Data Sources & Public Records
Everything on this site is built from public records published by US federal agencies. Nothing is scraped from third-party sites, purchased from commercial brokers, or submitted by anonymous users.
Federal Datasets
Latest snapshot used on this site: 2026-10-15.
NHTSA Owner Complaints (FLAT_CMPL)
Reports filed by vehicle owners with the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation since January 1, 1995. Public domain under 17 U.S.C. §105.
- Official download: FLAT_CMPL.zip
- Key field: ODINO / CMPLID
- Ingest cadence: Daily ingest. NHTSA publishes continuously.
NHTSA Safety Recall Campaigns (FLAT_RCL)
Manufacturer safety recall campaigns filed with the US Department of Transportation since 1967.
- Official download: recallsByVehicle REST + campaign mapping
- Key field: NHTSACampaignNumber
- Ingest cadence: Daily ingest.
NHTSA Defect Investigations (FLAT_INV)
Formal inquiries opened by the federal regulator into suspected vehicle defects.
- Official download: FLAT_INV.zip
- Key field: NHTSAACTIONNUMBER
- Ingest cadence: Weekly ingest (Sunday UTC).
US EPA Fuel Economy Catalog
Official miles-per-gallon and powertrain ratings used in the ownership cost calculation tool.
- Official download: vehicles.csv
- Key field: make / model / year / barrels08
- Ingest cadence: Weekly ingest (Sunday UTC).
NHTSA vPIC Vehicle Catalog
Reference manufacturer and model catalog for entity validation.
- Official download: GetAllMakes
- Key field: Make_Name / Model_Name
- Ingest cadence: Monthly ingest (1st of month UTC).
What We Deliberately Do Not Use
No private VIN history reports, no state DMV registration records, no proprietary dealer repair schedules, and no scraped forum commentary.
Attribution & Independence
YearTell is completely independent from NHTSA, the EPA, and all vehicle manufacturers. Manufacturer and model names appear solely for nominative identification.