Check any VIN. See what actually breaks on that car.

What you get, in one lookup

FAQ

What does a free VIN check actually tell me?

This page decodes the VIN into year, make, model, trim, engine, transmission and assembly plant, then pulls every open safety recall for that year/make/model, government crash-test star ratings, official fuel economy and annual fuel cost, and a ranked breakdown of the owner defect complaints on file — which components fail most, and how many of those complaints involved a crash, fire, injury or death.

Is this a vehicle history report?

No. Title brands, accident records, odometer readings and ownership history come from licensed title databases and are sold per VIN by history-report companies. This page covers what official government safety and fuel-economy data knows about the year, make and model. Use both before buying a used car: this one first, because it is free.

Where does the data come from?

Official U.S. government sources: the federal vehicle identification decoder, the national safety recall and consumer complaint databases, the government 5-star crash-test program, and the federal fuel-economy database. All public-domain, fetched live and cached for 30 minutes. No third-party data vendor in between.

Why does my VIN show zero recalls or zero complaints?

Zero is a real answer. Recalls and complaints are filed against a year, make and model — a rare, very new, or simply reliable vehicle can legitimately have none. Sign up for recall alerts and we will email you if that changes.

How do I read a VIN myself?

Every vehicle sold since 1981 carries a 17-character VIN. Position 1 is the build country (J is Japan, 1/4/5 the United States, 2 Canada, 3 Mexico, W Germany, K South Korea), positions 2–3 the manufacturer, 4–8 the model and body encoded in the maker's own scheme, position 9 a check digit that catches typos, position 10 the model year, position 11 the assembly plant, and 12–17 the serial number. The letters I, O and Q never appear.

Where do I find the VIN on my car?

On a plate at the base of the windshield on the driver side (visible from outside), on the sticker inside the driver door jamb, on the title and registration, and on your insurance card. Photograph the door-jamb sticker — it is the easiest to read and includes the build date.

Can I get this data as an API for my app or AI agent?

Yes. The same six lookups are available pay-per-call to software and AI agents through the Vehicle Intelligence Pack at forgemesh.io/vehicle-intelligence — from half a cent per call, no account or API key, paid in USDC over x402 or MPP.

Want the character-by-character version? Read how to read a VIN — why a J really does mean Japan, and where eyeballing goes wrong.