How We Build These Pages

Plain government data, matched carefully and checked against a second source before publishing.

Sources

Fuel economy comes from the EPA and Department of Energy dataset behind fueleconomy.gov. Recalls come from NHTSA's recall file, owner complaints from NHTSA's complaint file, and crash ratings from NHTSA's 5-Star Safety Ratings program. Each page shows the date of the files it uses.

Matching a model across sources

EPA and NHTSA name vehicles differently, and NHTSA uses one set of names for recalls and another for complaints. We define each model once, list exactly which EPA and NHTSA names it covers, and print those names on every recalls page. Separate models that share a name, such as the Rogue Sport or the Silverado EV, are kept apart; each page says what it includes.

Checks before publishing

Every recall in NHTSA's recall file is matched against NHTSA's recalls API. Campaigns the model-level API does not return are looked up one by one by campaign number, and any that NHTSA's own record contradicts are removed (1 so far). Model years with no recalls in the file are checked against the API too. Complaint totals are compared with NHTSA's complaints API and with the counts NHTSA prints on its crash-test records. Every gas, hybrid and diesel rating is checked against EPA's own fuel cost formula (1,966 ratings). A hard error, such as a recall the API lists that the file lacks or a rating that doesn't add up, keeps that model year's pages off the site until it is fixed; smaller gaps are logged for review.

After each build

A separate script re-reads the raw government files and compares the version tables, summary figures, recall lists, complaint counts and areas, and comparison figures on every page with what the files say. If anything disagrees, or if a new file has fewer recalls or complaints than the last one, the update is not published.

What the figures can and cannot tell you

EPA ratings are lab-based estimates; real-world mileage varies. Complaints are unverified owner reports that rise with sales volume and time on the road. Recalls apply to specific vehicles, so check yours by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Updates

Pages are rebuilt from the latest EPA and NHTSA files. Each page names the dates of the files it uses, and a page's own date changes only when what it shows changes.