Car Safety Ratings

Look up NHTSA 5-Star crash test ratings for a car by year, make and model: overall, frontal, side and rollover.

Car Safety Ratings tool

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Example

Input: Model year 2019, make TESLA, model MODEL 3, version 2019 Tesla Model 3 4 DR RWD

Result: Overall 5/5. Frontal crash 5/5 (driver 5, passenger 5), side crash 5/5, side pole 5/5, rollover 5/5 with a 6.6% rollover chance. ESC, forward collision warning and lane departure warning standard. 613 complaints, 22 recalls, 14 investigations.

NHTSA lists two tested versions of this model, rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive. The rollover chance comes from the API value 0.066.

  1. Choose the model year, then the make, then the model.
  2. Press Show ratings.
  3. If NHTSA tested more than one version, pick the one that matches the car.
  4. Read the overall stars, then the frontal, side and rollover details.
  5. Check the safety technology and the complaint, recall and investigation counts at the bottom.

How NHTSA 5-Star Crash Ratings Work

This tool shows the official NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings for a car, SUV, pickup or van. Pick the model year, make and model to see the overall score plus the frontal crash, side crash and rollover ratings. The 2019 Tesla Model 3 with rear-wheel drive, for example, earned 5 stars overall and in every test.

Five stars is the best score. In the frontal test, the car drives into a fixed barrier at 35 mph. The side tests hit the car with a moving barrier and slide it sideways into a pole. The rollover rating comes from how top-heavy the vehicle is and from a tip test. The tool also shows the chance of rolling over in a single-vehicle crash, which is 6.6% for that Model 3.

NHTSA often tests a model in more than one version, such as with two-wheel or all-wheel drive. You can switch between them. Not rated means NHTSA did not test that version in that category, not that it failed. Ratings before the 2011 model year came from easier tests, so compare them only with other older cars.

The data comes from NHTSA, the US road safety agency. Your browser sends the year, make and model you pick straight to NHTSA. Only vehicles NHTSA chose to test are listed, which covers most popular US models but not all. Frontal crash stars only compare vehicles within about 250 pounds of each other. So a 5-star small car is not as protective as a 5-star large SUV if the two collide. To read each recall counted here, use the Vehicle Recall Check.

Sources

Frequently Asked Questions

Five stars is the top NHTSA score. It means a lower chance of serious injury in that type of crash than cars with fewer stars. The overall rating combines the frontal, side and rollover results. Each star level covers a range of injury risk, so two 5-star cars are not exactly equal.
NHTSA does not test every version of every model each year. Not rated means there is no score for that test, often because the car was not tested or because another version of it was. It is not a failing grade. Try another version of the model, or a nearby model year with the same design.
No. From the 2011 model year, NHTSA added a side pole test, used a smaller female crash dummy in some seats, and began giving an overall rating. Scores from the older program are not comparable with the newer ones. Compare older cars only with cars from the same period.
It is NHTSA's estimate of the chance the vehicle rolls over if it is in a single-vehicle crash. It comes from a measure of how top-heavy the vehicle is, plus a test that checks whether it tips in a sharp turn. Tall SUVs and pickups usually carry a higher risk than low sedans.
No. NHTSA is the US government agency and gives 1 to 5 stars. The IIHS is a research group funded by insurers. It runs different tests, such as small overlap crashes, and rates cars from Good to Poor. The two sets of results complement each other, and many buyers check both.

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