Check any used car for safety recalls, owner complaints, crash-test ratings and known bad years — free, in seconds, before you message the seller. Real government records, not AI guesses.
Recalls · complaints · ratings · bad-year detector
The VIN is on the windshield corner, driver's door jamb, the title, or often right in the listing photos.
No account, no fees, no catch. Just type the car — or paste its VIN — and read the record before you fall for the photos.
Type the year, make and model, or paste the 17-character VIN straight from the listing.
We query the U.S. government's NHTSA databases for every recall, complaint and crash-test rating on file.
See the risk at a glance, spot the bad model years, and get a checklist of questions to ask the seller.
The seller shows you the good angles. We show you the record.
Every open recall on record for that exact year — and whether the fix is free at the dealer. Ask if it was done.
Real problems filed with NHTSA, grouped by part, so you can see if that year is known for transmission or engine trouble.
A chart comparing complaint volume across nearby model years. Sometimes the smart move is the same car, one year newer.
Official NHTSA overall, frontal, side and rollover star ratings — how it actually protects you in a wreck.
Paste a VIN and we identify the exact engine, horsepower and trim — straight from NHTSA's official decoder.
A ready-made checklist tailored to that car's complaint history. Copy it and paste it straight to the seller.
Add the free Chrome extension and Lemon Check Auto appears automatically on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, AutoTrader, Cars.com, CarGurus, eBay, Kijiji and OfferUp.
🍋 Add to Chrome — freeOn your phone? The tool above works great in any mobile browser — no install needed.