Japanese car recall check: each maker's official search, and how to type the number
Sources checked 4 October 2026
Japan's transport ministry keeps a list of the makers' own recall searches. For a single car, it says, the maker's search is the place to check, because the ministry's own recall list gives chassis number ranges that can include cars a recall doesn't cover. Each maker asks for the chassis number in its own way: two boxes or one, with the hyphen or without.
Choose the maker below to get its search page and its instructions, in English. We don't run the search for you here, and we don't read the result for you. The search is the maker's, and it's in Japanese.
If the box above doesn't appear, the table has the same information for every maker on the list.
| Maker | How to type the chassis number | What it covers | Official search |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toyota (also Lexus) | Two boxes: the part before the hyphen and the part after, in half-width letters and numbers, as on the shaken certificate | Recalls and improvement measures from January 1999, service campaigns from January 2002. There's a separate English search for the Takata airbag recall only | toyota.co.jp |
| Nissan | Two boxes: before and after the hyphen, half-width. If a converted vehicle's number has no hyphen, Nissan says to put the last six digits in the right-hand box | Recalls and improvement measures from 30 March 2001, service campaigns from 17 January 2003. Nissan also has an English search | nissan.co.jp |
| Honda | Two boxes: the letters and numbers before the hyphen, then the numbers after, as in Honda's example HH5 and 1000000 | Recalls and improvement measures notified from 1 August 1997, service campaigns from 1 May 2017. There's a separate English page for the Takata airbag recall only | recallsearch4.honda.co.jp |
| Mazda | Two boxes: the letters and numbers before the hyphen, then the numbers after, as in Mazda's example DY3W and 399999 | Recalls and improvement measures from April 1999, service campaigns from August 2003. Mazda says a completed repair can take about two weeks to show | www2.mazda.co.jp |
| Subaru | Two boxes: before and after the hyphen. Subaru gives three patterns, 3 and 6, 5 and 7, or 6 and 7 characters | Recalls and improvement measures from April 1993, service campaigns from July 2003. A few models aren't covered, and Subaru has a separate Takata airbag lookup | recall.subaru.co.jp |
| Mitsubishi | Half-width letters and numbers. If the number has a hyphen, Mitsubishi says to leave the hyphen out | Not stated on the search page | recall.mitsubishi-motors.co.jp |
| Daihatsu | The chassis number exactly as on the shaken certificate. Daihatsu warns that a mistyped number can show the wrong result or none | Not stated on the search page | daihatsu.co.jp |
| Isuzu | The chassis number (Isuzu calls it the VIN) from the chassis number box on the shaken certificate | Recalls and improvement measures from 23 July 1998, service campaigns from 3 April 2003. Isuzu says a completed repair can take two weeks or more to show | isuzu.co.jp |
| UD Trucks | Half-width, with the hyphen left out and the serial padded with zeros, as in UD's example AB36A-12345 entered as AB36A012345 | Not stated on the search page | ud-recallsearch.udtrucks.com |
| Hino | The link on the ministry's list didn't open when we checked it. Look on Hino's own site | Not checked |
Data checked 4 October 2026 · 10 rows
A recall search tells you what the maker has on record for that number. It doesn't tell you what the car is like. If the search is clear and you'd like the car itself seen, send us the listing.
Our own car, as an example
We ran our own car, a Toyota Prius α, through Toyota's search. Toyota's page asks for the chassis number in two boxes, the part before the hyphen and the part after, so ZVW41 went in the first and the serial in the second. What came back, and what the asterisk on it meant, is on Japanese car recall check.
Before you search
- Get the chassis number from the papers or the car. It's on the shaken certificate, and on the export certificate in the box printed "Maker's serial number" (the Japanese papers, box by box). Check it against the stamping on the car before you rely on any result.
- Check the code belongs to the make you think. Our chassis code table shows which model a code is, for the codes we've checked.
- Type it the maker's way. A wrong character can show another car's result, Honda warns, or none at all, Daihatsu says.
- Note what the search covers. Each maker searches from its own start date, given in the table.
What the list doesn't include
- Suzuki. Suzuki isn't on the ministry's list as we read it on 4 October 2026. Look on Suzuki's own site, or ask the dealer.
- Hino. It's on the list, but the link didn't open when we checked it.
- Imported makes. The ministry's list also has foreign makes sold in Japan, such as Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz. They're outside what this page is for, which is cars from Japan's own makers.
- What happens after a recall. Whether the work has been done, and what to ask the dealer, is on Japanese car recall check, with a message you can send.
Sources
All read on 4 October 2026.
- MLIT, Makers' chassis number search pages (in Japanese): the list of makers' searches, why a single car is checked with the maker, and that the main makers search by the chassis number on the shaken certificate
- Each maker's own search page, linked in the table (in Japanese): how to type the number, and the dates each covers
- Our own car's result in Toyota's search, 3 October 2026 (chassis number not shown)
Found something on a search and want the dealer asked about it? A Remote Check is where we ask the dealer in Japanese and translate what they send.