MotorCaliberNHTSA Safety Index

SOURCES

Data sources

The exact NHTSA endpoints, refresh cadence, and coverage limits.

Every figure on MotorCaliber comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a US federal agency. NHTSA data is public domain.

01The endpoints we use

  • NCAP Safety Ratings for crash-test stars, rollover risk, and crash-test images.
  • Recalls by vehicle for recall campaigns, components, consequences, and remedies.
  • Complaints by vehicle for owner complaint counts and reported crash, fire, injury, and death flags.
  • vPIC for the make, model, and year vehicle catalog.

02Refresh cadence

Recalls and complaints change constantly and are refreshed on a rotating daily cycle, so every vehicle is re-verified within a bounded window. Crash-test ratings change rarely and are refreshed weekly as new model years are rated. Each page shows its own "last verified" date.

03Coverage limits, stated plainly

Crash-test scores and images exist only for the configurations NHTSA has tested, a few hundred a year. The newest model years are often recall-and-complaint only until NHTSA rates them. We publish a vehicle only when it carries a real crash rating, recall, or complaint. Empty records are dropped.