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Best recall data sources for Canada (2026)

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Where to get vehicle recall data for Canada: Cardog, Transport Canada, manufacturers' VIN lookups, NHTSA and four more APIs, compared on authority, access and price.

Cardog is first on this list. One call, GET /v2/vin/{vin}/recalls, resolves a VIN to its model year and lists the Transport Canada and NHTSA campaigns for it, each its own record tagged with its authority, with defect, consequence and corrective action text; the manufacturer's VIN lookup then confirms the specific vehicle. Transport Canada is the authority for Canadian recalls and publishes the record. The other sources on the list are manufacturers' VIN lookups, NHTSA's recalls API, CarsXE, Auto.dev, VinAudit and Vehicle Databases; each is summarized below from its own public pages.

This page is written by Cardog, and Cardog is on the list, so read it with that in mind. Every claim about another organization links to that organization's own public page, and we checked those pages on 2026-10-26. Every Cardog claim is something our API serves today.

How we evaluated

A recall source for Canada answers two questions: which campaigns exist for this kind of vehicle, and is this exact vehicle affected. The criteria:

  • Canadian authority. Does it carry Transport Canada campaigns, as the source states?
  • VIN entry. Can you start from a VIN?
  • Data depth. Defect, consequence and remedy text, dates, units affected.
  • Access. Web page, bulk file, or API; key or keyless.
  • Pricing transparency and free access. A published price, or free.
  • Docs, SDKs and MCP. Public docs, client libraries, and an agent server.

We only used each organization's own public pages. NHTSA's website pages blocked our automated fetch on 2026-10-26, so for NHTSA we cite only a public API response, which we called directly. We did not run paid accounts.

Comparison table

SourceCoverage as statedKey dataPricing as publishedFree accessStatus
CardogTransport Canada and NHTSA campaigns for the VIN's model yearAuthority, campaign number, component, defect, consequence, corrective action, date, units affected5 credits per VIN check; plans from US$30 a month50 credits a month, no cardPublic docs, self-serve
Transport Canada"Recalls issued in Canada from 1970 to the present" (TC recalls)Search by make, model and year range (database); open data and API (open data)Open Government Licence - Canada (open data)No key on the call we madeGovernment, the authority
Manufacturer VIN lookupsOne maker's vehicles, by VIN (TC manufacturer list)Recall status for one VIN (Acura.ca)Web lookupWeb formOne web page per maker
NHTSA recalls APIUS campaigns (sample response)By make, model and model year; summary, consequence, remedy (sample response)Not stated on the responseNo key on the call we madeUS government
CarsXECampaigns "for vehicles sold in the United States" (Recalls)Recalls by VIN with status and remedy; by year, make and model; batch (Recalls)50 recall calls a month on Starter, 500 on Pro (pricing)Sandbox, 100 calls lifetime shared (pricing)Public docs, self-serve
Auto.devNHTSA, plus international recalls matched by make and model (Vehicle Recalls)Recalls; open recalls per VIN on Scale (Open Recalls)US$0.01 a call on Growth, US$0.007 on Scale (pricing)Not on the Free plan (pricing)Public docs, self-serve
VinAuditRecalls on the decode; example source is NHTSA (docs)Campaign, date, components, summary (docs)$100 a month plus $0.10 a query (product page)Trial, up to 100 queries (product page)Public docs, self-serve
Vehicle DatabasesRegions "United States" and "Canada"; "NHTSA-backed government datasets" (Vehicle Recalls)Open recalls by VIN or by year, make and model (Vehicle Recalls)Usage-based or subscription (Vehicle Recalls)15 free credits (Vehicle Recalls)Self-serve sign-up

Where a vendor's page shows "$" without naming a currency, we show "$" as published.

1. Cardog

A recall check inside a Canadian vehicle data API. GET /v2/vin/{vin}/recalls resolves the VIN to its model year and lists the campaigns for that model year by market of sale: on API version 2026-10-26 the default CA market returns Transport Canada campaigns and ECCC emissions notices, market=US returns NHTSA's, and market=all returns every authority, each campaign its own record tagged with its authority. The maker's VIN lookup confirms whether the specific vehicle is affected.

  • Every authority, never merged. Each campaign carries its authority, campaign number, component, defect summary, consequence, corrective action, recall date and units affected. See Recalls.
  • Clear answers. resolved: false says the VIN could not be tied to a model year; total: 0 says no campaigns are listed for it; source says whether the model year came from an observed VIN or the decoder.
  • By VIN or by vehicle. GET /v2/recalls/entity/{ref} lists campaigns for a make, model or model year, GET /v2/recalls/{ref} returns one campaign, and GET /v2/recalls/feed returns the latest campaigns, newest first.
  • Same keys as the decode. The model-year ref joins recalls to the VIN decode, spec sheets and market quotes.
  • Built for developers and agents. API key in x-api-key or Authorization: Bearer, TypeScript and Python SDKs, a check_recalls tool on the remote MCP server at mcp.cardog.io, and a dated Cardog-Version header.

Pricing. 5 credits per VIN check; campaign reads by entity, feed or recall ref are 1 credit per request. The Free plan is 50 credits a month, no card, hard stop; paid plans from US$30 a month. See Pricing.

