Press & Data
ProblemsByVin is a consumer automotive intelligence database built on the federal NHTSA complaint and recall record. We do the layer regulators and raw APIs don't: failure-mileage quartiles, recall-gap analysis, and per-vehicle reliability verdicts. Reporters are welcome to cite it, embed it, or ask us to pull a custom cut.
Get the recall before the press release
When NHTSA posts a recall, we email you within hours with the part nobody else has: how many owners already complained about that exact defect, and the mileage those failures cluster at. That's the difference between reporting a recall and reporting how long it took.
No newsletter, no marketing. Recalls only, plus the occasional heads-up on a defect with heavy complaint volume and no recall yet. Unsubscribe link in every email.
What we can give you
- Free datasets. Every analysis is downloadable as CSV and JSON in the Data Center — CC BY 4.0, reuse with attribution.
- Custom cuts. Tell us the angle — a make, a model year, a state, a component, a failure-mileage band — and we'll build the dataset and chart for your story.
- Embeddable charts. Reliability snapshots, failure-mileage curves, and recall timelines drop into any article as a free
<iframe>. - On-record analyst. Our founder will speak to methodology and findings on the record (details below).
Permission, in writing
Every dataset and chart on this site is CC BY 4.0. You may reproduce, redraw, or republish any of it — including commercially — with attribution to ProblemsByVin (https://problemsbyvin.com). You do not need to ask us first. If your editor needs that in an email, tell us and we'll send it.
Nine datasets are deposited with permanent DOIs on Zenodo and Harvard Dataverse, so a citation keeps resolving after we update the data. DOIs are listed on each dataset in the Data Center. Source is the U.S. NHTSA public record; we are not affiliated with NHTSA.
On deadline?
- Put DEADLINE in the subject line. Those get answered first, same day, usually within a couple of hours.
- Fact-checking a number from somewhere else? Send it over. We'll confirm it against the federal record or tell you it's wrong — including when the wrong number is ours.
- Need a chart by tonight? Say the angle and the deadline. We'll build the cut and send you the CSV plus a print-ready SVG and PNG, free, no attribution strings beyond the license.
Ready-made story angles
Each links to a live, sourced figure you can verify and cite:
- Vehicles With the Most Complaints and No Recall — Recall-gap analysis
- The Failures That Hit Right After the Warranty Ends — Post-warranty failure analysis
- The Worst Transmissions, 2005–2025 — Transmission reliability
- Engine Families by Complaint Volume — Engine reliability
- Where Owners Report Fires, Crashes, and Injuries — Safety-outcome complaints
How we source and verify
Everything traces to NHTSA public records. Owner complaints are unverified consumer reports — we label them as allegations, never as adjudicated fact. Recall claims are checked against the live NHTSA recalls API before we publish a "no recall" statement, because the bulk record is incomplete. Our editorial standards and pen-name policy are public, and every on-page figure links back to its NHTSA source so you can confirm it independently. Data snapshot: 2026-07-26.
Spokesperson
Founder of ProblemsByVin. Mechanic by avocation, moving company operator by trade. Based in Garland, Texas. Currently driving a 2017 Ford F-250 6.2 gas. Previously ran an industrial valve trade across Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana.
In the news
Where reporters have cited ProblemsByVin's data and analysis:
- Here's How to Save Cash on 'Invisible' Car Repairs Founder Mark Driver quoted on catching expensive failures before they hit — with per-vehicle complaint figures.
Contact
Reporters and researchers: email contact@problemsbyvin.com with your outlet, deadline, and the angle. We turn custom data requests around quickly.