PlainCars uses three official NHTSA data sources: the ODI consumer complaints database (2M+ complaints), official recall campaigns via the NHTSA API, and NCAP crash test star ratings from NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program.

An ODI complaint is a consumer-submitted report filed with NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation describing a suspected safety issue with a vehicle. Anyone can file a complaint at safercar.gov. These complaints help NHTSA identify patterns that may warrant a recall investigation.

The NHTSA ODI complaint database contains over 2 million consumer-submitted complaints. PlainCars processes this full database, updated regularly from NHTSA.

Not necessarily. High complaint counts also occur for popular vehicles with large fleets — more cars on the road means more potential complaints. A 2018 F-150 may have more complaints than a rare sports car simply because millions of F-150s were sold. Look at complaints relative to sales volume when comparing models.

Use NHTSA's VIN lookup tool at nhtsa.gov/recalls to check your specific vehicle identification number for open recall campaigns. PlainCars shows model-level recall history, but NHTSA's VIN tool shows whether your specific vehicle has been remedied.

NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) conducts standardized crash tests and rates vehicles on a 1–5 star scale. Ratings cover overall safety, frontal crash protection, side crash protection, and rollover resistance. Five stars is the best rating.

No. PlainCars is an independent data portal presenting publicly available NHTSA data. We are not affiliated with NHTSA or the U.S. Department of Transportation. Always check nhtsa.gov for the most current information.