Vehicle data API

The vehicle data API that doesn't stop at specs.

Specs and representative images, complete federal recall data, and a growing DTC reference — bundled in one API at a flat monthly, not per-seat. Start free.

api.carvector.io
$ curl https://api.carvector.io/v1/vehicles/2019-toyota-tacoma-trd-sport \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer cv_your_key"
{
  "id": "2019-toyota-tacoma-trd-sport",
  "year": 2019,
  "make": "Toyota",
  "model": "Tacoma",
  "trim": "TRD Sport",
  "horsepower": 278,
  "transmission": "6-speed automatic",
  "drive_type": "4WD",
  "image_url": "https://img.carvector.io/2019-toyota-tacoma.png",
  "image_type": "illustration",
  "recall_count": 3
}

Most car APIs give you a spec sheet. That's where they stop.

You get year/make/model and a horsepower number — no image, no recall history, no diagnostic reference. CarVector bundles the data developers actually reach for, in one call and one key.

Specs + images

A growing catalog of vehicles by year, make, model, and trim — with representative illustrations, because a spec sheet with no picture isn’t much of a product.

Recalls

Complete federal recall data, mapped to vehicles and refreshed automatically. The safety history most vehicle APIs make you go find yourself.

DTC reference

A growing library of diagnostic trouble codes with titles, categories, severity ratings, and safety flags. Look up any check-engine code by its identifier.

Data quality

Reconciled sources. Logged corrections. Traceable claims.

Most vehicle databases are a copy of a copy of a copy. Nobody can tell you where a data point came from or when it was last verified.

We reconcile multiple authoritative sources and log every correction — what changed, what we trusted, and why. When we say a 2019 Tacoma makes 278 hp, we can show our work. Business and Enterprise customers get full provenance through the API.

See how we think about data quality
Model Context Protocol

Your AI agent can't call legacy desktop software. It can call us.

CarVector ships with a first-party MCP server. Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code Copilot — any tool that speaks Model Context Protocol can query vehicle specs, recalls, and DTC reference natively.

No screen-scraping, no copy-pasting. Your agent asks for the open recalls on a 2018 F-150, or the spec sheet for a trim it has never seen, and gets a structured, sourced answer.

response
{
  "tool": "carvector.vehicle_lookup",
  "args": { "year": 2018, "make": "Ford", "model": "F-150" },
  "result": {
    "trims": 7,
    "open_recalls": 2,
    "image_type": "illustration"
  }
}

Stop overpaying for data that's missing half the picture.

Free
$0
100 requests / day
YMM + basic specs

See what we've got.

The sweet spot
Pro
$49
100K requests / mo
+ recalls + DTC reference

The sweet spot for production apps.

Business
$199
1M requests / mo
+ bulk export + provenance

For products at scale.

Six tiers in all, including Hobby and Enterprise. Full pricing

Picks and shovels for the auto repair gold rush.

Shop management SaaS

Building the next shop platform? Get specs, recalls, and DTC reference via API for a flat monthly instead of licensing legacy databases at hundreds per seat.

Insurance & claims

Pull recall exposure and decode trouble codes at intake from the year/make/model. Structured data, not phone calls.

Fleet maintenance

Map open recall exposure across your fleet from each vehicle’s year/make/model. Know what’s outstanding before it’s a roadside breakdown.

AI agents & copilots

Give your agent structured automotive knowledge through MCP. No hallucinated specs or recalls — real data, real sources.

Specs, images, recalls, codes. One API, one key.

Free tier. No credit card.