while driving...",
            "dateComplaintFiled": "03/15/2005",
            "crash": false,
            "fire": false,
            "numberOfInjuries": 0,
            "numberOfDeaths": 0
        }
    ],
    "complaintCount": 12,
    "safetyRatings": {
        "overallRating": "5",
        "frontalCrashRating": "4",
        "sideCrashRating": "5",
        "rolloverRating": "4",
        "sidePoleCrashRating": null,
        "nhtsa_vehicleId": 1234
    }
}

You can download results in JSON, CSV, Excel, or connect via API.

🏛️ Data source

All data comes directly from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a division of the US Department of Transportation:

• VIN Decoder API: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/ — Product Information Catalog and Vehicle Listing
• Recalls API: https://api.nhtsa.gov/recalls/ — Safety recall campaigns
• Complaints API: https://api.nhtsa.gov/complaints/ — Consumer-reported vehicle defects
• Safety Ratings API: https://api.nhtsa.gov/SafetyRatings/ — NCAP crash test results

All four APIs are free, public, and require no API key. Data is updated regularly by NHTSA.

💡 Tips and notes

• 🔢 VIN format: A VIN is a 17-character alphanumeric code. The decoder will attempt to decode any string you provide, but results are most reliable with valid 17-character VINs.
• 📊 Batch mode: Enter multiple VINs separated by commas or newlines. Each VIN is processed independently — if one fails, the rest continue.
• 🔔 Recall/complaint matching: Recalls and complaints are fetched using the make, model, and year decoded from the VIN. They show all reports for that vehicle configuration, not just your specific car.
• ⭐ Safety ratings: Not all vehicles have NCAP crash test ratings. Ratings are most commonly available for popular passenger cars and light trucks.
• ⚡ Speed: Each VIN requires 2-5 API calls (1 for decode + up to 4 for extras). Processing 50 VINs takes about 30-60 seconds.
• 🚫 No PII: VIN decoding reveals vehicle specs only — no owner information, registration, or title history is included.