Data & methodology

Sources

Everything on RecallRepo comes from public datasets published by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA):

• Recalls — NHTSA flat files (FLAT_RCL), all safety and compliance campaigns since 1967.
• Complaints — NHTSA flat files (FLAT_CMPL), consumer complaints since 1995.
• Investigations — NHTSA flat files (FLAT_INV), defect investigations since 1972.
• Make/model canonicalization — NHTSA vPIC API.

NHTSA data is a U.S. Government work in the public domain (17 U.S.C. § 105). We attribute it anyway: all safety data on this site originates from NHTSA. See NHTSA datasets and APIs.

Sync cadence & processing

• Data syncs automatically every week; each page shows its last-updated date.
• Make and model names are normalized (e.g. “CHEVY” → “Chevrolet”); rows that can't be confidently matched are excluded rather than guessed.
• Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. We convert them to sentence case, truncate them, and automatically redact VINs, phone numbers, and email addresses.
• Vehicles only: tire, equipment, and child-seat records are out of scope.

What this site is not

RecallRepo is not affiliated with NHTSA or any vehicle manufacturer, and nothing here is legal or safety advice. Recall applicability depends on your specific VIN — always verify with NHTSA's official VIN lookup and your dealer. Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.

Advertising disclosure

This site is supported by display advertising and Amazon affiliate links, which are labeled and carry rel="sponsored". As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Advertising never influences the safety data shown.