The Cars API with
economy, recalls and fitment.
VIN-grade car specifications — make, model, year, engine, body, fuel and drive type — enriched with EPA fuel economy, live NHTSA recalls and tire cross-references, all on the same UUID.
Free plan includes 100 API calls/mo — no card required.
Key endpoints
All responses are JSON with pagination metadata. Records are addressed by UUID.
GET
/v1/cars
|
List cars with filtering and pagination — make, model, year range, body, fuel type, drive type, EV-only. |
GET
/v1/cars/{uuid}
|
Single car by UUID — full specifications plus EPA economy fields and compatible tire sizes. |
GET
/v1/cars/{uuid}/recalls
|
Live NHTSA recall campaigns and NCAP crash-test rating for the vehicle. |
GET
/v1/cars/{uuid}/tire-sizes
|
Cross-reference: OEM and alternate tire sizes that fit this car. |
Base URL: https://api.vehdb.com/v1
Query parameters
Combine any of these on the list endpoint for precise queries.
| Parameter | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
make |
string | Filter by manufacturer name (e.g., Toyota, Ford, Tesla) |
model |
string | Filter by model name (e.g., Camry, F-150, Model Y) |
year_min |
integer | Minimum model year (inclusive) |
year_max |
integer | Maximum model year (inclusive) |
body |
string | Filter by body type (e.g., Sedan, SUV, Truck, Coupe, Hatchback) |
fuel_type |
string | Filter by fuel type name (e.g., GASOLINE, DIESEL, BATTERY ELECTRIC) |
drive_type |
string | Filter by drivetrain (e.g., FWD, RWD, AWD, 4WD) |
ev_only |
boolean | Set to 1 to return only electric and hybrid vehicles (BEV, PHEV, HEV) |
page |
integer | Page number for paginated results (default: 1) |
per_page |
integer | Results per page (default: 20) |
Enrichment that answers the next question
Specs identify the car. Enrichment tells you what it costs to run, whether it's safe, and what fits it.
EPA fuel economy, inline
Every car carries mpg_combined, annual_fuel_cost, co2_gpm and epa_range_miles for EVs — sourced from fueleconomy.gov, no second call needed.
NHTSA recalls & NCAP
GET /v1/cars/{uuid}/recalls returns live recall campaigns plus the NCAP crash-test rating — overall, front, side and rollover.
Tire fitment cross-reference
GET /v1/cars/{uuid}/tire-sizes lists OEM and alternate sizes for the exact configuration — wired straight into the tire-sizes dataset.
Example response
A consistent data + meta shape on every list endpoint.
{
"data": [
{
"uuid": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
"make": "Tesla",
"model": "Model Y",
"year": 2024,
"trim": "Long Range AWD",
"body": "SUV",
"fuel_type_name": "BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLE (BEV)",
"drive_type": "AWD",
"engine_displacement": null,
"cylinders": null,
"doors": 4,
"mpg_combined": 117,
"annual_fuel_cost": 700,
"co2_gpm": 0,
"epa_range_miles": 320,
"tire_sizes": ["255/45R19", "255/40R20"]
}
],
"meta": { "current_page": 1, "last_page": 1, "per_page": 20, "total": 3 }
}
Cars API FAQ
Common questions about VehDB's Cars API.
Also see the Motorcycles, Boats and Tire Sizes APIs, or the API overview.
Your AI agent's vehicle-data tools —
not glue code.
VehDB ships a native Model Context Protocol server. Claude, Cursor or any MCP client queries cars, recalls, fuel economy and tire fitment as first-class tools — no wrappers, no scraping, no glue code to maintain.
- Native MCP tools — search_vehicles, tire_sizes_for_vehicle, recalls, my_lists — callable by Claude, Cursor or any agent.
- OAuth2 for AI providers plus simple Bearer tokens. Same auth, same data as the REST API and workspace.
- No scraping, no function-calling boilerplate, no schema drift — the agent gets typed, documented tools.
{ "mcpServers": {
"vehdb": { "url": "https://mcp.vehdb.com/mcp" }
} }