US recall lookups, inside Claude

RecallLens is a free connector that lets Claude look up product-safety recalls from public US government data: NHTSA vehicle recalls (by make, model and year, by VIN, or by campaign number), FDA food, drug and medical-device recalls, and CPSC consumer product recalls. Every answer cites its source, says when the data was retrieved, and links to the official record.

Add it to Claude

1. In Claude (web or desktop), open Customize, then Connectors.
2. Choose Add custom connector.
3. Name it RecallLens and paste the URL https://recalls.trystarrynightops.com/mcp. Leave the authentication settings empty: none is needed.
4. Save. In a chat, make sure RecallLens is switched on in the tools menu, then ask a recall question.

If you use Claude through an organization, an admin may need to allow or add custom connectors first.

Claude Code and other MCP clients

claude mcp add --transport http recalllens https://recalls.trystarrynightops.com/mcp

Any MCP client that supports Streamable HTTP can connect to https://recalls.trystarrynightops.com/mcp. To list the tools from a terminal:

npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --cli https://recalls.trystarrynightops.com/mcp --transport http --method tools/list

Example prompts

• Are there any safety recalls on a 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500?
• Check this VIN for recalls: 1HGCV1F37JA000001 (an example VIN that decodes to a 2018 Honda Accord)
• What does NHTSA recall 20V314000 cover, and which models are affected?
• Have there been Class I FDA recalls for listeria in food since September 2026?
• Is the DREO DR-HSH015 space heater recalled, and what should I do with it?

Tools

All five tools are read-only. Each accepts detail (brief by default, or full) and a limit, so answers stay short unless you ask for more.

vehicle_recalls

NHTSA safety recall campaigns for a vehicle by make, model and model year: campaign number, report date, component, defect summary, risk, remedy, any "do not drive" or "park outside" advisory, and the NHTSA link. If the model name does not match NHTSA's naming (for example "Silverado" instead of "Silverado 1500"), it returns the closest NHTSA model names. Ram pickups up to model year 2012, which NHTSA files under both DODGE RAM and RAM 1500 (2500, 3500), are combined into one list.

{"make": "Honda", "model": "Accord", "model_year": 2018, "limit": 2}

NHTSA safety recalls for the 2018 HONDA ACCORD: 6 campaigns, newest first.
1. 26V332000 | reported 2026-05-22 | AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGER
   Defect: The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, which can
   cause the air bags to deploy unintentionally during a crash.
   ...
   https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls?nhtsaId=26V332000

vin_recalls

Validates a 17-character VIN (including its check digit), decodes make, model and year with NHTSA vPIC, then lists recall campaigns for that vehicle. Only the first 11 characters of the VIN are sent to NHTSA (14 for low-volume manufacturers, whose VINs carry the manufacturer code in characters 12-14); the serial number is never sent. It does not show whether a specific vehicle was repaired: NHTSA's official VIN lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls does that.

{"vin": "1GCUYDED4LZ000001", "limit": 1}

VIN 1GCUYDED4LZ000001: check digit valid. NHTSA vPIC decodes it as a 2020 CHEVROLET
Silverado 1500 (LT, Pickup, TRUCK).
NHTSA safety recalls issued for the 2020 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 1500: 12 campaigns, newest first.
1. 26V083000 | reported 2026-02-13 | POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE:SOFTWARE
   ...
Important: this list comes from NHTSA's by-vehicle data ... enter the full VIN at
https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls ...

vehicle_recall_campaign

One NHTSA campaign by number (e.g. 20V314000, 20V-314, 23C001): manufacturer, date, component, summary, consequence, remedy, units affected, and the makes, models and years it covers. Works for vehicle, equipment, tire and child-seat campaigns.

{"campaign_number": "20V-314"}

food_drug_device_recalls

FDA enforcement reports from openFDA for food, drugs and medical devices, newest first. Filter by keywords (every word must appear in the product description, reason, firm or lot codes), product_type (food, drug, device), classification (Class I, II, III), status (Ongoing, Completed, Terminated) and report dates (date_from, date_to, YYYY-MM-DD). Paging with limit and offset.

{"query": "listeria", "product_type": "food", "limit": 1}

FDA enforcement reports (matching "listeria"; type food): 7,498 total; showing 1-1, newest report date first.
1. event 99833 (recall number not yet assigned) | Class I | Ongoing | reported 2026-10-21 | FOOD
   Firm: Made Fresh Salads Inc (Bay Shore, NY, United States)
   Product: Made Fresh brand Black Bean and Corn Salad; 5lb white plastic tub
   Reason: Products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
   ...

consumer_product_recalls

CPSC recalls of consumer products (toys, cribs, strollers, furniture, heaters, e-bikes, batteries, appliances and more), newest first. Keywords are matched against the title, product names, models, description, hazard, firms, retailers and UPCs; a CPSC recall number also works. Optional recall date range.

{"query": "space heater", "limit": 1}

CPSC recalls (matching "space" + "heater"): 36 total; showing 1-1, newest first.
1. 27054 | 2026-10-29 | DREO Recalls DR-HSH015 Space Heaters Due to Fire and Burn Hazards
   Products: DREO Space Heaters, model DR-HSH015 | Units: About 338,800 ...
   Hazard: The recalled space heaters can overheat and ignite, posing fire and burn hazards.
   Remedy (Replace): Consumers should stop using the recalled space heaters immediately ...
   https://cpsc.gov/Recalls/2027/DREO-Recalls-DR-HSH015-Space-Heaters-Due-to-Fire-and-Burn-Hazards

Example outputs are excerpts retrieved in November 2026; live answers reflect the data at the time you ask.

Data sources and freshness

Every answer states its source, the time the data was retrieved (or the index build time), and links to the official record. If a government service is slow or down, the tool says so and asks you to retry instead of guessing.

Limitations

• Vehicle results are campaigns for a make, model and year. They do not confirm whether a specific VIN is included or repaired; use NHTSA's VIN lookup or a dealer.
• Only federal recalls from NHTSA, FDA and CPSC are covered. Not covered: USDA FSIS meat, poultry and egg recalls, EPA, Coast Guard (boats), state recalls and recalls outside the US.
• FDA enforcement reports appear after FDA classifies a recall, often days or weeks after a company announces it. Newer notices may be on FDA's recalls page.
• Keyword search matches whole words (CPSC search also matches simple plurals). Spelling matters, and fewer words find more.
• Agencies correct and update records. Data can be incomplete, delayed or wrong; always confirm on the official page.
• openFDA has public rate limits. When the government services are busy, the tool asks you to retry in a minute.

Privacy in brief

RecallLens does not log or store what you search for, the VINs you check, or anything from your conversation. It keeps only anonymous daily counts of how often each tool and page is used. Details: privacy policy.