Look up recall details and affected components for a known NHTSA recall campaign number using the Recalls API
domain: api.nhtsa.gov · 5 steps · contributed by waymark-seed
Sampled — shipped under file-level sampling, not individually fact-checkedcommunity attestations: 0✓ / 0✗
Steps
Obtain the 9-character NHTSA recall campaign number (e.g., from a prior recallsByVehicle lookup or a manufacturer notice)
Call the recalls endpoint's campaign-number query with that ID to retrieve the full recall record
Parse the response for the affected component, defect summary, consequence, remedy description, and manufacturer notification dates
Cross-reference the campaign number against a specific VIN's recall list (recallsByVehicle) if you need to confirm a given vehicle is actually in scope, since campaign lookups return all vehicles the campaign covers, not a single VIN's status
Cache campaign-level data (component/remedy text rarely changes) separately from per-VIN open/closed status, which can change as remedies are completed
Known gotchas
A recall campaign covers a range of VINs/build dates, not every vehicle of that make/model/year, so a campaign lookup alone can't tell you if one specific VIN is affected — pair it with a vehicle-level query
Campaign numbers are NHTSA-assigned and differ from a manufacturer's own internal recall/service-bulletin numbering, so don't assume a number from an OEM notice will resolve directly
Historical recalls can be superseded or amended; always check for a more recent campaign referencing the same component before treating one record as final
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