nhtsa-vehicle-safety-mcp-server

Nhtsa Lookup Vehicles

nhtsa_lookup_vehicles

Read-only

Look up valid makes, models, and vehicle types in NHTSA's database. Use to resolve ambiguous vehicle names, find correct make/model spelling, or discover what models a manufacturer produces.

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description
`make`	No	Make name (required for "models" and "vehicle_types"). Partial match supported.
`limit`	No	Max results in the returned slice. Defaults to 100; max 200.
`offset`	No	Pagination offset into the full result list. Defaults to 0.
`modelYear`	No	Filter models to a specific year, a whole number. Only for "models" operation.
`operation`	Yes	"makes" (all NHTSA makes), "models" (models for a make), "vehicle_types" (types for a make), "manufacturer" (manufacturer details).
`manufacturer`	No	Manufacturer name or ID (for "manufacturer" operation). Partial match supported.

Output Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description
`cap`	No	Maximum manufacturer records a single lookup retrieves.
`error`	No	Present when the call failed. Absent on success.
`limit`	No	Pagination limit used for this response
`makes`	No	Results for "makes" operation
`shown`	No	Manufacturer records retrieved before pagination, when the cap was reached.
`models`	No	Results for "models" operation
`notice`	No	Guidance when the result set is empty or the page is out of bounds.
`offset`	No	Pagination offset used for this response
`returned`	No	Number of results in the returned slice
`operation`	No	The operation that was performed
`truncated`	No	True when the "manufacturer" lookup stopped at its retrieval cap and further matches may exist upstream.
`totalCount`	No	Results retrieved before pagination. For "manufacturer" this is capped — check the truncated field, since VPIC reports no match total.
`vehicleTypes`	No	Results for "vehicle_types" operation
`manufacturers`	No	Results for "manufacturer" operation
`effectiveQuery`	No	The operation with key args, e.g. "models make=Toyota year=2020".

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": [
+      "operation",
+      "totalCount",
+      "returned",
+      "offset",
+      "limit",
+      "effectiveQuery"
+    ]
+  },
+  {
+    "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_operation_arg`: A required argument for the chosen operation was not provided. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler.",
+          "examples": [
+            "missing_operation_arg"
+          ],
+          "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: -[
-  "operation",
-  "totalCount",
-  "returned",
-  "offset",
-  "limit",
-  "effectiveQuery"
-]

Changed8 schema fields changedJul 30, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / modelYear / description

Previous value: -"Filter models to a specific year. Only for \"models\" operation."New value: +"Filter models to a specific year, a whole number. Only for \"models\" operation."

