Expert work on a defect: the federal record, in order.
The federal record on one defect, in order, cited to the number.
Failure analysis, accident reconstruction and defect opinions start with what NHTSA holds: the manufacturer’s bulletins and coverage programs, the recalls, the investigations and every owner complaint. A WhichTrim defect dossier pulls all of it for one model and one system across every model year from 2006 on, numbers it as exhibits, charts it in date order, and cites each document to its NHTSA number. $79, ready in a minute; billable like any other research cost.
Inside a dossier: the Chevrolet Silverado’s engine, as an expert gets it
The record, in order
Exhibits
- Every filing, counted What NHTSA holds on the Chevrolet Silverado’s engine, each once, with its number.
- The record, in order The chart, and how much was already on file when the first bulletin, investigation and recall came.
- Exhibits, cited A recall with its defect report, a bulletin with its NHTSA id, a complaint with its ODI number, mileage and state.
- Then, further down The complaints that match your client’s facts, the federal dockets on this defect, mileage and place, the reference date.
- Take it with you Print it to PDF; download the exhibits and the complaints as CSVs. Yours to reopen.
Pricing for a practice
Source: one payment, or monthly; no accountThree ways to buy. Most firms start with the plan.
- Every dossier, for every intake and every case
- Exhibits and complaints as CSV, the dossier as PDF
- One invoice a month, on the firm’s books
- Any three models and systems, chosen when a case needs them
- Each dossier stays yours to reopen
- Buy once; the firm shares the links
- The record in order, with numbered exhibits
- The complaints that match your client’s facts
- Open in the browser the moment you pay
Not sure yet? Open the complete sample dossier first; it is the same file a firm gets.
What a dossier holds
Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR 573, 579 and 554The record, in order
A chart of every filing by date, and the first complaint, bulletin, investigation and recall, each with how many complaints were already on file.
Exhibits A to F, cited
Coverage programs, recalls with the defect report and repair rate, investigations, every manufacturer communication, every owner complaint, and the deaths and injuries the manufacturer reported, each once, with its NHTSA number.
Complaints like your client’s
Words from the narrative, a mileage band, a state: the matching complaints, with their exhibit numbers, as their own CSV.
Related federal litigation
The federal dockets naming the manufacturer on this model and system, from the RECAP archive, each linked.
A reference date
Enter the purchase or incident date and the dossier lists what was filed before it and counts the complaints received before it.
Mileage and place, two CSVs, a PDF
The mileage owners report and the states they write from; the exhibits and the complaints as spreadsheets; the whole dossier printed to PDF.
Where it goes in the report
The chronology
The record in order: when the first complaint came, when the first bulletin went to dealers, when NHTSA opened a file, when the recall was filed, with the days between and how many complaints were on file at each step. Exhibit numbers stay fixed across the PDF and the CSVs.
The failure mode
The complaints that match the failure in front of you, by words, mileage band and state, with ODI numbers, as their own CSV: the population for a pattern opinion.
The manufacturer’s own words
Every bulletin and coverage program filed under the system, once, with its NHTSA id, the model years it names and the date: the manufacturer’s contemporaneous description of the problem. And its quarterly Early Warning reports to NHTSA (49 CFR 579.21): every death or injury claim it received on the model and system, dated, by state, with the systems the claimant named.
The citations
Campaign numbers, NHTSA ids, action numbers, ODI numbers: cite the underlying federal record, not the dossier. The sources section names the files (49 CFR 573, 579, 554) and the date of the data.
Questions experts ask
Source: WhichTrimCan I rely on it in a report?
Rely on the underlying NHTSA records, which the dossier cites by their own numbers and links where NHTSA publishes the document. The dossier is an organised copy of public federal files, rebuilt nightly; it states the date of the data it was built from.
Does it tell me whether a specific vehicle had the recall done?
No. NHTSA's VIN lookup is the only source for a specific vehicle's recall status. The dossier is the record on the model and system.
Are the owner complaints verified?
No. They are allegations filed with NHTSA, which does not verify them, and the dossier labels them that way. Narratives carry the owner's words with personal details removed; the full text is at NHTSA under the ODI number.
How far back does it go?
Every model year from 2006 on. NHTSA's public file of manufacturer communications is thin before 2015, so older model years carry fewer bulletins. Once a dossier is open it can be narrowed to the years of a matter, and a reference date splits the record into before and after.
How do I pay, and can I bill it through?
One payment of $79 per dossier, $199 for a pack of any three, or $299 a month for every dossier a practice needs, through Stripe with no account. Stripe emails an itemised invoice (PDF) for every payment, which most practices pass through as a research cost. For a purchase order write to info@whichtrim.com.
Is this legal or engineering advice?
No. WhichTrim is a data publisher. The dossier organises public federal records and draws no conclusion about any defect.
Counsel on the same matter? The dossier for law firms.