Does the report include open recalls?
It can show safety campaigns, but not confirmed open status. Only NHTSA, the manufacturer or a dealer confirms whether a specific VIN still needs the repair.
Check the review date and linked sources for context. Live availability, prices and record coverage can vary by VIN, source, jurisdiction and time.
It shows safety campaigns, not a confirmed open-repair status. The free VIN check already lists recall campaigns with component, consequence and remedy text and counts any further campaigns the full report puts in context. What no part of this service claims is VIN-specific open status: our data-sources page states a manufacturer dealer should confirm that, and NHTSA's free VIN lookup is linked directly from the result.
- Campaign relevance and confirmed open-repair status are two different answers.
- Recall campaigns appear free on the VIN result, with a link to verify status at NHTSA.
- Only NHTSA, the manufacturer or an authorised dealer confirms status for one exact VIN.
What you get free, and what the report adds
The free VIN result has a safety-campaigns section. It states how many campaigns were found and how many are shown free, and each one expands to the campaign number, component, summary, consequence and remedy. Beside that heading is a link to verify repair status with NHTSA. If more campaigns exist than are shown, the page offers them with complete context inside the full report.
That is the honest boundary of the $14.99 purchase on this topic: more campaign context, not a status verdict. Our data-sources page puts it in one line — recall campaigns may come from NHTSA data, and a manufacturer dealer should confirm VIN-specific open status.
How to actually confirm an open recall
Our recall guide draws the distinction a buyer needs: a decoded model may be associated with one or more campaigns, but model-level relevance is not proof that a specific VIN still needs the remedy. Status should be labelled VIN-specific only when NHTSA, the manufacturer or an authorised dealer confirms it for that exact VIN.
The free route is nhtsa.gov/recalls, which shows unrepaired safety recalls for one VIN; manufacturer portals run the same check and often add service-campaign detail. Safety recall remedies are generally performed by the manufacturer at no charge, subject to the campaign terms, so confirm eligibility with a dealer before booking.
Steps
- Read the campaign number, component, consequence and remedy on the free result.
- Enter the same VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls for unrepaired-recall status.
- Call an authorised dealer to confirm remedy availability and eligibility.
- Keep any repair receipt with the vehicle records.
What this does not cover
- General campaign data alone cannot confirm that a specific VIN still needs repair.
- The current pages do not state that the paid report returns a VIN-specific open or completed status.
- Recall data availability depends on what NHTSA and the manufacturer have published.
Sources reviewed
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
Frequently asked questions
Is checking recalls by VIN free?
Yes. NHTSA's recall lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls is free and shows unrepaired safety recalls for a specific VIN, and our own VIN result shows campaigns before you pay anything.
Do recall repairs cost money?
Safety recall remedies are generally performed by the manufacturer at no charge, subject to the campaign terms. An authorised dealer confirms eligibility for the specific VIN.
Can a used car legally be sold with an open recall?
Generally yes for used vehicles, though new vehicles with open recalls cannot be delivered. Check the VIN yourself rather than relying on the seller's disclosure.