NHTSA + USCG recalls · service bulletins · NCAP · one UUID

Recalls & Safety API from NHTSA and USCG, per vehicle.

One call returns a vehicle's NHTSA recall campaigns and its NCAP crash-test rating — overall, front, side and rollover — keyed to the same UUID as its specs and economy. Service bulletins and warranty extensions, owner complaints, U.S. Coast Guard boat recalls and NHTSA tire recalls are one call away.

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api.vehdb.com
GET /v1/cars/{uuid}/recalls
{
  "recall_count": 4,
  "recalls": [ {
    "campaign": "24V123000",
    "component": "FUEL SYSTEM" } ],
  "safety_rating": { "overall": "5", "front": "4",
    "side": "5", "rollover": "4" }
}
# From VehDB's weekly mirror of the NHTSA recall file

Key endpoints

Recalls and NCAP ratings come back in a single JSON response, keyed to the vehicle UUID. Bulletins, complaints, crashes, VINs, boats and tires have endpoints of their own.

GET /v1/cars/{uuid}/recalls NHTSA recall campaigns and open investigations plus the NCAP crash-test rating (overall, front, side, rollover) for the vehicle.
GET /v1/cars List cars to find the UUID first — filter by make, model and year, then call the recalls endpoint.
GET /v1/cars/{uuid} Single car by UUID — full specifications, addressed by the same identifier used for recalls.
GET /v1/cars/{uuid}/tsbs Manufacturer communications for the make, model and year: service bulletins, service campaigns, warranty extensions and over-the-air updates.
GET /v1/cars/{uuid}/complaints NHTSA owner-complaint statistics by component and model year, with crash, fire, injury and death counts — no narratives.
GET /v1/cars/{uuid}/crashes Crash record for the make, model and year: FARS fatal crashes and CRSS police-reported estimates, never summed.
GET /v1/vin/{vin}/recalls Decode a VIN and return the recall campaigns for its make, model and year — not a per-VIN repair status.
GET /v1/motorcycles/{uuid}/recalls The same recall lookup for motorcycles, with /complaints and /tsbs alongside.
GET /v1/boats/{uuid}/recalls U.S. Coast Guard recall campaigns filed under the builder codes behind a boat's make, this model year first.
GET /v1/hin/{hin} Decode a boat's Hull Identification Number: builder, model year, the builder's USCG recalls and the hull's reported accidents.
GET /v1/tire-sizes/{uuid}/recalls NHTSA tire recalls whose notice names a fitment's OEM size, with production windows and plant codes.
GET /v1/tire-sizes/dot/{tin} The DOT check: one tire's plant and build week against the production windows in NHTSA tire recalls.

Base URL: https://api.vehdb.com/v1

Response fields

One call covers both recall campaigns and crash-safety ratings.

Field Type Description
recall_count integer Number of NHTSA recall campaigns on record for the make, model and year
nhtsa_match object How the make and model matched NHTSA's spellings; status "none" means a count of 0 is "no name matched", not "no recalls"
recalls array One entry per campaign — campaign number, date, component, summary and remedy
open_investigations array Open NHTSA defect investigations, each with its linked recall campaigns
safety_rating.overall string NCAP overall crash-test rating (stars)
safety_rating.front string NCAP frontal crash rating (stars)
safety_rating.side string NCAP side crash rating (stars)
safety_rating.rollover string NCAP rollover resistance rating (stars)
safety_rating.varies boolean True when NCAP rated versions of this model year differently; the lowest-rated version that fits the car is shown
safety_rating.variant string The NCAP version the stars belong to (model, body, drive)
safety_systems array Safety systems NCAP lists for the car: code, name, availability (standard, optional, mixed or none) and NHTSA's own test result where it has one

Why safety data lives on the same UUID

Recalls move. Tying them to the spec record means one identifier answers "what is it" and "is it safe."

Mirrored from NHTSA

Recall campaigns come from VehDB's mirror of the official NHTSA recall flat file, refreshed weekly and matched under every spelling NHTSA files the vehicle under.

NCAP in the same call

Overall, front, side and rollover crash-test stars come back alongside the recall list, so one request covers recalls and safety together.

Keyed to the vehicle UUID

The recalls endpoint uses the same UUID as specs, EPA economy and tire fitment — store one identifier, answer every question.

See the Cars API, our data sources, and the solutions we power.

Example response

Recall campaigns and NCAP ratings in one JSON object, keyed to the vehicle UUID.

GET /v1/cars/{uuid}/recalls 
{
  "car": {
    "uuid": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
    "make": "Honda",
    "model": "CR-V",
    "year": 2023
  },
  "recall_count": 2,
  "nhtsa_match": { "status": "exact", "models": [ … ] },
  "recalls": [
    {
      "campaign": "23V456000",
      "component": "ELECTRICAL SYSTEM",
      "summary": "Software may fail to detect a fault, disabling the rearview camera.",
      "remedy": "Dealers will update the software, free of charge."
    }
  ],
  "open_investigations": [],
  "safety_rating": {
    "overall": "5",
    "front": "4",
    "side": "5",
    "rollover": "4",
    "varies": false,
    "variant": "CAMRY 4 DR FWD"
  },
  "safety_systems": [
    { "code": "crash_imminent_braking", "name": "Automatic emergency braking", "availability": "standard", "nhtsa_result": "meets" }
  ],
  "source": "NHTSA (U.S. DOT), public domain"
}

Recall campaigns come from VehDB's mirror of the NHTSA recall flat file, refreshed weekly; NCAP ratings from its mirror of NHTSA's ratings.

