Yes. Decoding a VIN and viewing NHTSA recalls, complaints, 5-star safety ratings, EPA fuel economy, owner sentiment, and the Buyer's Brief is completely free. A full title, accident and odometer history comes from paid NMVTIS providers, which are linked on each report.

Can I check a VIN by photo?

Yes. Tap the camera button to scan a VIN with your phone camera or webcam. An on-screen guide helps you line up the VIN and junoVIN captures it automatically — the moment it reads a valid 17-character VIN it fills it in and decodes the vehicle, no tapping required.

Will junoVIN warn me about Do-Not-Drive recalls?

Yes. When NHTSA flags an open recall as Park It (do not drive) or Park Outside (fire risk — park away from buildings and other vehicles), junoVIN shows a prominent banner on the report. It also notes when a recall can be fixed with an over-the-air software update instead of a dealer visit.

Can junoVIN estimate my fuel costs?

Yes. junoVIN shows the EPA estimated annual fuel cost and the 5-year fuel cost or savings versus the average new vehicle, plus CO2 tailpipe output and a greenhouse-gas rating (and EV range and 240V charge time for electric vehicles). An interactive calculator lets you adjust miles per year, the city/highway split, and the gas price to estimate your own yearly and 5-year fuel cost.

What is the junoVIN Buyer's Brief?

The Buyer's Brief is a free, AI-generated, model-specific pre-purchase guide for a used-car shopper considering a particular year, make and model. It produces specific things to inspect before starting the car, things to feel and listen for during the test drive, and the right questions to ask the seller — grounded in real owner reports and NHTSA data. It is not generic test-drive advice; every item is specific to that generation of vehicle.

How do I check used-car recalls before buying?

Enter the VIN into junoVIN. Open recalls are pulled directly from NHTSA in real time, including the NHTSA campaign number for each. You can also share a public Risk Profile URL with anyone considering the vehicle, or subscribe to free email alerts when new recalls are issued for that VIN.

What tools does junoVIN offer for used-car dealers?

junoVIN includes free dealer tools: a multi-device lot manager, a recall recon checklist built automatically from NHTSA campaigns, a floor-plan holding-cost ticker, junoRoney used-car window stickers in Monroney style, an AI listing description writer (short/medium/long variants), FTC Used Car Buyers Guides, printable tech work orders and compliance packs, embeddable recall-status SVG badges for VDPs, and a Walk-up Brief that gives sales advisors honest model-specific talking points for each car on the lot.

Is the junoVIN Risk Profile a public shareable URL?

Yes. Every VIN gets a public Risk Profile at junovin.com/?view=risk&vin=YOUR_VIN that shows recall status, safety ratings, fuel economy, owner sentiment and the Buyer's Brief. Dealers can share it from their listings; buyers can share it before going to the dealer. No signup required to view.

junoVIN

Free VIN Decoder · Recall Check · Used-Car Buyer's Brief

junoVIN is a free VIN decoder, recall checker, and used-car research tool. Enter or photograph any 17-character Vehicle Identification Number to instantly see country of origin, manufacturer, model year, engine and factory specs, open NHTSA safety recalls, NCAP 5-star crash-test ratings, EPA fuel economy, owner sentiment, and a model-specific Buyer's Brief — with no signup or payment. Paid full-history reports (title, accidents, odometer) are also available through linked NMVTIS providers.

What is a VIN?

A Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is the unique 17-character code carried by every road vehicle built since 1981. It encodes the country of origin, manufacturer, vehicle attributes, a check digit, the model year, the assembly plant, and a serial number.

How do I decode a VIN for free?

Enter the 17-character VIN above, or tap the camera button to scan it from a photo. junoVIN instantly returns the make, model, year, engine and factory specs, open NHTSA safety recalls, NCAP crash-test ratings, EPA fuel economy, and owner sentiment — free, with no account.

How do I check a used car for recalls?

Enter the VIN. Open NHTSA safety recalls are pulled in real time, including each NHTSA campaign number. You can share a public Risk Profile URL with anyone considering the vehicle, and subscribe to free email alerts when new recalls are issued for that VIN.

Does junoVIN warn about Do-Not-Drive recalls?

Yes. When NHTSA flags an open recall as Park It (do not drive) or Park Outside (fire risk — keep the vehicle away from buildings and other cars), junoVIN shows a prominent banner on the report, and notes when a recall can be resolved with an over-the-air software update instead of a dealer visit.

How much will this car cost to fuel?

junoVIN shows the EPA estimated annual fuel cost and the 5-year fuel cost or savings versus the average new vehicle, plus CO2 tailpipe output and a greenhouse-gas rating — and for electric vehicles, the EV range and 240-volt charge time. An interactive fuel-cost calculator lets you adjust miles per year, your city/highway split, and the gas price to estimate your own yearly and five-year cost.

Can I compare two VINs?

Yes. Decode two or more VINs at once and junoVIN builds a side-by-side comparison of age, body, engine, drivetrain, fuel economy, recalls, complaints, safety rating, driver-assist features and towing capacity — shading the rows that differ and marking which vehicle is stronger on each measure.

Is this VIN stolen or cloned?

junoVIN links you to NICB's free VINCheck, which flags unrecovered theft and insurer-reported salvage or total-loss records, and copies the VIN to your clipboard for the lookup. junoVIN also validates the VIN's 9th-position check digit and flags a mismatch as a possible cloned or altered VIN — a common used-car fraud signal.

What is the Buyer's Brief?

The Buyer's Brief is a free, AI-generated, model-specific pre-purchase guide for a used-car shopper. For any year/make/model it produces specific things to inspect before starting the car, specific things to feel and listen for during the test drive, and the right questions to ask the seller — grounded in real owner reports and NHTSA data, with checks that persist per VIN so you can pick up at the dealer where you left off at home. It is not generic test-drive advice; every item is specific to that generation of vehicle.

Tools for used-car dealers

junoVIN includes a free dealer toolkit: a multi-device lot manager, a recall recon checklist built automatically from NHTSA campaigns, a floor-plan holding-cost ticker, junoRoney used-car window stickers in Monroney style with fuel economy and owner-sentiment paragraph, an AI listing description writer that produces short/medium/long variants, FTC Used Car Buyers Guides, printable tech work orders and compliance packs, embeddable recall-status SVG badges for VDPs, and a Walk-up Brief that gives sales advisors honest model-specific talking points for each car on the lot.

Is junoVIN free?

Yes. Decoding a VIN and viewing NHTSA recalls, complaints, 5-star safety ratings, EPA fuel economy, owner sentiment, the Buyer's Brief, and all dealer tools is completely free. A full title, accident and odometer history comes from paid NMVTIS providers, which are linked on each report.

What does a VIN not tell you?

A VIN alone does not reveal title brands, reported accidents, odometer rollbacks, liens, or theft records. Those come from NMVTIS and insurance databases and require a paid vehicle-history report.

Where does the data come from?

Vehicle specifications, safety recalls, consumer complaints and 5-star crash-test ratings come from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) public databases: vPIC, Recalls, Complaints, and the NCAP Safety Ratings program. Fuel economy comes from the U.S. EPA. Technical service bulletin counts come from NHTSA TSB flat-file data. Owner sentiment is paraphrased by AI from public reviews and never quoted.

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