What this site learned to do, and when
30 features, newest first, each with the page it lives on. The data itself refreshes nightly and is not listed here; this is the record of new things a reader can do. Machines can read the same list at /data/features.json.
September 2026
Guides to the federal record
Eleven plain-English guides — recalls, service bulletins, warranty extensions, NHTSA investigations, owner complaints, crash ratings, fuel labels, VINs, trouble codes and loans versus leases — each listing the primary sources behind every rule it states, with figures computed from the records on this site.
Read the guides 2026-09-27 · v1.66Trims, prices and specs, for AI assistants
The free MCP server now answers “what trims does it come in?” from the manufacturer’s own press kit: every trim’s MSRP, powertrain and headline specs, which equipment is standard on which trims, or one trim’s full spec sheet — no key, with the source document named in every answer.
Ask an assistant about a car's trims 2026-09-26 · v1.49Bulletin alerts for a model, weekly
Every service bulletin page now has its own sign-up: a weekly email of the service bulletins, campaigns, warranty extensions and over-the-air notices a manufacturer filed with NHTSA for the model you pick, every model year — sent only in a week when something new was filed. A separate list from recall alerts, with the same confirm-first and one-click-unsubscribe rules.
Get a model's new bulletins by email 2026-09-26 · v1.482027 model years on file before the EPA lists them
A manufacturer's press kit for a model year fueleconomy.gov has not certified yet now gets its own page — trims, announced MSRPs, drivetrains and manufacturer-stated economy, with the EPA figures added when the certification is published and the page saying so. Every 2027 nameplate on file is ranked by starting MSRP on one lineup page, each row linking to the trim table it came from.
Every 2027 model on file, by price 2026-09-26 · v1.46The compare tool says what it can compare
Every model year in the picker is marked full specs (the manufacturer's press kit is on file: trims, specs, MSRP) or safety only (EPA and NHTSA record). Pick two and the verdict says which it is, chips show which of the seven categories are compared, and a row the tool cannot score prints 'Specs not available' instead of a number, with its weight set aside.
Compare two vehicles, trim vs trim 2026-09-26 · v1.42Original MSRP, trims and warranty by VIN
Decode a VIN on a model year we hold the manufacturer's press kit for and the result now carries the trim table as the maker announced it — every trim's launch MSRP excluding destination, drivetrain and powertrain, the trim the VIN's own pattern points to marked, and the warranty as filed. Not a sticker, not a market value: the number the manufacturer published, cited to its document.
See what a VIN was priced at 2026-09-23 · v1.2What owners reported, on every service bulletin
A bulletin page now says how many complaints owners filed with NHTSA on the model years that bulletin names, how many of them name the same broad component group, and — where one model year has enough odometer readings to support it — the mileage they reported it at. Their own words are quoted underneath.
See what owners reported 2026-09-22 · v1.2.1Calculators that cite their own interest rate
The loan calculator no longer starts from a made-up APR. It starts from the Federal Reserve's published rate for a 48-month new-car loan at commercial banks, with the series, the publisher and the observation date named on the page.
Work out a payment 2026-09-20 · v0.82NHTSA's own paperwork on every investigation
Every investigation page now lists the documents NHTSA filed on it — the opening resume that says why the agency started, the closing resume that says what it concluded, and the manufacturer's own responses to the data requests behind them — each linked to the agency's copy. Pages also say how many complaints were already on file the day the investigation opened, and how many named the component.
Read what NHTSA actually filed 2026-09-20 · v0.81A page per NHTSA defect investigation
Every investigation NHTSA has opened since 2010 — Preliminary Evaluation, Engineering Analysis, Recall Query, petition — as its own page: the agency's full summary, the stage and its clock, whether it is open, the recall it became, and every model year it names. Open ones first on the index.
See what NHTSA is investigating 2026-09-20 · v0.80Bulletins, for assistants and the API
Every bulletin page has a JSON twin, the MCP server answers lookup_bulletin with the number on the letter, and the REST API serves /v1/bulletins and /v1/bulletins/{make}/{number} — the same record, with a PDF link only where NHTSA has been seen to serve it.
