Recall check tools compared

Checked 2026-10-13 by OpenKrill. 10 tools, one of them ours.

Short answer

• Pick the NHTSA VIN lookup if a person wants open recalls for one exact car.
• Pick the agency site for the product: CPSC for goods, FDA for food and drugs, USDA FSIS for meat and poultry.
• Pick Recalert if an agent needs all four agencies, FSIS included, and you can buy credits for UPC checks.
• Pick Recall Check if an agent needs vehicle, product, food, drug and pet food recalls from one server with no key; it has no FSIS data, and for a VIN it decodes the car, then lists recalls for that model, not that car.
• Pick the cyanheads NHTSA server for deep vehicle data such as complaints and crash ratings.

The tools side by side

Answers from ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude (API with web search), asked on 2026-10-13. A small sample: read it as a hint, not a ranking.

"In scope" means the tool covers only part of this job, so it was sent only the inputs it can answer and is scored out of those.

The address or command to connect each tool is in Each tool in detail.

What each tool covers

Our test

We asked every hosted tool we could call without an account, a key or an install the same question, with the same inputs. Where that left our tool with no rival, we also ran the rivals a person can use, in their web form, their chat app or their API. Each tested row says how it was run. We wrote down the official answer for each input first, then scored each tool against it on 2026-10-13. The official source an answer comes from is not scored against itself, and an input outside a tool's job is not sent to it, so that tool is scored on the inputs in its scope.

The question: Does this vehicle model and year, or this product, have a recall from the right agency, and which one?

1. 2018 Honda Accord: Yes, NHTSA: 6 campaigns; newest 26V332000 (2026-05-21), also 23V858000, 23V158000, 20V771000, 20V314000, 18V629000. Official record: api.nhtsa.gov.
2. 2023 Mazda MX-5: Yes, NHTSA: 1 campaign, 24V695000 (2024-09-18, air bag control module software). Official record: api.nhtsa.gov.
3. HotHands rechargeable hand warmers: Yes, CPSC: recall 27011, Kobayashi, 2026-10-01, fire and burn hazards. Official record: saferproducts.gov.
4. Todd's Seeds alfalfa sprouting seeds: Yes, FDA: Class I recall H-1404-2026 (report date 2026-10-07); Todd's Seeds has 6 reports, H-1404-2026 to H-1409-2026. Official record: api.fda.gov.
5. Shanghai Ravioli buffalo chicken rangoon: Yes, USDA FSIS: recall 018-2026 (2026-08-26, Class I); the right agency is FSIS, not FDA. Official record: fsis.usda.gov.

• CPSC Recalls MCP Server (cyanheads): 1 of 1 in scope right, 1 answered, median 1.6 s. Found recall 27011; inputs 1, 2, 4 and 5 are cars and food, outside its job, so they were not sent. How it was run: Remote MCP tools/call cpsc_search_recalls on input 3 only.
• NHTSA Vehicle Safety MCP Server (cyanheads): 2 of 2 in scope right, 2 answered, median 1.2 s. Listed all 6 Accord and the 1 MX-5 campaigns; inputs 3 to 5 are products and food, outside its job. How it was run: Remote MCP tools/call nhtsa_search_recalls on inputs 1 and 2 only.
• Recalert: 1 of 5 right, 5 answered, median 2.3 s. Found only Todd's Seeds H-1404-2026; empty results for both cars, the hand warmers and the FSIS rangoon, and it answered with Spanish field names. How it was run: Remote MCP tools/call search_recalls (the free tool, no credits) with the input words.
• Recall Check (ours): 3 of 5 right, 5 answered, median 5.6 s. Right on both cars and the hand warmers; 'No FDA food recall matched' for Todd's Seeds though openFDA lists 6, and no FSIS data, so it missed the rangoon without pointing to FSIS. How it was run: Remote MCP on https://recalls.openkrill.app/mcp: check_vehicle_recalls for 1 and 2, search_product_recalls for 3, search_food_drug_recalls (category food) for 4 and 5.

Not tested:

• NHTSA Recalls: It is the official record the vehicle truth comes from.
• CPSC Recalls: It is the official record the product truth comes from.
• Recalls.gov: It only links out to each agency site and does not answer a search.
• USDA FSIS Recalls: It is the official record for input 5; its API answered 403 to our script.
• FDA Recalls: It is the official record the food truth comes from (openFDA).
• recall-check-mcp: Local npx install only, and the test rules allow no installs.

Every input, official answer and result is in the test data as JSON.

After you pick a tool

1. Find the recall on the agency's own page: NHTSA, CPSC, FDA or USDA FSIS.
2. Match the exact model, lot number, VIN or date range; a recall rarely covers every unit of a product.
3. Follow the remedy the notice gives: repair, refund, replacement or disposal.
4. Contact the maker or seller named in the notice; for a car, a dealer does the repair at no cost.

Each tool in detail

NHTSA Recalls

The only way on this page to see open recalls for one exact car: enter the 17-character VIN. MCP servers check recalls by model instead.

Good at: Official VIN lookup shows open recalls for one exact vehicle.

Limit: VIN lookup shows only unrepaired recalls from the last 15 years, from major makers; small makers may be missing.

Data: NHTSA, manufacturer recall data

License: Public domain (US government work)

CPSC Recalls

The official source for consumer product recalls, with a free API back to 1973. Search by product name; few notices list a barcode.

Good at: Official consumer product recalls with a free REST API back to 1973.

