Is my car recalled?

Type your 17-character VIN, or pick the model year, make and model. With a VIN, your browser asks NHTSA's vPIC service what car it is (year, make, model and body style). The VIN goes to NHTSA only. Then we ask NHTSA's Recalls API for every safety recall it has on file for that model year, make and model, and show each one in NHTSA's own words: what's wrong, what can happen, and the free fix.

Model, not your car

NHTSA's public recall data is organized by model year, make and model. It lists every recall issued for that model. It does not say whether your particular car was included, or whether it was already repaired. Recalls often cover only part of a model year: one factory, a range of build dates, or one engine. So the answer reads “recalls on file”, never “open on your car”. NHTSA's own VIN lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls shows the recalls not yet repaired on a specific car. It takes the VIN on its page only (there is no link format that carries it), so we give you a Copy VIN button next to the link.

When the name doesn't match

vPIC and the recall database sometimes name a model differently. vPIC may call a truck “Silverado” while recalls are filed under “SILVERADO 1500”, “SILVERADO 2500” and so on. If the direct lookup finds nothing, we load NHTSA's list of model names with recalls for that year and make. One clear match is used; several are shown as a choice; none means NHTSA has no recalls on file under that name. A zero answer always offers NHTSA's list, so a naming mismatch can't hide recalls.

The flags

Do not drive and Park outside are consumer advisories NHTSA stores with the recall. We show them exactly as NHTSA sets them and list those recalls first. Over-the-air means the maker can fix it with a software update. New means NHTSA received the report in the last 90 days. We add no severity score and no “safe to drive” verdict.

The free repair

Federal law requires the manufacturer to remedy a safety defect without charge (49 U.S.C. 30120). It doesn't apply to a vehicle first sold more than 15 calendar years before the recall notice, or to tires more than 5 years old. When an answer includes such an old recall, we say so. For 9 makes we link the manufacturer's dealer locator, checked on Oct 25, 2026. For other makes we show the phone numbers printed in NHTSA's fix text and NHTSA's Vehicle Safety Hotline, 1-888-327-4236.

FIG. 1

The drawing is a generic sedan, the same for every answer, with the parts named in the recalls glowing red. It is there to show where the trouble is, not to look like your car. Air bags, seats and seat belts light up around the cabin; brakes and suspension at the wheels; fuel, engine and transmission recalls under the hood. A recall with no clear place on a car (a label, a manual) makes the whole drawing pulse.

How fresh it is

Each answer is fetched from NHTSA and kept at the edge for at most 6 hours; the fetch time in Eastern Time is printed under it. The part guides use NHTSA's recall file (last updated Oct 24, 2026), which NHTSA publishes daily: 13,717 vehicle recall campaigns since 2010. Thanksgiving 2025: AAA projected 73 million people would travel by car (2026 forecast not yet published).