Car recalls by make, model and year, from NHTSA

Check recalls by VIN: use NHTSA’s lookup

The list above is for a model. Whether one car has an open recall is a different question, and only NHTSA’s recall lookup answers it: it takes the VIN or the licence plate and, NHTSA says, shows “if a specific vehicle needs to be repaired as part of a recall”. Drive does not reproduce that lookup. It sits behind NHTSA’s own form, and a copy that might be out of date would be worse than a link.

NHTSA also says what its VIN lookup will not show: a recall that has already been repaired; some recently announced recalls for which not every VIN has been identified yet; safety recalls more than 15 years old, unless the manufacturer offers more coverage; recalls by small manufacturers, including some ultra-luxury brands; customer-service campaigns that are not safety recalls; and recalls of international vehicles. So a clean result there and a long list here do not contradict each other — the campaigns may be repaired, or too old for the lookup.

If you have the VIN but not the model, decode the VIN first, or use the desk, which decodes it and lists the model’s recalls in one step.

Recalls by make

NHTSA’s recall list for model year 2023 names 280 makes — cars and trucks, and also motorcycles, buses, trailers and motorhomes. These are some of them; each link opens that make’s 2023 models in the lookup above, and any other year or make can be chosen from the lists.

• Acura recalls
• Audi recalls
• BMW recalls
• Buick recalls
• Cadillac recalls
• Chevrolet recalls
• Chrysler recalls
• Dodge recalls
• Ford recalls
• Genesis recalls
• GMC recalls
• Honda recalls
• Hyundai recalls
• Infiniti recalls
• Jeep recalls
• Kia recalls
• Land Rover recalls
• Lexus recalls
• Lincoln recalls
• Mazda recalls
• Mercedes-Benz recalls
• MINI recalls
• Mitsubishi recalls
• Nissan recalls
• Porsche recalls
• Ram recalls
• Rivian recalls
• Subaru recalls
• Tesla recalls
• Toyota recalls
• Volkswagen recalls
• Volvo recalls

What a recall is

NHTSA’s words: a recall is issued when a manufacturer or NHTSA determines that a vehicle, equipment, car seat or tire “creates an unreasonable safety risk or fails to meet minimum safety standards”. Most recalls, it says, are decided voluntarily by manufacturers before NHTSA is involved. A manufacturer that decides on a recall must notify NHTSA within five business days, and notifies registered owners by first-class mail within 60 days of notifying NHTSA.

The manufacturer must then fix the problem by repairing it, replacing it, offering a refund or, in rare cases, repurchasing the vehicle. For the owner, NHTSA’s instruction is to follow any interim safety guidance from the manufacturer and contact a local dealership to have the recalled part fixed for free.

How to read a campaign

• The campaign number is NHTSA’s. Quote it to a dealer or search it at NHTSA.
• The date is the day NHTSA received the manufacturer’s report. NHTSA’s recall feed writes dates day first; Drive spells the month out so that 06/03/2019 cannot be misread.
• Filed by names the company that filed the recall. The list for a model includes recalls of parts and accessories made by other companies for that model, such as replacement lamps.
• Flags — “park it”, “park outside”, “over-the-air update” — are shown when NHTSA’s feed sets them on a campaign. Read the campaign’s own text for what the manufacturer asks owners to do.

Limits

The make and model lists hold only vehicles with at least one recall on NHTSA’s list, so a model that is absent has none listed for that year. Campaign texts are the manufacturers’ and are shown unedited. Drive keeps no copy: if api.nhtsa.gov does not answer, the panel says so and shows nothing.