Vehicles API

Decode VINs and pull NHTSA recalls, complaints, crash-test ratings and EPA fuel economy for any make, model and year.

The API.SH Vehicles API decodes a VIN, or up to 50 at once, into make, model, year, trim, body, engine, fuel, drive, transmission, plant and safety equipment, with check-digit errors flagged. For any make, model and year it also returns NHTSA safety recalls, owner complaints, 5-Star crash-test ratings and EPA fuel economy, plus the full list of makes and models. Coverage is best for vehicles sold in the US.

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7 endpoints
from $1 / 1,000 calls
1,000 free credits / month
failed calls free

Vehicle owner complaints

GET https://api.api.sh/vehicles/v1/complaints

{ "success": true }

1 credit · $1 per 1,000 calls

What you can build with the Vehicles API

VIN decoding for listings and inventory

Decode VINs in batches to fill in year, make, model, trim, engine and body class, and catch typos with the check-digit error and suggested VIN.

/vin

Recall checks

List NHTSA recall campaigns for a make, model and year with component, consequence, remedy, units affected and park-it warnings, or read one campaign by number.

/recalls

Reliability research from owner complaints

Read owner complaints filed with NHTSA, filter by component, crash, fire or injuries, and see counts by component to spot problem areas.

/complaints

Safety and fuel economy comparisons

Compare overall, frontal, side and rollover star ratings with city, highway and combined MPG, CO2 per mile and annual fuel cost for each version.

/safety-ratings /fuel-economy

Year, make and model pickers

Build dropdowns from the makes NHTSA lists by vehicle type and the models of each make for a model year.

/makes /models

Vehicles data you get

Field names from real responses. Numbers come parsed, URLs absolute, dates in ISO 8601.

Vehicles API endpoints and prices

Every Vehicles endpoint costs 1 credit per call: credits are $1 per 1,000 on a monthly plan, $2 pay-as-you-go. Pricing

Comments and reviews1

NCAP crash-test ratings

/vehicles/v1/safety-ratings

$1 · $2 PAYG

1 credit

More data6

Vehicle owner complaints /vehicles/v1/complaints	$1 · $2 PAYG 1 credit
EPA fuel economy /vehicles/v1/fuel-economy	$1 · $2 PAYG 1 credit
Vehicle makes /vehicles/v1/makes	$1 · $2 PAYG 1 credit
Vehicle models /vehicles/v1/models	$1 · $2 PAYG 1 credit
Vehicle safety recalls /vehicles/v1/recalls	$1 · $2 PAYG 1 credit
VIN decoder /vehicles/v1/vin	$1 · $2 PAYG 1 credit

Call the Vehicles API

Vehicle owner complaints: GET https://api.api.sh/vehicles/v1/complaints

curl "https://api.api.sh/vehicles/v1/complaints?make=honda&model=accord&year=2012" \
  -H "x-api-key: $APISH_KEY"

import os, requests

res = requests.get(
    "https://api.api.sh/vehicles/v1/complaints",
    params={"make": "honda", "model": "accord", "year": "2012"},
    headers={"x-api-key": os.environ["APISH_KEY"]},
    timeout=120,
)
res.raise_for_status()
data = res.json()

const url = new URL("https://api.api.sh/vehicles/v1/complaints");
url.searchParams.set("make", "honda");
url.searchParams.set("model", "accord");
url.searchParams.set("year", "2012");

const res = await fetch(url, { headers: { "x-api-key": process.env.APISH_KEY } });
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`${res.status} ${await res.text()}`);
const data = await res.json();

# Google Sheets (API.SH add-on)
=APISH("/vehicles/v1/complaints", "make", "honda", "model", "accord", "year", "2012")

# Zapier, Make, n8n (verified node): pick the API.SH app,
# choose "Vehicles" and "Vehicle owner complaints".

# AI agents (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor): add the
# API.SH MCP server https://api.sh/mcp

Create a free accountConfirm your email and get 1,000 free credits every month. No card needed.
Create an API keyOne key works for all 483 platforms.
Send the requestJSON back in one call. Add output=csv or output=ndjson for files.

Why API.SH for Vehicles data

Public data only: no Vehicles login, cookies or account needed
One key and one response shape for Vehicles and 482 other platforms
Built and maintained by API.SH, not third-party publishers
Pay per call; errors on our side cost nothing
Live status for every endpoint

API.SH vs the official Vehicles API

NHTSA's vPIC VIN decoder API is free and needs no key, and NHTSA and the EPA publish recall, complaint, rating and fuel-economy data openly too. API.SH joins these sources: VIN, recalls, complaints, safety ratings and MPG with one key, consistent parameters and paging, in the same JSON shape as every other API.SH endpoint.

Commercial VIN APIs such as Auto.dev, ClearVIN, VinAudit and Vehicle Databases add their own data, such as title and history records, which this API does not return. Apify actors wrap the same NHTSA data; API.SH gives you decoding, recalls, complaints, ratings and MPG together at a fixed price per call.

Vehicles API questions

What vehicle data can I get?+

VIN decoding (/vehicles/v1/vin), safety recalls (/vehicles/v1/recalls), owner complaints (/vehicles/v1/complaints), NCAP crash-test ratings (/vehicles/v1/safety-ratings), EPA fuel economy (/vehicles/v1/fuel-economy), and makes and models (/vehicles/v1/makes, /vehicles/v1/models).

How much does the Vehicles API cost?+

Every Vehicles endpoint costs 1 credit per call. On a monthly plan 1,000 credits cost $1 (Starter is $50/month for 50,000 credits). Pay-as-you-go is $2 per 1,000 credits, with top-ups from $15 that never expire.

Is there a free VIN decoder API?+

Yes. Every account gets 1,000 free credits every month. That is 1,000 calls to /vehicles/v1/complaints at 1 credit each. NHTSA's own vPIC API is also free, without recalls, complaints and fuel economy joined in.

Does NHTSA have an API?+

Yes. NHTSA publishes vPIC for VIN decoding and open data for recalls, complaints and ratings. This API reads those sources and returns them with one key and one JSON shape.

How do I get car specs and the engine from a VIN?+

Call /vehicles/v1/vin with the VIN. You get model year, trim, body class, engine cylinders, displacement, horsepower and model, fuel type, drive type and transmission, plus every other decoded field.

Does it include vehicle history or title records?+

No. It returns decoded specs, recalls, complaints, safety ratings and fuel economy, not ownership, accident or title history.

Where does the data come from?+

NHTSA (vPIC for VINs, makes and models; recalls; owner complaints; 5-Star Safety Ratings) and the EPA for fuel economy. Coverage is best for vehicles sold in the US. You do not need keys for these sources: one API.SH key covers them.

How do I get started?+

1. Sign up at api.sh. 2. Copy your API key. 3. Call /vehicles/v1/vin with a 17-character VIN. Request examples and every parameter are in the docs at https://api.sh/docs. You can also use the JS or Python SDK, Google Sheets, Zapier, Make, n8n or the MCP server at https://api.sh/mcp.