Same token, more safety data

Service bulletins, boat recalls and tire recalls

The recall call is one of several safety endpoints, each reading a mirrored federal dataset: NHTSA for vehicles and tires, the U.S. Coast Guard for boats.

Service bulletins and warranty extensions

GET /v1/cars/{uuid}/tsbs, also on motorcycles: NHTSA manufacturer communications counted by type, the most named components, every warranty extension (special-coverage programs included) and the latest summaries. A bulletin is a repair procedure, not a recall.

Boat recalls from the Coast Guard

GET /v1/boats/{uuid}/recalls returns the USCG campaigns filed under the builder codes behind a boat's make, this model year first; GET /v1/hin/{hin} decodes a hull number with its builder's recalls and the accidents reported under the hull.

Learn more

Tire recalls and the DOT check

GET /v1/tire-sizes/{uuid}/recalls lists the NHTSA tire recalls naming a fitment's OEM size; GET /v1/tire-sizes/dot/{tin} checks one tire's plant and build week against their production windows.

Learn more

Free VIN decoder

Decode a VIN in the browser: the model year's recalls, complaint ranking, bulletins and warranty extensions, fatal crashes, fuel cost at EIA prices and tire sizes.

Learn more

Recalls & Safety API FAQ

Common questions about VehDB's recall and safety API.

GET /v1/cars/{uuid}/recalls returns recall_count, an array of NHTSA recall campaigns for the vehicle, and the NCAP crash-test rating — overall, front, side and rollover stars. Everything is keyed to the same UUID used for the vehicle's specifications.
Stored. VehDB mirrors the official NHTSA recall flat file, refreshes it weekly and matches each vehicle under every spelling NHTSA files it under, so a new campaign reaches the API with the next weekly sync. NCAP ratings are read from VehDB's mirror of NHTSA's ratings too, with a direct NHTSA lookup for vehicles it has not reached yet.
The response includes the NCAP overall rating plus the front, side and rollover sub-ratings where NHTSA has tested the vehicle. Ratings are returned alongside recall data in the same call, so one request covers both recalls and crash safety.
Yes. GET /v1/cars/{uuid}/tsbs, and /v1/motorcycles/{uuid}/tsbs for motorcycles, returns the NHTSA manufacturer communications for the make, model and year: counts by type (service bulletin, service campaign, warranty program, over-the-air update, emissions, other), the most named components, every warranty extension, special-coverage programs included, and the latest communications with the manufacturer's summary. A bulletin is a repair procedure for a known condition, not a recall.
Yes. GET /v1/boats/{uuid}/recalls returns the U.S. Coast Guard recall campaigns filed under the builder codes behind a boat's make, and GET /v1/hin/{hin} decodes a Hull Identification Number with its builder's recalls. For tires, GET /v1/tire-sizes/{uuid}/recalls lists the NHTSA tire recalls whose notice names a fitment's OEM size, and GET /v1/tire-sizes/dot/{tin} checks one tire's DOT code against the production windows those notices print. Tire responses carry the tire disclaimer.
First locate the vehicle with the Cars API — GET /v1/cars with make, model and year filters returns each match with its UUID. Then call GET /v1/cars/{uuid}/recalls with that UUID. The same identifier also serves specs, EPA economy and tire fitment.
Sign up for a VehDB account — every plan includes API access and the free tier gives you 100 calls per month with no card required. Create a Bearer token in the dashboard and make a GET request to /v1/cars/{uuid}/recalls with it in the Authorization header.

Also see the Cars and Fuel Economy APIs, the data sources, or the API overview.

Live numbers, not logos

Pulled from the production database and the NHTSA sync log, refreshed hourly.

498,265
Vehicle records
343,168 cars · 71,513 motorcycles · 83,584 boats
51,731
Tire-size fitments
OEM and alternate sizes

NHTSA recalls last synced

API pricing

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AI-NATIVE · MCP SERVER

Your AI agent's vehicle-data tools —not glue code.

VehDB ships a native Model Context Protocol server. Claude, Cursor or any MCP client pulls recalls for cars, motorcycles and boats (recalls_for_vehicle), service bulletins and warranty extensions (service_bulletins_for_vehicle) and a tire's DOT check (tire_dot_check) as first-class tools — no wrappers, no scraping, no glue code to maintain.

  • Native MCP tools — search_vehicles, recalls_for_vehicle, complaints_for_vehicle, tire_sizes_for_vehicle, my_lists — callable by Claude, Cursor or any agent.
  • One-click AI connector in Claude; in any other MCP client, paste one URL and sign in: no token to copy. Scripts use an API token. Same data and quota as the REST API.
  • No scraping, no function-calling boilerplate, no schema drift — the agent gets typed, documented tools.
Explore the MCP server Connect your agent
One-click AI connectors
Add to Claude
claude_desktop_config.json 
{ "mcpServers": {
    "vehdb": { "url": "https://mcp.vehdb.com/mcp" }
  } }
# the agent calls a typed tool, not your scraper
tool search_vehicles(make="Toyota", year=2026)
tool tire_sizes_for_vehicle(uuid) → "235/65R17" …

Add recalls, bulletins & NCAP to your product.

NHTSA recall campaigns, service bulletins and NCAP crash ratings per vehicle, on the same UUID as specs and economy, plus USCG boat and NHTSA tire recalls. Free tier: 100 calls/mo, no card.

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