# NHTSA Vehicle Intelligence (`prophed/nhtsa-vehicle-intelligence`) Actor

Decode VINs and fetch vehicle recall records from public NHTSA APIs as normalized dataset rows.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/prophed/nhtsa-vehicle-intelligence.md
- **Developed by:** [Prophed Com](https://apify.com/prophed) (community)
- **Categories:** Automation, Developer tools, Business
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$3.00 / 1,000 dataset items

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## NHTSA Vehicle Intelligence

Decode VINs and fetch vehicle recall records from public NHTSA APIs, then return normalized Apify dataset rows. This Actor is useful for automotive marketplaces, fleet operations, due-diligence workflows, data enrichment, lead scoring, and vehicle safety monitoring.

### Use cases

- Decode VINs into make, model, year, body class, engine, fuel, and manufacturing details.
- Pull NHTSA recalls for make/model/year combinations.
- Batch vehicle safety enrichment into a repeatable Apify run.
- Export vehicle intelligence to CSV, JSON, Excel, webhooks, or downstream systems.

### Input

```json
{
  "vins": ["1HGCM82633A004352"],
  "recallQueries": [
    { "make": "Honda", "model": "Accord", "modelYear": "2003" }
  ],
  "includeRaw": false,
  "maxItems": 1000
}
```

Both `vins` and `recallQueries` are optional, but at least one should be provided for useful output.

### Output

VIN decode rows:

```json
{
  "recordType": "vin-decode",
  "vin": "1HGCM82633A004352",
  "make": "HONDA",
  "model": "Accord",
  "modelYear": "2003",
  "bodyClass": "Coupe",
  "engineCylinders": "6",
  "fuelTypePrimary": "Gasoline"
}
```

Recall rows:

```json
{
  "recordType": "recall",
  "make": "HONDA",
  "model": "ACCORD",
  "modelYear": "2003",
  "campaignNumber": "19V182000",
  "component": "AIR BAGS",
  "summary": "..."
}
```

If an upstream request fails, the Actor writes a structured error row and continues with the remaining VINs or recall queries.

### Notes

This Actor uses public NHTSA endpoints and does not require an API key. It is a data enrichment tool, not a substitute for official safety checks or legal compliance processes.

# Actor input Schema

## `vins` (type: `array`):

Vehicle Identification Numbers to decode.

## `recallQueries` (type: `array`):

Recall lookups by make, model, and modelYear.

## `includeRaw` (type: `boolean`):

Attach selected raw API fields to each row.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Hard cap for dataset rows.

## `timeoutSecs` (type: `integer`):

Per-request timeout.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "vins": [
    "1HGCM82633A004352"
  ],
  "recallQueries": [
    {
      "make": "Honda",
      "model": "Accord",
      "modelYear": "2003"
    }
  ],
  "includeRaw": false,
  "maxItems": 1000,
  "timeoutSecs": 30
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

## `summary` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "vins": [
        "1HGCM82633A004352"
    ],
    "recallQueries": [
        {
            "make": "Honda",
            "model": "Accord",
            "modelYear": "2003"
        }
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("prophed/nhtsa-vehicle-intelligence").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "vins": ["1HGCM82633A004352"],
    "recallQueries": [{
            "make": "Honda",
            "model": "Accord",
            "modelYear": "2003",
        }],
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("prophed/nhtsa-vehicle-intelligence").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "vins": [
    "1HGCM82633A004352"
  ],
  "recallQueries": [
    {
      "make": "Honda",
      "model": "Accord",
      "modelYear": "2003"
    }
  ]
}' |
apify call prophed/nhtsa-vehicle-intelligence --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=prophed/nhtsa-vehicle-intelligence",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/2ovfKL6rhUmAoQL3d/builds/3LHHQ6zwd3WbG0nma/openapi.json