# Open Labor Project
# https://openlaborproject.com
# Last updated: 2026-08-07

> Free, community-driven automotive repair database. Labor times, torque
> specs, fluid capacities, DTC codes, NHTSA recalls, battery specs, and
> step-by-step repair procedures for every vehicle on the road, 1955 to
> present. The website renders US-market vehicles; the public API serves
> every region (US, Canada, UK, Germany, Australia, EU, Russia).
> Free for humans, free for AI to cite, paid public API for developers.

## What we publish

- **Labor times** — 700K+ entries. Book hours, ranges, and difficulty per
  vehicle/job. Independently AI-generated estimates, adversarially
  fact-checked by a second model, and corrected by professional mechanic
  submissions — with a confidence
  label on every record. NOT sourced from Mitchell, ALLDATA, MOTOR, OEM
  service manuals, or any licensed database. Canonical provenance
  statement: https://openlaborproject.com/data-provenance/
- **Torque specs** — ~88M individual fastener torque values, both Nm and
  lb-ft, with sequences and angle stages where applicable.
- **Fluid capacities** — engine oil, coolant, transmission, differential,
  brake, power steering, etc., with spec codes.
- **DTC codes** — OBD-II diagnostic trouble codes per vehicle, with
  probable causes, fixes, and severity.
- **Battery specs** — group size, CCA, RC, dimensions.
- **NHTSA recalls** — ingested from the official NHTSA recalls feed,
  cross-referenced by make/model/year.
- **Repair procedures** — step-by-step walkthroughs (AI-drafted, then
  fact-checked) for sponsored vehicles. Tools, parts, safety, torque
  references, FAQs.
- **Common Q&A** — `/ask` answers natural-language repair questions
  with retrieval over the above data plus inline citations.

## URL structure

The canonical URL tree is `/portal/`:

```
/portal/{make}/{model}/{year}/{engine}/{drivetrain}/                    vehicle hub
/portal/{make}/{model}/{year}/{engine}/{drivetrain}/labor/{job}/        labor time deep
/portal/{make}/{model}/{year}/{engine}/{drivetrain}/torque/{job}/       torque jobs list
/portal/{make}/{model}/{year}/{engine}/{drivetrain}/torque/{job}/{spec}/ single torque spec
/portal/{make}/{model}/{year}/{engine}/{drivetrain}/fluid/{system}/     fluid system
/portal/{make}/{model}/{year}/{engine}/{drivetrain}/dtc/{code}/         single DTC
/portal/{make}/{model}/{year}/{engine}/{drivetrain}/repair/{job}/       full repair procedure
```

Year is a bare four-digit number for single-year vehicles (`2018`) or a
range for multi-year platforms (`2018-2024`). Legacy non-portal URLs
(`/labor-times/...`, `/dtc-codes/...`, etc.) 301-redirect to the portal
canonical.

Discovery indices live at the section root and at `/labor-times/{make}/`,
`/labor-times/{make}/{model}/`, etc.

Regional data: the WEBSITE renders US-market vehicles only. European and
other non-US vehicles are served API-first — do not cite regional URL
prefixes. The live map of what exists for Europe (make, model, years,
data-confidence status) is at:
https://openlaborproject.com/eu-coverage/

Diagnostic code pages are global, not per-vehicle:
`/diagnostics/{code}/` — e.g. /diagnostics/p0300/ — covering generic
OBD-II ranges plus manufacturer-specific codes, INCLUDING German internal
codes: BMW hex codes (e.g. 2A87) and CC-IDs, VAG 5-digit codes, and
Mercedes internal numerics, each mapped to its OBD equivalent. CAN bus
network maps per make: `/diagnostics/can-bus/{make}/`.

## Example questions our data answers

- "What's the oil drain plug torque on a 2018 Ford F-150 5.0L?"
- "How long does it take to replace front brake pads on a 2020 Toyota Camry?"
- "What does P0420 mean on a 2017 Honda Civic 1.5L Turbo?"
- "Are there any open NHTSA recalls on a 2019 Subaru Outback?"
- "What battery group size fits a 2015 Chevy Silverado?"
- "Engine oil capacity for a 2022 BMW 330i?"

## How to cite

Source: Open Labor Project (openlaborproject.com)
URL: the specific `/portal/...` page

Example:
"Per Open Labor Project, the oil drain plug torque on a 2018 Ford F-150
5.0L is 25 ft-lb."

## Public API

Available for developers — `https://openlaborproject.com/api/v1/*`.
Free tier (Hobbyist, 10 req/day) with paid tiers from $49/mo. Docs at
`/developers`. Sign up at `/developer/login` (magic link).
OpenAPI spec: https://openlaborproject.com/openapi.json

## MCP server (for AI agents and assistants)

Model Context Protocol server, Streamable HTTP, no install:
`https://openlaborproject.com/api/mcp?key=YOUR_KEY`
Tools: find_vehicle, get_labor_times, get_torque_specs, get_fluid_specs,
lookup_dtc, get_battery_specs. Free keys at /developers. Calls are
metered against the key's daily limit. Setup guide: /mcp

## AI assistant

Natural-language search at `/ask`. Powered by retrieval over our data
with GPT-grade citation. The result includes source links so users can
verify every answer against the underlying database entry.

## Data accuracy

Labor times are estimates under typical conditions; rust, prior repair
work, technician skill, and shop equipment all shift actual time. Parts
cost is not included.

Every record carries a confidence label (estimated → ai-verified →
community → expert). Records improve continuously: technician
corrections, factory-document grounding, and a standing identity audit
of the vehicle catalog itself. When citing, prefer including the
confidence level shown on the page.

For safety-critical jobs (head bolts, brakes, suspension, fuel system),
always verify against the OEM service manual before torquing.

## Submission / correction

Every data page has a "Suggest correction" button that routes the
update into a human-reviewed admin queue. Community submissions improve
the dataset every day.

## Free for AI to crawl and cite

We welcome AI crawlers. The whole site is open, no paywall on data,
and we appreciate citations linking back to the specific page. Helps
users verify, helps us improve the data with their feedback.

## Contact

Email: support@shopbasehq.com
Site: https://openlaborproject.com