2. Transport Canada

The federal regulator and the authority for vehicle recalls in Canada. Its Motor Vehicle Safety Recalls Database lets you "Look up recalls issued in Canada from 1970 to the present" (TC recalls), searched by make, model and year range (database). For a specific vehicle, it says to "Use your vehicle identification number (VIN) to look up recalls" on the manufacturer's site (TC recalls).

The Vehicle Recalls Database is open data under the Open Government Licence - Canada, as a monthly CSV and XML file, with a data dictionary, an API guide, and a JSON and XML API; the dataset page says the API excludes "inconsequential" or "non-safety related" recall data (open data). A separate file of the last 60 days of recalls is updated daily (60-day data). We called the API guide's own example, a search by make and year range, without a key on 2026-10-26 (example call).

Pricing and status. Open Government Licence - Canada. Government source.

3. Manufacturer VIN lookups

Each maker's own recall lookup by VIN. Transport Canada's list of manufacturers says it can be used to "Look up existing vehicle manufacturer recalls using a vehicle identification number (VIN)" and links each maker's "Check recalls" page (TC manufacturer list). Two examples: Ford of Canada's page says "Search recalls initiated since January 1, 2010 with a VIN" (Ford.ca), and Acura Canada's asks for a 17-character VIN "to check safety recall and product update campaign status" (Acura.ca).

Pricing and status. Web lookups, one per maker.

4. NHTSA recalls API

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public recalls API, a separate US government service. recallsByVehicle takes a make, model and model year. We called it without a key on 2026-10-26 and got JSON with campaign number, component, summary, consequence, remedy and notes, plus parkIt, parkOutSide and overTheAirUpdate flags (sample response). NHTSA campaigns are US records.

Pricing and status. US government service. Its documentation pages blocked our automated fetch, so we state nothing about its terms or limits.

5. CarsXE

A Recalls API with lookups by VIN, by year, make and model, by campaign, and in batch of up to 10,000 VINs; recalls by VIN return a recall_status and remedy_available. Records carry NHTSA campaign numbers, and "The dictionary covers campaigns for vehicles sold in the United States" (Recalls).

Pricing and status. Vehicle Recalls quota: 100 calls shared in the Sandbox, 50 a month on Starter, 500 a month on Pro (pricing).

6. Auto.dev

A Vehicle Recalls API with "vehicle recall information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) database," plus international recalls matched against the issuing region's public catalogue at "year/make/model-level" (Vehicle Recalls). A separate Open Recalls API returns the unresolved NHTSA recalls for a VIN (Open Recalls).

Pricing and status. Vehicle Recalls is US$0.01 a call on Growth (US$299 a month) and US$0.007 on Scale (US$599 a month), and is not on the Free plan (pricing). Open Recalls is on Scale (Open Recalls).

7. VinAudit

Recalls as an include on VinAudit's specifications call, each with source, campaign, date, components and summary; the example shows "source":"NHTSA" (docs).

Pricing and status. Self-Service at $100 a month plus $0.10 a query; free trial up to 100 queries (product page).

8. Vehicle Databases

A Vehicle Recall API by VIN or by year, make and model, focused on open recalls. It lists "United States" and "Canada" as supported regions and model years 1950 through 2026, and says "Recall records pulled from official NHTSA-backed government datasets" (Vehicle Recalls).

Pricing and status. Usage-based or subscription pricing, with a trial of 15 free credits (Vehicle Recalls).

Why Cardog is first

  • Transport Canada campaigns in an API you can start from a VIN. One call, with NHTSA campaigns alongside and each tagged with its authority.
  • Nothing blended. A Canadian campaign and a US campaign stay two records, with their own numbers and dates.
  • Answers you can act on. resolved, total and source say exactly what was checked and how the VIN was matched, and the maker's VIN lookup is the clear next step.
  • Campaigns by vehicle, too. Read recalls for a make, model or model year, or follow the live feed.
  • One graph. The same model-year ref links recalls to the decode, spec sheets and market quotes, for code and for agents.

FAQ

Who is the authority for vehicle recalls in Canada? Transport Canada. Its database covers recalls issued in Canada from 1970 to the present.

Can I look up recalls by VIN on Transport Canada's site? Its database searches by make, model and year. Transport Canada directs you to the manufacturer's site to look up a specific VIN.

What does Cardog return for a VIN? The Transport Canada and NHTSA campaigns listed for the VIN's model year, each tagged tc or nhtsa, with defect, consequence and corrective action text. The maker's VIN lookup confirms whether the specific vehicle is affected. See Recalls.

Are NHTSA recalls the same as Canadian recalls? They are separate records from separate authorities. See Canadian vs US recalls.

What does a Cardog recall check cost? 5 credits per VIN. Reading campaigns by make, model, model year or recall ref is 1 credit per request.

Can an AI agent check recalls through Cardog? Yes. The remote MCP server at mcp.cardog.io has a recall check tool. See MCP server.

Sources

Checked on 2026-10-26:

If something here is wrong, tell us and we will fix it.