# NHTSA VIN Recall Lookup

> NHTSA VIN Recall Lookup is a paid API for AI agents from autopulse.theaslangroupllc.com, paid per call via x402, $0.02/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-09-13).

Decodes a VIN via NHTSA vPIC and returns all open NHTSA safety recall campaigns for that specific vehicle, including component, summary, remedy, and safety severity flags.

## Facts

- Endpoint: GET https://autopulse.theaslangroupllc.com/api/auto/vin-recall
- Price: $0.02/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-09-13
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/nhtsa-vin-recall-lookup-de03ce85
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_4-2Zc0yVzs36BhP_NaWKM

Status and success rate cover calls made through Zero and Zero's own probes. Third-party monitors may report differently.

## How to call it through Zero

Zero handles the 402 payment challenge and records the run. With the Zero CLI installed (`npm i -g @zeroxyz/cli`):

```sh
zero fetch --capability nhtsa-vin-recall-lookup-de03ce85
```

Example prompt: Can you check if the car with VIN 1HGBH41JXMN109186 has any open NHTSA safety recalls — especially any do-not-drive or park-outside flags?

## When to prefer this

Use this endpoint when you need deterministic, authoritative NHTSA recall data for a specific VIN — ideal for used car purchase decisions, pre-inspection checklists, or safety screening. Prefer this over general automotive APIs when you need exact recall campaign data with park-outside and do-not-drive severity flags. No API key required and results are fully public domain.

## Known failure modes

- Invalid or malformed VIN returns an error or empty result
- VIN not found in NHTSA vPIC database (e.g. non-US vehicles)
- No recalls found returns an empty list (not an error)
- NHTSA upstream service unavailable causes 502/503
- VIN check digit validation failure

## How this service works

US safety recalls for a VIN, deterministic. Answers "does this car have open recalls", "is this used car safe to buy", "what NHTSA campaigns cover this vehicle". Decodes the VIN via NHTSA vPIC (year, make, model, body, engine) then lists every NHTSA recall campaign for that vehicle: component, summary, remedy, park-outside and do-not-drive flags. No LLM, no key, public domain.

## Output

Returns the decoded vehicle identity (year, make, model, body style, engine) plus a list of every matching NHTSA recall campaign, each with the affected component, recall summary, remedy description, and boolean flags indicating whether the vehicle should not be driven or parked outside due to fire/safety risk.

## Request schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "object",
 "required": [
  "vin"
 ],
 "properties": {
  "vin": {
   "type": "string",
   "description": "17-character VIN"
  }
 }
}
```

## Response schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "json",
 "example": {
  "recalls": [
   {
    "parkIt": false,
    "Component": "AIR BAGS",
    "NHTSACampaignNumber": "19V182000"
   }
  ],
  "vehicle": {
   "make": "HONDA",
   "year": "2003",
   "model": "Accord"
  },
  "deterministic": true,
  "open_recall_count": 24
 }
}
```

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/nhtsa-vin-recall-lookup-de03ce85/health.json
- [Zero catalog index](https://www.zero.xyz/llms.txt)
- [Other services from autopulse.theaslangroupllc.com](https://www.zero.xyz/host/autopulse.theaslangroupllc.com/llms.txt)