Vehicle research · official U.S. data
Vehicle lookups, safety checks and ownership math.
Decode a VIN, check recalls, compare NHTSA crash ratings and complaints, then research EPA fuel economy, annual fuel cost and EV charging. Free tools with source-stamped results and clear limits.
VIN decoder & recall lookup
Decode a 17-character VIN with NHTSA vPIC and check matching U.S. safety recalls.
NHTSA safety ratings lookup
Find overall, frontal, side and rollover ratings for an exact tested configuration.
NHTSA complaints lookup
Count consumer complaints by make, model, year and component, with crash and fire flags.
EPA fuel economy lookup
Find official MPG, MPGe, fuel type, range, annual fuel cost and charge-time fields.
Annual fuel cost comparison
Compare two official EPA records using your mileage and local gasoline or electricity prices.
EV charging cost & time
Estimate a partial charge from EPA range and electricity use plus your utility rate.
Clean-vehicle credit checklist
Screen a historical acquisition date and documentation against current IRS guidance.
Research a vehicle in three passes
Identify it: decode the VIN and compare the returned make, model, year and body details with the vehicle. Check safety: review recalls, NHTSA crash-test ratings and complaint patterns as separate signals. Estimate cost: use official EPA fuel-economy records with your own annual mileage and local energy prices.
NHTSA does not test every trim, complaints are unverified reports, and raw complaint totals are not failure rates. A VIN decode is not a title, lien, theft, accident or odometer report. Use the tools together, read each page's limits and confirm safety-critical findings with NHTSA or the manufacturer.
Primary sources: NHTSA Datasets and APIs and FuelEconomy.gov Web Services.