Limit: Search is by name or text; only 15 of 479 recalls posted in 2026 list a UPC, so barcode matching rarely works.

Data: CPSC

License: Public domain (US government work)

Recalls.gov

Good at: One federal entry point for six agencies and all product types.

Limit: Mostly links out to each agency; it does not answer one search.

Data: CPSC, NHTSA, FDA, USDA FSIS, US Coast Guard, EPA

License: Public domain (US government work)

USDA FSIS Recalls

The official source for meat, poultry and egg product recalls. Most other rows skip FSIS, so check it for any meat product.

Good at: Official source for meat, poultry, egg product and catfish recalls, with a public JSON Recall API.

Limit: Covers only products FSIS inspects; its API blocks some automated clients, as our test from a script showed.

Data: USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service recalls and public health alerts

License: Public domain (US government work)

CPSC Recalls MCP Server (cyanheads)

Good at: Focused CPSC search, recall detail and recent recalls; hosted copy needs no install.

Limit: A new project with 1 GitHub star; it reads the CPSC API, where few recalls carry a UPC to match.

Data: CPSC SaferProducts.gov

License: Apache-2.0. MCP tools: 3

Repo: cyanheads/cpsc-recalls-mcp-server, 1 star, last commit 2026-10-08

Connect: https://cpsc-recalls.caseyjhand.com/mcp

FDA Recalls

Good at: Official FDA list of food, drug, supplement and medical device recalls, with a free openFDA API behind it.

Limit: Not every recall gets a press release or a place on this page; entries move to an archive after 3 years.

Data: FDA recall press releases from companies, openFDA food, drug and device enforcement reports

License: Public domain (US government work)

NHTSA Vehicle Safety MCP Server (cyanheads)

Good at: Deep vehicle data: recalls, complaints, crash ratings, investigations and VIN decode.

Limit: Recalls by vehicle model or campaign; it decodes a VIN but cannot say if that car's repair is still open; 2 GitHub stars.

Data: NHTSA recalls, NHTSA complaints, NCAP ratings, NHTSA investigations, vPIC

License: Apache-2.0. MCP tools: 7

Repo: cyanheads/nhtsa-vehicle-safety-mcp-server, 2 stars, last commit 2026-10-08

Connect: https://nhtsa.caseyjhand.com/mcp

recall-check-mcp

Good at: Covers CPSC, FDA and NHTSA, checks the VIN check digit, gives confidence scores.

Limit: Local npx install; no USDA FSIS meat and poultry data.

Data: CPSC, FDA food, drugs and devices, NHTSA

License: MIT. MCP tools: 3

Repo: arhancanli/recall-check-mcp, 0 stars, last commit 2026-09-27

Connect: npx -y recall-check-mcp

Recalert

Good at: Remote MCP over 80,000+ recalls from four agencies, including FSIS meat recalls.

Limit: UPC checks and full recall records over MCP need paid credits; no public source repo.

Data: CPSC, USDA FSIS, NHTSA, FDA

License: Proprietary. MCP tools: 6

Connect: https://ajlswjtsikbnpicienyu.supabase.co/functions/v1/mcp

Recall Check (ours)

Good at: Five tools for vehicle, product, food, drug and pet food recalls, with no key.

Limit: Closed source from one small vendor, no SLA stated; no USDA FSIS meat recalls, and it decodes a VIN but checks recalls by model, so it cannot show open recalls on one exact car.

Data: NHTSA recalls API, NHTSA vPIC VIN decoder, CPSC SaferProducts.gov recalls API, openFDA food and drug enforcement reports, FDA recalls RSS (pet food, 20 most recent)

License: Closed source. MCP tools: 5

Repo: n/a (no public repo)

Connect: https://recalls.openkrill.app/mcp

How we compared

On 2026-10-13 we asked ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude (API with web search) six questions about recall check tools, three "what is the best tool" questions and three "which MCP server should I use" questions:

1. What is the best tool to check if a car or a product has a recall?
2. Which tool should I use to look up vehicle, food and product recalls in the US? Give me your top 3.
3. What are the best recall lookup tools for cars and consumer products right now?
4. Which recall lookup MCP server should I use with my AI agent?
5. What is the best MCP server for vehicle and product recalls for Claude or ChatGPT?
6. I want my AI agent to check a VIN or a product for recalls. Which MCP should I install?

18 answers came back with text we could read. "Named in AI answers" counts the answers that named the tool in their text or linked to it; pages an app read but did not cite do not count. The rows are the tools those answers named most, plus tools a reader would expect that the answers missed.

"Right in our test" comes from the measured test above. Every other fact comes from the tool's own page, docs or GitHub repo on the same day. Stars and commit dates change every week, so check the repo before you decide.

OpenKrill makes one of the tools on this page. Its row is sorted by the same count, tested with the same inputs and its limits are listed the same way.

Frequently asked questions

How do I check if my car has an open recall?

Enter the 17-character VIN on nhtsa.gov/recalls. The VIN check shows recalls not yet fixed on that exact vehicle. The MCP servers on this page check by model; Recall Check can decode a VIN to find the model, but it cannot see which recalls were already fixed on your car.

Is there one place for all US recalls?

Recalls.gov links the six agencies, but it sends you to each agency's own search. MCP servers such as Recall Check and Recalert search several agencies in one call.

Do these tools cover recalls outside the US?

No. Every tool on this page reads US agencies only.

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OpenKrill builds live-data tools for AI agents, with a human check on the result.