Decode a VIN
Browse by make
What every model-year page covers
CarYearly has 255 model-year pages for 15 models from 9 makes, and each one answers the same five questions about one specific car, such as a 2015 Honda Civic or a 2012 Toyota Camry. We build them from official U.S. government data, so every figure on a page can be traced to the agency that published it.
- Fuel economy and fuel cost. The EPA's city, highway and combined mpg for every version of that model year, plus what it costs to fuel the car for a year at the latest national average gas price.
- Specs. The engines, transmissions and drive types the EPA lists, so you can tell which version of a model you are looking at.
- Problems. The components that owners mention most in complaints filed with NHTSA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, with a few excerpts in the owners' own words.
- Recalls. Every NHTSA recall campaign that covers the model year, with the defect, the risk and the remedy in plain language.
- Safety. NHTSA's 5-star crash-test ratings where the car was tested, with the official crash-test photos.
How to use it when you are shopping for a used car
The data is most useful before you see the car, when you are deciding which model years deserve a look, and again when you have a specific car and its VIN in front of you.
- Open the model page for the car you are considering and compare its model years. Each model page ranks the years by owner complaints per year on sale, so you can see which years stand out in either direction.
- Read the problems section of the exact model year. Look at which components owners report most, and ask the seller whether that part has been repaired or replaced.
- Check the recalls and then use the VIN box above, or NHTSA's own recall lookup, to see whether a recall is still open on the specific car. Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer, so an open recall is a reason to ask for the repair, not necessarily a reason to walk away.
- Add up the running costs. The fuel-cost estimate on each page makes it easy to compare two cars with different mpg ratings on a common footing.
- Decode the VIN to confirm that the car is what the listing says it is, then pay for a vehicle history report and an independent inspection before you buy. Free government data does not cover accidents, title problems or mileage history.
Where the numbers come from
Fuel economy and specifications come from the EPA and the Department of Energy's fueleconomy.gov data. Owner complaints, recall campaigns and crash-test ratings come from NHTSA. The VIN decoder uses NHTSA's vPIC database, and fuel prices come from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Every page shows the date of the data it uses, and the methodology page explains each calculation and its limits.
What a complaint is, and what it is not
A complaint in NHTSA's database is a report filed by a car owner. NHTSA does not verify each one, and a complaint does not prove that a part is defective. Popular cars collect more complaints simply because more of them are on the road, which is why we compare model years by complaints per year on sale rather than by raw totals, and why we never call a model year good or bad. We show you the official numbers and what they can and cannot tell you.
What we do not do
CarYearly does not review or rate cars, estimate prices or values, or sell vehicle history reports. The site is free and supported by advertising, and it may include clearly labelled partner links. Read more about who runs the site, how we are funded and our editorial policy.