Public vehicle records / TypeScript

Public vehicle records for TypeScript.

VIN decode, recall campaigns, owner complaints, crash ratings, and fuel economy from US public sources. No API key. No vendor account.

npm install vinplain

MIT · v0.2.3 · 0 runtime dependencies

Vehicle recordPublic

1HGCM82633A004352

Check digit

Make: Honda
Model: Accord
Year: 2003
Recalls: 24
Complaints: 2013
Fuel: 22 mpg

Sources / vPIC · NHTSA · EPANo key

One call

The summary decodes the VIN, then runs the record lookups in parallel. Each section resolves on its own, so a slow complaint database does not hold up the recall list.

import { getVehicleSummary } from 'vinplain';

const record = await getVehicleSummary({ vin: '1HGCM82633A004352' });

record.specs;           // 2003 Honda Accord EX-V6
record.recalls.length;  // 24
record.status.recalls;  // 'ok'

What it returns

Section	Contents
Decode	Engine, displacement, horsepower, transmission, drivetrain, body, plant, airbags, seating, driver assistance.
Recalls	Campaign number, component, summary, consequence, remedy, date. Up to 50 campaigns.
Complaints	Totals by component, plus crash, fire, injury, and death counts.
Safety	Overall, frontal, side, side-pole, rollover, rollover probability, ADAS availability.
Fuel	City, highway, combined MPG, annual cost, CO2, volumes, EV range, EPA variant.
Investigations	Whether the model appears in NHTSA's investigations list for the year.

When a source fails

null means the request failed. [] means the source answered and there is nothing on file. The summary reports the same distinction in a status for each section, so a failed recall check cannot render as a clean record.

if (record.status.recalls === 'unavailable') {
  renderUnavailable('Recalls');
} else if (record.status.recalls === 'empty') {
  renderEmpty('No recalls on file');
} else {
  renderRecalls(record.recalls);
}

Sources

Source	Used for	Auth
NHTSA vPIC	VIN decode, makes, models, years	None
NHTSA	Recalls, complaints, investigations, NCAP	None
fueleconomy.gov	MPG, fuel cost, CO2, EV range	None

US federal services. Check each source's terms before commercial use. The package does not relicense their data.

What it does not do

It does not include title brands, accidents, odometer readings, auctions, valuations, or listings. It does not decode a VIN offline. It does not host an API. It reads the public record and stops.

The companion expo-vin-ocr reads a VIN from a photo with Apple Vision, on device, and hands the text to the same validation layer.