Look up a bulletin from an assistant 2026-09-20 · v0.78A page per bulletin number
The number on a service-campaign letter, a warranty extension, an over-the-air notice or a dealer bulletin (Hyundai 26-01-068H, Kia SC262) now has its own page: what NHTSA's summary says, which model years it names, and why it is not a recall. The search box takes the number.
Look up a bulletin by its number 2026-09-20 · v0.76Every recall, even without a vehicle page
NHTSA campaigns filed since 2016 on vehicles this site has no page for — older model years, motorhomes, trailers, buses, motorcycles — now have their own campaign and manufacturer-number pages, so the number on the letter always finds the filing.
Look up a recall on any vehicle 2026-09-20 · v0.75Driver-assist crash reports
Every crash a manufacturer reported to NHTSA with a Level 2 driver-assist or automated-driving system engaged, joined to the model year it names — on the vehicle page, and as one dataset by make and year, with the agency's own caveats first.
See driver-assist crash reports 2026-09-19 · v0.74One box for everything
The search box now recognises a VIN, a trouble code (P0420) or an NHTSA campaign number (26V438000) and opens the right page; a name still finds the model year.
Search a VIN, code or recall number 2026-09-19 · v0.73Search results that say the number
Every model-year page's title now leads with its own recalls, complaints, fuel economy and grade, so a result says whether anything is wrong before you click.
See the report card 2026-09-19 · v0.73Parts by fitment
A parts search for the exact year, make and model on every vehicle page, and — on every trouble code — for the exact part the filings name; the listings and the prices are the sellers', and every link is disclosed as an affiliate link.
How the parts links work 2026-09-19 · v0.72An agent card for assistants
Agent frameworks that look for /.well-known/agent-card.json now find the MCP server, the API and the six skills, named exactly as the server declares them.
Use the data from an assistant 2026-09-19 · v0.71More trims, every week
The press-kit crawler now reads the five Newspress newsroom indexes whole and opens up to 25 new model years a week; each lands with trims, specs, features and pricing cited to the manufacturer's own sheet.
What has a spec sheet on file 2026-09-19 · v0.69Quarterly recall reports
A frozen, citable report each quarter: campaigns filed, vehicles covered, F grades and advisories, with a Dataset record and a CSV.
Read this quarter's recall report 2026-09-19 · v0.68Recall Watch after the sale
A watched VIN can be marked sold and stays on the list for the service department; lots and stores get their own view and one statement.
Watch a VIN for new recalls 2026-09-19 · v0.66Manufacturer recall numbers
The number on the letter, the work order and the dealer's screen (Ford 26S15, Kia SC004) has its own page, pointing at every NHTSA campaign it covers.
Look up a recall by its number 2026-09-15 · v0.55The trouble-code dataset, CC BY 4.0
Every diagnostic trouble code the federal record names, joined to the model years it is filed against, as a CSV and a JSON you may keep and republish with attribution.
Download the trouble-code dataset 2026-09-14 · v0.57Reconcile a lot list
Paste a lot list into the dashboard and see which vehicles left with a campaign still open, with the VIN, the campaign and the date.
Reconcile a lot list 2026-09-14 · v0.53Monthly Recall Watch statement
On the first of the month every account gets a statement of what was open on each VIN and what changed, by lot.
See a statement 2026-09-14 · v0.50Webhooks on every tier
A signed webhook fires when a watched VIN gains or loses an open campaign, on every Recall Watch plan including the free one.
A webhook when a campaign lands 2026-09-13 · v0.38Free recall alerts by email
One email when NHTSA files a new campaign against a model year; nothing else, ever.
Free recall alerts by email 2026-09-13 · v0.16Free bulk VIN check for fleets
Up to a thousand VINs at once, decoded against NHTSA and matched to every open campaign and advisory, with a CSV back; the list never leaves the browser.
Check a whole list of VINs 2026-09-12 · v0.9Decode a VIN
Paste the 17 characters off the dash: year, make, model, engine and plant from NHTSA's database, then this site's page for that model year.
Decode your VIN 2026-09-11 · v0.5Compare any two
Two model years scored on price, fuel, safety, space, performance, tech and warranty with your weights, every value it rests on shown.
Compare two model years