Recalls by VIN
Decode a VIN in your browser and see the NHTSA recalls, investigations and complaints for its model-year. The VIN is never sent. No VIN? Pick make, model and year.
The answer
Type a VIN and press the button. The first time, the vehicle database (about four megabytes) and the recall file for the make are fetched from this site; neither request carries the VIN.
Working it out…
No VIN handy? Pick the make, year and model
Recalls and complaints are filed by make, model and year, so these three answer the same question without a VIN. The first choice fetches that make's file from this site; nothing else is sent.
What this check answers, and what only the car's own VIN lookup can
A safety recall is filed by the manufacturer with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and names the makes, models and model years it covers. So the question "was this model-year recalled?" needs only those three things, and this page answers it without the VIN ever leaving your browser: the decoder works out the make, model and year in this tab, and the recall list comes from NHTSA's own files, carried by this site and dated October 17, 2026.
The other question — "has the work been done on this particular car?" — is a property of one vehicle, and only a lookup by VIN can answer it. NHTSA runs one, free, at nhtsa.gov/recalls, covering unrepaired recalls from the last 15 years for the major manufacturers, and the manufacturer's own site usually has another. The answer above links to NHTSA's lookup and offers to copy the VIN for you; it does not send it. The make pages below also link each manufacturer's own lookup.
Why the answer names recalls, investigations and complaints
- Recalls are campaigns a manufacturer has opened. Each one lists the defect, what can happen and the free remedy. A do not drive or park outside advisory is shown first, because it changes what you should do today.
- Investigations are NHTSA examining a possible defect. An open one has reached no conclusion yet; some end in a recall.
- Owner complaints are reports owners filed with NHTSA. They are unverified, and common cars collect more of them, but the component that tops the list for one model-year is worth a look on a test drive.
What the request names
The decode makes no request with the VIN in it. After it, the page fetches a small index and then the recall file
for the make — for example /data/nhtsa/honda.json.gz — from this site, so this site's CDN can see that somebody looked at
a Honda. It cannot see which Honda, which year or which car. The privacy page sets this out.
Decoders by make
Each of these carries the decoder too, with that make's own manufacturer codes, plants, recall history and the model-years owners complained about most:
- BMW VIN decoder 275 recall campaigns since 2016, cars and motorcycles; most recalled: X5, X3.
- Ford VIN decoder 651 recall campaigns since 2016; most recalled: F-150, Explorer.
- Toyota VIN decoder 199 recall campaigns since 2016; most recalled: Tundra, 4RUNNER.
- Mercedes-Benz VIN decoder 472 recall campaigns since 2016; most recalled: Sprinter 2500, Sprinter 3500.
- Chevrolet VIN decoder 267 recall campaigns since 2016; most recalled: Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500.
- Honda VIN decoder 177 recall campaigns since 2016, cars and motorcycles; most recalled: Pilot, Odyssey.
- Jeep VIN decoder 181 recall campaigns since 2016; most recalled: Grand Cherokee, Wrangler.
- Dodge VIN decoder 96 recall campaigns since 2016; most recalled: Durango, Charger.
Where the recall figures come from, and what they cannot say, is set out on how this site works.