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Free public service · Official NHTSA & EPA data

Methodology

Verify the Vehicle is committed to transparency. Here is exactly where every figure comes from, how we classify it, and what we deliberately choose not to do.

Why we don't publish a “risk score”

Many sites reduce a vehicle to a single 0–100 safety, risk, or reliability number. Verify the Vehicle deliberately does not, because we have no defensible basis for one:

  • No honest weighting exists.A composite would have to weigh recalls against complaints against crash ratings. Any set of weights we chose would be arbitrary, and different choices produce different “scores” for the same car.
  • Raw counts are not rates. We have no vehicle-population denominator (how many of each model are on the road), so a raw complaint count cannot be turned into a per-vehicle rate without inventing the denominator. We therefore never present counts as rates.
  • What we publish instead.The underlying counts — recalls, complaints, investigations, crash-test results, fuel economy — each shown with its official source and date, so you (or an AI assistant) can reach an evidence-based judgement directly.

Recall Severity

The one label we do apply is recall severity, derived transparently from NHTSA-provided data — not from a score:

Critical

Recalls with “Park It” flag. Vehicle should not be driven until repaired.

High

Recalls with “Park Outside” flag, or involving safety-critical components (airbags, brakes, steering, fire risk).

Moderate

Recalls involving power loss, wheel issues, or lighting problems.

Low

Recalls not matching higher severity criteria. Typically minor issues.

Data Sources

All data on Verify the Vehicle comes from official US government sources:

  • NHTSA Recalls: api.nhtsa.gov/recalls — Official recall data, refreshed on a regular schedule
  • NHTSA Complaints: api.nhtsa.gov/complaints — Consumer vehicle owner questionnaire data
  • NHTSA Investigations: api.nhtsa.gov/investigations — Office of Defects Investigation records
  • EPA Fuel Economy: fueleconomy.gov — Official fuel economy and emissions data
  • NHTSA vPIC: vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov — Vehicle identification and specifications

Data is refreshed regularly. Last verification date is shown on every vehicle page.

Known Limitations

  • Verify the Vehicle does not have access to accident history, ownership records, or title information
  • Recall severity labels reflect NHTSA-provided flags and component type, not a judgement about any individual vehicle
  • Complaint data represents individual consumer experiences, not necessarily widespread defects
  • Safety ratings are only available for vehicles that have been tested by NHTSA
  • Fuel economy estimates may differ from actual driving conditions