NHTSA Vehicle API

How to Use This API

1. Recalls by Vehicle

https://api.nhtsa.gov/recalls/recallsByVehicle?make=Honda&model=Accord&year=2019

2. VIN Decoding

https://api.nhtsa.gov/vehicles/DecodeVin/1HGCM82633A004352

3. Safety Ratings

https://api.nhtsa.gov/SafetyRatings/modelyear/2023/make/Ford/model/Explorer

4. Complaints by Vehicle

https://api.nhtsa.gov/complaints/complaintsByVehicle?make=Tesla&model=Model%203&year=2022

5. JavaScript — Recall Checker

async function checkRecalls(make, model, year) {
  const resp = await fetch(
    `https://api.nhtsa.gov/recalls/recallsByVehicle?` +
    `make=${make}&model=${model}&year=${year}`
  );
  const data = await resp.json();
  
  if (!data.results?.length) {
    console.log(`No recalls found for ${year} ${make} ${model}`);
    return;
  }
  
  console.log(`${data.results.length} recall(s) found:`);
  data.results.forEach(r => {
    console.log(`- ${r.Summary?.slice(0, 100)}...`);
    console.log(`  NHTSA ID: ${r.NHTSACampaignNumber}`);
  });
}

checkRecalls('Honda', 'Accord', 2019);

6. Python — Bulk VIN Decode

import requests

def decode_vin(vin):
    resp = requests.get(
        f'https://api.nhtsa.gov/vehicles/DecodeVin/{vin}'
    )
    data = resp.json()
    
    results = data.get('Results', [])
    decoded = {}
    for item in results:
        var = item.get('Variable', '')
        val = item.get('Value', '')
        if val:
            decoded[var] = val
    
    print(f'VIN: {vin}')
    print(f'Make: {decoded.get("Make", "N/A")}')
    print(f'Model: {decoded.get("Model", "N/A")}')
    print(f'Year: {decoded.get("Model Year", "N/A")}')
    print(f'Engine: {decoded.get("Engine", "N/A")}')

decode_vin('1HGCM82633A004352')