How to Check the Crash Safety Rating for your Car
You can quickly check a vehicle’s safety ratings with just a little bit of information.
To find NHTSA vehicle safety ratings using the VINvaquero.com safety rating tool, simply enter your vehicle’s VIN number or provide the year, make, and model of the vehicle.
(Where to find your VIN number)
From there, you can select the submodel of the vehicle to get the specific crash safety data.
The results will provide you with a quick view of the overall rating for the vehicle plus its scores on front crash tests, side crash tests, and rollovers.
You’ll also see whether your vehicle comes equipped with adaptive safety features such as:
- Forward Collision Warning.
- Lane Departure Warning.
- Electronic Stability Control.
Enter your 17-digit VIN or year, make, and model in the fields above.
You’ll also see how many active recalls have been found for the vehicle. You can use the VINvaquero.com Recall Lookup for more information on any recalls that were found.
You can also find a car’s safety ratings on the window sticker at the dealership.
Guide to Vehicle Crash Test Safety Ratings
Crash Prevention & Vehicle Safety Technology
NHTSA Safety Rating Program
The data on this page comes from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle safety rating program.
The NHTSA’s 5-star Safety Ratings are designed to help consumers make the right decision when purchasing a new car.
The crash safety tests evaluate how a vehicle protects you in the event of a crash.
Tests conducted include:
- Front crash test.
- Side crash tests.
- Rollover tests.
The tests used by the NHTSA are designed to simulate the majority of car crashes that happen on public roads in the U.S.
The tests are designed to simulate actual crash scenarios that vehicles may face in the real world.
The crash tests are conducted using crash test dummies secured with a seat belt. The different scenarios may include a fixed object or moving barriers at speeds of 20 to 38.5 mph.
Additionally, the program provides information about driver assistance technologies that can help prevent crashes.
When you search for the safety ratings for a vehicle, you can also see whether the following equipment comes standard:
- Forward Collision Warning.
- Lane Departure Warning.
- Electronic Stability Control.
Other organizations, like the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), also perform safety rating tests for new vehicles.
What does a 5-star safety rating mean?
For the NHTSA crash safety tests, a 5-star scale is used to evaluate a vehicle’s performance.
The more stars in a particular category, the better the vehicle performed and the safer it is.
The IIHS vehicle safety program awards Top Safety picks.
Which vehicles are crash tested in the safety rating program?
Note that not every vehicle is evaluated in the NHTSA 5-star safety program.
New vehicles are chosen for each model year based on popularity.
Vehicles tested can include:
- Passenger cars.
- Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs).
- Trucks.
- Vans.
Gasoline, hybrid, and electric vehicles are included in the tests.