NHTSA Recall & Complaint Watch Scraper

What you get: one alert row per vehicle watch (make, model, model year) when new NHTSA complaints or recalls match your components and keywords, with the matched records (complaint or recall number, date, component, summary, watch-term hits, source link); optional digest rows and a portfolio report.

Sample output from a real run (2026-10-18, the JSON below: 2020 Honda Accord, last 14 days → 1 alert row with 2 complaints):

docNumber	docType	date	component	summary (start)	watch-term hits
11770278	NHTSA_COMPLAINT	10/10/2026	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS	The Supplemental Restraint System Problem message along with the airbag light comes and goes on my dash randomly. …	airbag, electrical system
11769001	NHTSA_COMPLAINT	10/05/2026	STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	I was reversing my 2020 Honda accord and the power steering light came on. …	electrical system

That alert row is one nhtsa-watch-alert event (USD 0.08). Note: the Console default is emitReport: true, which adds a USD 5 nhtsa-report row to a run with alerts (a prefill test on 2026-10-18: 1 alert + 1 report = USD 5.08); keep emitReport: false as in the JSON below for a first test.

Open Input

Paid first run ≈ USD 0.08 per watch alert (1 vehicle feed, emitReport false). Digests ≈ USD 0.25; reports ≈ USD 5 — leave off for first run. Open Console Input (deep link above) and run this JSON.

{
  "feeds": [
    {
      "id": "accord-2020",
      "name": "2020 Honda Accord watch",
      "make": "Honda",
      "model": "Accord",
      "modelYear": 2020,
      "components": "electrical system,engine",
      "keywords": "software,stall,brake"
    }
  ],
  "lookbackDays": 14,
  "datasetMode": "action_needed",
  "notifyOnNoNew": false,
  "emitReport": false,
  "snapshotKey": "nhtsa-watch-first-run",
  "dryRun": false
}

Fleet, warranty, marketplace, and automotive operations teams use this actor to monitor public recall and complaint updates.

Input make, model, model year, components, and keywords from public NHTSA recall and complaint APIs.

Get source-linked recall and complaint alert, digest, and report rows for fleet, warranty, and marketplace review workflows.

Store Quickstart

{
  "feeds": [
    {
      "id": "accord-2020",
      "name": "2020 Honda Accord watch",
      "make": "Honda",
      "model": "Accord",
      "modelYear": 2020,
      "components": "electrical system,engine",
      "keywords": "software,stall,brake"
    }
  ],
  "watchTerms": "airbag,brake,stall,electrical system",
  "lookbackDays": 30,
  "datasetMode": "action_needed",
  "notifyOnNoNew": false,
  "emitReport": true,
  "dryRun": false
}

1. Use the first input example with dryRun=false.
2. Keep notifyOnNoNew=false so unchanged scheduled checks emit zero rows and zero charges.
3. Review billingEventName in the output before increasing feed count.

Use with Apify MCP

Exact actor: taroyamada/nhtsa-recall-complaint-watch-scraper

Sample input JSON:

{
  "feeds": [
    {
      "id": "accord-2020",
      "name": "2020 Honda Accord watch",
      "make": "Honda",
      "model": "Accord",
      "modelYear": 2020,
      "components": "electrical system,engine",
      "keywords": "software,stall,brake"
    }
  ],
  "lookbackDays": 14,
  "datasetMode": "action_needed",
  "notifyOnNoNew": false,
  "emitReport": false,
  "snapshotKey": "nhtsa-watch-first-run",
  "dryRun": false
}

Run the next report

• Monitor product recalls with CPSC Product Recall Marketplace Watch Scraper.
• Monitor UK food alerts with UK FSA Food Safety Alert Portfolio Report.
• Consolidate NHTSA and CPSC changes into a portfolio review with Product Safety Market Action Portfolio Report.

