NHTSA APIs

In Support of Open Government Directive
NHTSA APIs Complaints Recalls
NHTSA APIs

Complaints

Office of Defects Investigation

Complaint information entered into NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation vehicle owner's complaint database is used with other data sources to identify safety issues that warrant investigation and to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists. Complaint information is also analyzed to monitor existing recalls for proper scope and adequacy.

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

Recalls

Office of Defects Investigation

Manufacturers who determine that a product or piece of original equipment either has a safety defect, or is not in compliance with federal safety standards, are required to notify NHTSA within five business days. NHTSA requires that manufacturers file a defect and noncompliance report as well as quarterly recall status reports, in compliance with Federal Regulation 49 (the National Traffic and Motor Safety Act) Part 573, which identifies the requirements for safety recalls. NHTSA stores this information and the data can be used to search for recall information related to specific NHTSA campaigns and product types.

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: Research
Keywords: Phone, Paper, Email
Unique ID: 83

 

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/Recalls/FLAT_RCL.zip

 

Dataset Coverage

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

 

Data Description

Collection Mode: N/A
Data Collection Instrument: N/A
Data Dictionary/Variable List: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/downloads/folders/Recalls/RCL.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/Recalls/RCL.txt

Additional Metadata: N/A

Approach A: Get by Model Year, Make, Model

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

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

Response Fields: Response is a list of recalls 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=r
  • Example: https://api.nhtsa.gov/products/vehicle/modelYears?issueType=r 

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

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 Model 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=r
  • Example: https://api.nhtsa.gov/products/vehicle/models?modelYear=2010&make=acura&issueType=r

Working Sample: JSON

 

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

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

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

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

Working Sample: JSON

 

 

Approach C. Get by NHTSA Campaign Number

Get all recalls as part of a NHTSA recall campaign number

Request a list of recalls by providing the NHTSA recall campaign number

  • Syntax: api.nhtsa.gov/recalls/campaignNumber?campaignNumber ={campaignNumber}
  • Example: https://api.nhtsa.gov/recalls/campaignNumber?campaignNumber=12V176000

Response Fields: Response is a list of recalls for the specified NHTSA recall campaign 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