The VIN mode decodes the year, make, and model with the official NHTSA vPIC service first, then pulls the matching recall campaigns; the vehicle mode offers a model-year dropdown plus make and model suggestion lists.
Vehicle Recall Lookup
Check whether a vehicle has open US safety recalls - by 17-character VIN or by year, make, and model. An example 2020 Toyota Camry lookup renders on load, so you see results before typing.
Key features
- Each campaign card shows the campaign number, report date, affected component, the problem, the safety risk, and the fix, newest first.
- High-severity flags render as badges straight from the NHTSA data: do-not-drive (park it), park-outside (fire risk), and over-the-air update.
- A no-recalls result states plainly that NHTSA lists no active campaign for the query, linking to nhtsa.gov/recalls.
The two lookup modes
| Mode | What you enter | How it finds recalls |
|---|---|---|
| By VIN | The 17-character VIN | Decodes the year, make, and model with the official NHTSA vPIC service, then lists that model's campaigns. |
| By year, make, and model | A model-year dropdown plus make and model suggestion lists | Fetches matching recall campaigns from NHTSA. |
After a match
Recall repairs are free of charge at the manufacturer's authorized dealers, shown next to the results, and a what-to-do list explains the steps after a match.
Privacy
Your VIN or vehicle query is sent only to the official US-government NHTSA API - never to this site's servers - and this page does not store it.
Checking a recall outside the United States
Vehicle Recall Lookup queries only the US NHTSA database, so a VIN or year, make, and model search here will not surface an Australian, Canadian, or UK safety campaign. Each of those markets keeps its own recall register under its own regulator, and a defect reported in one country is not automatically listed in another - even for the same model.
| Country | Recall register | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | recalls.gov.au | Consumer product and vehicle safety recalls reported by distributors selling in Australia |
| Canada | Transport Canada Vehicle Recalls Database | Recall campaigns issued for vehicles sold new in Canada |
| United Kingdom | DVSA vehicle recalls checker | Safety recalls for vehicles first registered in the UK |
Search the relevant register directly by the vehicle's local make, model, and year - a campaign such as a software or head-up-display update on a specific model can exist in one market's list months before or after it appears in another, since each regulator only tracks the vehicles its own market imported or sold. If the local register shows nothing, that also does not mean the US result above applies - confirm with the manufacturer's local dealer network instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this vehicle recall lookup do?
It checks whether a vehicle has open US safety recalls - by 17-character VIN or by year, make, and model. Each campaign card shows the campaign number, report date, affected component, the problem, the safety risk, and the fix, newest first.
Where does the recall data come from?
From the official US-government NHTSA APIs. The VIN mode decodes the year, make, and model with the NHTSA vPIC service first, then pulls the matching recall campaigns. Results are model-level campaigns - whether a specific car already had its repair completed is confirmed by a dealer or the nhtsa.gov VIN search. Your VIN or vehicle query is sent only to NHTSA - never to this site's servers - and this page does not store it.
Is the recall repair free?
Yes - recall repairs are performed free of charge by the manufacturer's authorized dealers. After a match, the what-to-do list on this page explains the steps: contact an authorized dealer, mention the campaign number, and book the repair.
What do the do-not-drive and park-outside badges mean?
They are high-severity flags rendered straight from the NHTSA data. Do-not-drive (park it) means the vehicle is unsafe to drive until repaired. Park-outside means the defect can cause a fire even while parked, so keep the vehicle away from buildings until it is fixed. Over-the-air update means the fix arrives as a software update, with no dealer visit needed for that campaign.
Does it cover vehicles outside the United States?
No. It covers US-market vehicles only - NHTSA campaigns cover vehicles sold in the United States, and other countries' recall systems are not queried. Manufacturer service bulletins (TSBs) are also not included. A no-recalls result here is not a substitute for official manufacturer letters - confirm anything important at nhtsa.gov/recalls.