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"
```

addedOutput schema / properties / cap

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Maximum manufacturer records a single lookup retrieves.",
+  "type": "number"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / shown

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Manufacturer records retrieved before pagination, when the cap was reached.",
+  "type": "number"
+}

changedOutput schema / properties / totalCount / description

Previous value: -"Total results matching before pagination"New value: +"Results retrieved before pagination. For \"manufacturer\" this is capped — check the truncated field, since VPIC reports no match total."

addedOutput schema / properties / truncated

Added value: +{
+  "description": "True when the \"manufacturer\" lookup stopped at its retrieval cap and further matches may exist upstream.",
+  "type": "boolean"
+}

Changed4 schema fields changedMay 30, 2026

addedOutput schema / properties / effectiveQuery

Added value: +{
+  "description": "The operation with key args, e.g. \"models make=Toyota year=2020\".",
+  "type": "string"
+}

removedOutput schema / properties / message

Removed value: -{
-  "description": "Contextual guidance populated when the result set is empty",
-  "type": "string"
-}

addedOutput schema / properties / notice

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Guidance when the result set is empty or the page is out of bounds.",
+  "type": "string"
+}

changedOutput schema / required

Previous value: -[
-  "operation",
-  "totalCount",
-  "returned",
-  "offset",
-  "limit"
-]New value: +[
+  "operation",
+  "totalCount",
+  "returned",
+  "offset",
+  "limit",
+  "effectiveQuery"
+]

Changed5 schema fields changedApr 24, 2026
- addedOutput schema / properties / makes / items / description
```
Added value: +"A single make entry"
```
- addedOutput schema / properties / manufacturers / items / description
```
Added value: +"A single manufacturer entry"
```
- addedOutput schema / properties / manufacturers / items / properties / vehicleTypes / items / description
```
Added value: +"A single vehicle-type entry produced by this manufacturer"
```
- addedOutput schema / properties / models / items / description
```
Added value: +"A single model entry"
```
- addedOutput schema / properties / vehicleTypes / items / description
```
Added value: +"A single vehicle-type entry"
```

Changed8 schema fields changedApr 23, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / limit / description

Previous value: -"For \"makes\" only: maximum makes to return. Defaults to 100; max 200. Ignored for other operations."New value: +"Max results in the returned slice. Defaults to 100; max 200."

changedInput schema / properties / offset / description

Previous value: -"For \"makes\" only: pagination offset into the full makes list. Defaults to 0. Ignored for other operations."New value: +"Pagination offset into the full result list. Defaults to 0."

changedInput schema / properties / operation / description

Previous value: -"\"makes\" (paginated slice of all makes), \"models\" (models for a make), \"vehicle_types\" (types for a make), \"manufacturer\" (manufacturer details)."New value: +"\"makes\" (all NHTSA makes), \"models\" (models for a make), \"vehicle_types\" (types for a make), \"manufacturer\" (manufacturer details)."

removedOutput schema / properties / count

Removed value: -{
-  "description": "Number of results returned in this response",
-  "type": "number"
-}

addedOutput schema / properties / returned

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Number of results in the returned slice",
+  "type": "number"
+}

removedOutput schema / properties / totalAvailable

Removed value: -{
-  "description": "Total results available before pagination, when relevant",
-  "type": "number"
-}

addedOutput schema / properties / totalCount

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Total results matching before pagination",
+  "type": "number"
+}

changedOutput schema / required

Previous value: -[
-  "operation",
-  "count"
-]New value: +[
+  "operation",
+  "totalCount",
+  "returned",
+  "offset",
+  "limit"
+]

Changed1 schema field changedApr 19, 2026

addedOutput schema / properties / message

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Contextual guidance populated when the result set is empty",
+  "type": "string"
+}

Changed9 schema fields changedApr 15, 2026

addedInput schema / properties / limit

Added value: +{
+  "description": "For \"makes\" only: maximum makes to return. Defaults to 100; max 200. Ignored for other operations.",
+  "maximum": 200,
+  "minimum": 1,
+  "type": "integer"
+}

addedInput schema / properties / offset

Added value: +{
+  "description": "For \"makes\" only: pagination offset into the full makes list. Defaults to 0. Ignored for other operations.",
+  "maximum": 9007199254740991,
+  "minimum": 0,
+  "type": "integer"
+}

changedInput schema / properties / operation / description

Previous value: -"\"makes\" (all makes — warning: 12K+ results), \"models\" (models for a make), \"vehicle_types\" (types for a make), \"manufacturer\" (manufacturer details)."New value: +"\"makes\" (paginated slice of all makes), \"models\" (models for a make), \"vehicle_types\" (types for a make), \"manufacturer\" (manufacturer details)."

changedOutput schema / properties / count / description

Previous value: -"Number of results"New value: +"Number of results returned in this response"

addedOutput schema / properties / limit

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Pagination limit used for this response",
+  "type": "number"
+}

changedOutput schema / properties / manufacturers / items / properties / country / description
```
Previous value: -"Country of origin"New value: +"Country of origin when provided"
```

changedOutput schema / properties / manufacturers / items / required

Previous value: -[
-  "manufacturerId",
-  "manufacturerName",
-  "country",
-  "vehicleTypes"
-]New value: +[
+  "manufacturerId",
+  "manufacturerName",
+  "vehicleTypes"
+]

addedOutput schema / properties / offset

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Pagination offset used for this response",
+  "type": "number"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / totalAvailable

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Total results available before pagination, when relevant",
+  "type": "number"
+}

First observedApr 13, 2026

TDQS

A4.1/5.0

Behavior4/5

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

Annotations provide readOnlyHint: true, so the agent knows this is a safe read operation. The description adds value by explaining the tool's role as a lookup/reference, which implies no side effects. It also mentions partial match support and pagination parameters in the schema, but the description itself doesn't disclose behaviors like rate limits or data freshness. Given the annotation covers safety, the description's additional context on discovery is useful, but it doesn't delve into specifics of the data source or any quirks. With annotations present, a 4 is justified as the description complements rather than repeats them.

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?

The description is a single, two-sentence paragraph. It is concise, with the core purpose stated upfront and then usage scenarios. Every word adds value: it names the tool's function and provides concrete examples of when to use it. No filler or redundant information. This is an exemplar of conciseness for a tool description.

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?

Given the tool has a rich input schema (6 parameters, one with enum) and an output schema (as indicated by 'has output schema: true'), the description doesn't need to explain return values or parameter details. The description is complete for the tool's purpose: it tells the agent what the tool does and when to use it. The schema handles parameter specifics, and annotations handle safety. The only slight gap is that it doesn't explicitly mention pagination behavior, but the schema covers that (offset/limit). Overall, the description is sufficient for an agent to use the tool correctly.

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

Parameters4/5

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

Schema description coverage is 100%, meaning each parameter has a description. The tool description itself doesn't repeat parameter details, but it explains the overall purpose (e.g., 'find correct make/model spelling') which indirectly clarifies how parameters like 'make' and 'operation' are intended to be used. Since schema already documents each parameter, the description adds context by framing the tool's use case, which helps an agent understand parameter interactions. This goes slightly beyond baseline 3 because it clarifies the high-level semantics of the operations.

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: to look up valid makes, models, and vehicle types in NHTSA's database. It uses a specific verb ('look up') and resource ('NHTSA's database'), and lists concrete use cases. While it doesn't explicitly differentiate from siblings, the sibling names (e.g., nhtsa_decode_vin, nhtsa_get_safety_ratings) suggest different domains, and the description's focus on lookup/discovery distinguishes it from those. However, it doesn't explicitly state what it is NOT, so it falls short of a 5.

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?

The description provides clear context on when to use the tool: 'Use to resolve ambiguous vehicle names, find correct make/model spelling, or discover what models a manufacturer produces.' This gives specific scenarios for usage. However, it doesn't explicitly mention alternatives or conditions where another tool should be used instead, which prevents a 5. The guidance is clear enough for an agent to decide, but it lacks explicit exclusions.

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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