Dataset Summary

Agency: Department of Transportation
Sub-Agency/Organization: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Category: 23, Transportation
Date Released: December 16, 2002
Time Period: 1949 to present
Frequency: Daily

Dataset Information

Data.gov Data Category Type: Raw data
Specialized Data Category Designation: Enforcement
Keywords: Phone, Paper, Email
Unique ID: 81

Contributing Agency Information

Citation: N/A
Agency Program Page: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/downloads/index.cfm
Agency Data Series Page http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/downloads/folders/Complaints/FLAT_CMPL.zip

Dataset Coverage

Unit of Analysis: Vehicles, Tires, Child Safety Seats, Equipment
Granularity: United States
Geographic Coverage: N/A

Data Description

Collection Mode: Web, Phone
Data Collection Instrument: N/A
Data Dictionary/Variable List: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/downloads/folders/Complaints/CMPL.txt

Dataset Quality

Data Quality Certification: Yes
Privacy and Confidentiality: Yes
Applicable Information Quality Guideline Designation: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Additional Dataset Documentation

Technical Documentation: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/downloads/folders/Complaints/Import_Instructions.pdf

Additional Metadata: N/A

Approach A: Get by Model Year, Make, Model

Make the request to get the complaints for the required combination of Model Year, Make and Model.

• Syntax: api.nhtsa.gov/complaints/complaintsByVehicle?make={MAKE}&model={MODEL}&modelYear={MODEL_YR}
• Example: https://api.nhtsa.gov/complaints/complaintsByVehicle?make=acura&model=rdx&modelYear=2012

Response Fields: Response is a list of complaints for the given Model Year, Make and Model

Working Sample: JSON

Approach B: Get by Model Year, Make, Model

Step 1: Get all Model Years    

Request a list of available Model Years for a given product type (Vehicle).

• Syntax: api.nhtsa.gov/products/vehicle/modelYears?issueType=c
• Example: https://api.nhtsa.gov/products/vehicle/modelYears?issueType=c

Response Fields: Response is a list of available Model Years in the repository. Use a Model Year from this list to use in the next step. 

Working Sample: JSON

Step 2: Get all Makes for the Model Year

Request a list of vehicle Makes by providing a specific vehicle Model Year.

• Syntax: api.nhtsa.gov/products/vehicle/makes?modelYear={year}&issueType=c
• Example: https://api.nhtsa.gov/products/vehicle/makes?modelYear=2021&issueType=c

Response Fields: Response is a list of vehicle Makes for that Model Year. Use the Model Year and a Make from this list to use in the next step.

Working Sample: JSON

Step 3: Get all Models for the Make and Model Year

Request a list of vehicle Models by providing the vehicle Model Year and Make.

• Syntax: api.nhtsa.gov/products/vehicle/models?modelYear={year}&make={make}&issueType=c
• Example: https://api.nhtsa.gov/products/vehicle/models?modelYear=2010&make=acura&issueType=c

Working Sample: JSON

Step 4: Get all complaints for the selected Model Year, Make, Model    

Now that you have all three key pieces of information (Model Year, Make, Model), make the request to get the complaints for the required combination.

• Syntax: api.nhtsa.gov/complaints/complaintsByVehicle?make={MAKE}&model={MODEL}&modelYear={MODEL_YR}
• Example: https://api.nhtsa.gov/complaints/complaintsByVehicle?make=acura&model=rdx&modelYear=2012

Response Fields: Response is a list of complaints for the given Model Year, Make and Model 

Working Sample: JSON

Approach C: Get by ODI Number

Request a list of complaints by providing ODI number.

• Syntax: api.nhtsa.gov/complaints/odinumber?odinumber={odinumber}
• Example: https://api.nhtsa.gov/complaints/odinumber?odinumber=11184030

Response Fields: Response is a list of complaints for the specified ODI number.

Working Sample: JSON

Color codes to understand each part of the request URL:

• Red: Method Name
• Green: Applicable parameters

Request parameters and method names are case sensitive