Safety Rating Lookup — IIHS & NHTSA Stars

Todd Mitchell (photo)
By Todd Mitchell
On: Saturday, June 13, 2026 7:52 PM
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Safety Rating Comparator

Look up safety ratings — IIHS Top Safety Pick status, NHTSA stars, crash test scores and standard ADAS features (AEB, lane keep, blind spot). Critical for family vehicles and teen drivers.

Safety Rating Aggregator

Combine NHTSA + IIHS scores with active-safety features for one composite index.

Composite safety
Family-suitable
Teen driver
Grade

How It Works

IIHS rates each crash type (small overlap, side, roof) as Good/Acceptable/Marginal/Poor. NHTSA gives 1–5 stars overall and by crash type. Combined into a single safety score.

Formula: Safety score = 0.6 × IIHS rating count of “Good” + 0.3 × NHTSA stars + 0.1 × standard ADAS feature count.

How to Use This Calculator

  1. Select make, model and year.
  2. Calculator returns IIHS status, NHTSA stars and standard ADAS features.

Worked Example

Example: 2024 Honda CR-V — IIHS Top Safety Pick+, NHTSA 5-star overall, standard AEB + lane keep + adaptive cruise + blind spot. Safety score 9.6/10.

Reference Table

IIHS updates tests every few years — older “Top Safety Pick” awards may not meet newer criteria (e.g., updated side crash test in 2023).

Rating Meaning
IIHS Top Safety Pick+ Good in all crash tests + Good headlights standard
IIHS Top Safety Pick Good in all crash tests but headlights vary by trim
NHTSA 5-star overall Top 20% of all tested vehicles
Standard AEB Automatic emergency braking on all trims
Standard lane keep Lane departure warning + active lane centering

Frequently Asked Questions

Are small cars dangerous?

Statistically yes — physics doesn’t lie. Even with top IIHS ratings, a small car colliding with a larger vehicle takes more force. But a top-rated small car is safer than a bottom-rated SUV.

What’s the most important ADAS feature?

Automatic Emergency Braking — IIHS data shows AEB reduces rear-end crashes by ~50%. It’s standard on nearly all 2024+ vehicles.