Input Examples

{
  "feeds": [
    {
      "id": "accord-2020",
      "name": "2020 Honda Accord watch",
      "make": "Honda",
      "model": "Accord",
      "modelYear": 2020,
      "components": "electrical system,engine",
      "keywords": "software,stall,brake"
    }
  ],
  "watchTerms": "airbag,brake,stall,electrical system",
  "lookbackDays": 30,
  "datasetMode": "action_needed",
  "notifyOnNoNew": false,
  "emitReport": true,
  "dryRun": false
}

{
  "feeds": [
    {
      "id": "accord-2020",
      "name": "2020 Honda Accord watch",
      "make": "Honda",
      "model": "Accord",
      "modelYear": 2020,
      "components": "electrical system,engine",
      "keywords": "software,stall,brake"
    }
  ],
  "watchTerms": "airbag,brake,stall,electrical system",
  "lookbackDays": 30,
  "datasetMode": "new_only",
  "notifyOnNoNew": false,
  "emitReport": false,
  "dryRun": false
}

{
  "feeds": [
    {
      "id": "accord-2020",
      "name": "2020 Honda Accord watch",
      "make": "Honda",
      "model": "Accord",
      "modelYear": 2020,
      "components": "electrical system,engine",
      "keywords": "software,stall,brake"
    }
  ],
  "watchTerms": "airbag,brake,stall,electrical system",
  "lookbackDays": 30,
  "datasetMode": "action_needed",
  "notifyOnNoNew": false,
  "emitReport": true,
  "dryRun": true
}

Sample Output

{
  "actorName": "nhtsa-recall-complaint-watch-scraper",
  "rowType": "nhtsa_watch_digest",
  "feedId": "accord-2020",
  "feedName": "2020 Honda Accord watch",
  "checkedAt": "2026-05-11T00:00:00.000Z",
  "fetchedAt": "2026-05-11T00:00:00.000Z",
  "sourceUrl": "https://api.nhtsa.gov/recalls/recallsByVehicle?make=Honda&model=Accord&modelYear=2020",
  "warnings": [],
  "status": "action_needed",
  "newDocCount": 1,
  "totalDocCount": 1,
  "changedSinceLastRun": true,
  "actionNeeded": true,
  "reviewNote": "Review the source-linked public record and update the watchlist if needed.",
  "signalTags": [
    "watch_term_hit"
  ],
  "watchTermHits": [
    {
      "term": "recall",
      "docNumber": "20V771000",
      "title": "Honda Accord electrical system recall"
    }
  ],
  "documents": [
    {
      "docNumber": "20V771000",
      "title": "Honda Accord electrical system recall",
      "docType": "NHTSA_RECALL",
      "publicationDate": "2020-12-10",
      "primaryAgency": "NHTSA",
      "component": "ELECTRICAL SYSTEM",
      "sourceUrl": "https://api.nhtsa.gov/recalls/recallsByVehicle?make=Honda&model=Accord&modelYear=2020"
    }
  ],
  "billingEventName": "nhtsa-watch-alert"
}

Output fields

• rowType: nhtsa_watch_digest
• billingEventName: one of nhtsa-watch-alert, nhtsa-digest, or nhtsa-report
• documents[]: nested official public records with source URLs
• watchTermHits[]: matched public-record terms for review
• reviewNote: source-linked review note, not agency guidance or proof of safety/compliance

Pricing

This actor charges only when it emits a billable alert, digest, or report row:

• nhtsa-watch-alert: $0.08 per watchlist alert row
• nhtsa-digest: $0.25 per non-empty digest row
• nhtsa-report: $5.00 per generated report row

No-change runs emit zero default dataset rows and zero charges when notifyOnNoNew=false.

Compliance

• Uses official public data from nhtsa-recalls-complaints-api.
• Do not perform mass VIN checks, assign vehicle ratings, or imply NHTSA approval.
• Uses only public, non-authenticated source access; no private sessions, credentials, CAPTCHA bypass, private data, or agency mark is used.
• Rows are source-linked observations for review workflows, not professional guidance or agency determinations.

See Also

• CPSC Product Recall Marketplace Watch Scraper for public product recall reports.
• EPA ECHO Enforcement Facility Watch Scraper for enforcement facility reports.