nhtsa-vehicle-safety-mcp-server

Nhtsa Get Safety Ratings

nhtsa_get_safety_ratings

Read-only

Get NCAP crash test ratings and ADAS feature availability for a vehicle. Use when the user specifically wants crash test stars, rollover risk, or wants to compare safety features across vehicles. NCAP data available from 1990+, best coverage for 2011+.

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description
`make`	No	Vehicle manufacturer. Required with model and modelYear when vehicleId is omitted.
`model`	No	Vehicle model. Required with make and modelYear when vehicleId is omitted.
`modelYear`	No	Model year, a whole number. Required with make and model when vehicleId is omitted. NCAP coverage increases significantly for 2011+.
`vehicleId`	No	Specific NCAP vehicle ID (from prior results). Skips the year/make/model lookup.

Output Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description
`error`	No	Present when the call failed. Absent on success.
`notice`	No	Guidance when no NCAP ratings are found — e.g. coverage notes or adjacent year suggestion.
`ratings`	No	Safety ratings per vehicle variant

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed6 schema fields changedAug 21, 2026

changedInput schema / $schema

Previous value: -"http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#"New value: +"https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema"

addedInput schema / additionalProperties
```
Added value: +false
```

changedOutput schema / $schema

Previous value: -"http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#"New value: +"https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema"

addedOutput schema / anyOf

Added value: +[
+  {
+    "not": {
+      "required": [
+        "error"
+      ]
+    },
+    "required": [
+      "ratings"
+    ]
+  },
+  {
+    "required": [
+      "error"
+    ]
+  }
+]

addedOutput schema / properties / error

Added value: +{
+  "additionalProperties": {},
+  "description": "Present when the call failed. Absent on success.",
+  "properties": {
+    "code": {
+      "description": "JSON-RPC error code for this failure.",
+      "maximum": 9007199254740991,
+      "minimum": -9007199254740991,
+      "type": "integer"
+    },
+    "data": {
+      "additionalProperties": {},
+      "properties": {
+        "reason": {
+          "description": "Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `missing_required_combo`: Neither vehicleId nor a complete vehicle triple was supplied. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler.",
+          "examples": [
+            "missing_required_combo"
+          ],
+          "type": "string"
+        },
+        "recovery": {
+          "additionalProperties": {},
+          "description": "Actionable next step for the caller.",
+          "properties": {
+            "hint": {
+              "type": "string"
+            }
+          },
+          "required": [
+            "hint"
+          ],
+          "type": "object"
+        },
+        "retryable": {
+          "description": "Whether retrying may succeed.",
+          "type": "boolean"
+        }
+      },
+      "type": "object"
+    },
+    "message": {
+      "description": "Human-readable description of what went wrong.",
+      "type": "string"
+    }
+  },
+  "required": [
+    "code",
+    "message"
+  ],
+  "type": "object"
+}

removedOutput schema / required
```
Removed value: -[
-  "ratings"
-]
```

Changed4 schema fields changedJul 30, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / modelYear / description

Previous value: -"Model year. Required with make and model when vehicleId is omitted. NCAP coverage increases significantly for 2011+."New value: +"Model year, a whole number. Required with make and model when vehicleId is omitted. NCAP coverage increases significantly for 2011+."

addedInput schema / properties / modelYear / maximum
```
Added value: +9007199254740991
```
addedInput schema / properties / modelYear / minimum
```
Added value: +-9007199254740991
```
changedInput schema / properties / modelYear / type
```
Previous value: -"number"New value: +"integer"
```

Changed2 schema fields changedMay 30, 2026

removedOutput schema / properties / message

Removed value: -{
-  "description": "Contextual guidance populated when no ratings are returned",
-  "type": "string"
-}

addedOutput schema / properties / notice

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Guidance when no NCAP ratings are found — e.g. coverage notes or adjacent year suggestion.",
+  "type": "string"
+}

Changed3 schema fields changedMay 8, 2026

changedOutput schema / properties / ratings / items / properties / complaintsCount / description

Previous value: -"Number of complaints on file"New value: +"Complaints linked by NHTSA to this specific NCAP record. Variant-scoped — for vehicle-level totals call nhtsa_search_complaints."

changedOutput schema / properties / ratings / items / properties / investigationCount / description

Previous value: -"Number of investigations on file"New value: +"Investigations linked by NHTSA to this specific NCAP record. Variant-scoped — for vehicle-level totals call nhtsa_search_investigations."

changedOutput schema / properties / ratings / items / properties / recallsCount / description

Previous value: -"Number of recalls on file"New value: +"Recalls linked by NHTSA to this specific NCAP record. Variant-scoped — for vehicle-level totals call nhtsa_search_recalls."

Changed1 schema field changedApr 24, 2026
- addedOutput schema / properties / ratings / items / description
```
Added value: +"Safety ratings for a single vehicle variant"
```

Changed1 schema field changedApr 19, 2026

addedOutput schema / properties / message

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Contextual guidance populated when no ratings are returned",
+  "type": "string"
+}

Changed4 schema fields changedApr 15, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / make / description

Previous value: -"Vehicle manufacturer."New value: +"Vehicle manufacturer. Required with model and modelYear when vehicleId is omitted."

changedInput schema / properties / model / description

Previous value: -"Vehicle model."New value: +"Vehicle model. Required with make and modelYear when vehicleId is omitted."

changedInput schema / properties / modelYear / description

Previous value: -"Model year. NCAP coverage increases significantly for 2011+."New value: +"Model year. Required with make and model when vehicleId is omitted. NCAP coverage increases significantly for 2011+."

removedInput schema / required

Removed value: -[
-  "make",
-  "model",
-  "modelYear"
-]

First observedApr 13, 2026

TDQS

A3.8/5.0

Behavior3/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Annotations already include readOnlyHint=true, and the description's 'get' verb is consistent. It adds some context (coverage years) but doesn't disclose limitations like missing data for some models or that results may be empty. With annotations covering side effects, a 3 is appropriate.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness5/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

Two sentences front-load the core purpose and usage guidance. No filler or repetition. The coverage note is useful and concise.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness4/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

Output schema is present, so return values are covered. The description includes purpose, usage, and data coverage. What's missing is an explicit note about what happens if no ratings are found, but the readOnlyHint and schema cover most behavior.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters3/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema coverage is 100%, so all 4 parameters are described structurally. The description adds no additional meaning beyond the schema (e.g., no relationship between parameters or format requirements). Baseline 3 applies.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose4/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

The description clearly states the tool's purpose: 'Get NCAP crash test ratings and ADAS feature availability for a vehicle.' The verb and resource are specific, but it doesn't explicitly distinguish itself from the sibling tool 'nhtsa_get_vehicle_safety', so it falls short of full differentiation.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines4/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

Says explicitly when to use: 'when the user specifically wants crash test stars, rollover risk, or wants to compare safety features across vehicles.' It also mentions data coverage (2011+). However, it doesn't state when not to use or name alternative tools, so it's not a full 5.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

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