Want to know what your Auto VIN number mean. VIN breakdown information
In 1981, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the United States standardized the format. It required all over-the-road-vehicles sold to contain a 17-character VIN, which does not include the letters I (i), O (o), or Q (q) (to avoid confusion with numerals 1 (one) and 0 (zero).
There are 17 numbers and letters (17 positions) in a VIN and you can divide them into three groups: World Manufacturer Identifier, Vehicle Descriptor Section, and Vehicle Identifier Section. We will go through all 17 positions here so you can learn any VIN number. Typically when you are looking for a part for your vehicle, the dealership only needs the last eight digits. It is always good to have have all 17 digits, and today, smart phones make it easy. Just snap a picture and go to the dealer service department. The best place to take a photograph of your VIN is inside the drivers door, usually on the door or the B Pillar jam.
Position 1
The very first letter or number of the VIN tells you in what region of the world your vehicle was made. Match the letter or number below to the first number or letter of your VIN to find out in what region of the world your VIN was made.
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H are made in Africa
J, K, L, M, N, P, and R are made Asia
S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, and Z are made in Europe
1, 2, 3, 4, 5 are made in North America
6 and 7 are made in Oceania
8 and 9 are made in South America
Position 2
The second letter or number, in combination with the first letter or number in the VIN, tells you in what country the car or truck was made. You may be surprised to know that not all Japanese cars are made in Japan and not all GM cars are made in America and so on. Anyway, cars and trucks are made in over 80 countries and there are over 600 VIN country codes. You can see all the codes and find where your car or truck was made by going to Where is my car or truck made
Position 3
The third number or letter is used by the vehicle manfacturer to identify what kind of vehicle it is. It could be a car, truck, bus and so on. Each vehicle maker uses different codes for this so go to the Automobile Manufacturer website for your vehicle to find out what the third position in the VIN means for your particular vehicle.
Vehicle Descriptor Section (VDS)
Letters and numbers in positions 4 through 9 is the Vehicle Descriptor Section. This information gives detailed information about the vehicle itself.
Positions 4 5 6 7 8
Here you can find out the vehicle model, engine type, body style and things like that. Each vehicle maker uses different codes for this so go to the Automobile Manufacturer for your vehicle to get the codes.
Position 9
This is the VIN Check Digit where you can use math to figure out if it is a correct VIN. It does not tell you anything about the vehicle itself.
Vehicle Identifier Section (VIS)
Letters and numbers 10 through 17 is the Vehicle Descriptor Section. This gives you information such as when it was produced, what options it comes with and so on.
Position 10
The 10th letter or number of the VIN tells you the model year of the vehicle. Note that this may be different from when it was manufactured, as many automobile manufacturers start to produce next years model this year. Find the model year by matching the 10th digit of your VIN to the table below:
| A = 1980 B = 1981 C = 1982 D = 1983 E = 1984 F = 1985 G = 1986 H = 1987 J = 1988 K = 1989 L = 1990 M = 1991 N = 1992 P = 1993 R = 1994 S = 1995 T = 1996 V = 1997 W = 1998 X = 1999 Y = 2000 1 = 2001 2 = 2002 3 = 2003 4 = 2004 5 = 2005 6 = 2006 7 = 2007 8 = 2008 9 = 2009 |
A = 2010 B = 2011 C = 2012 D = 2013 E = 2014 F = 2015 G = 2016 H = 2017 J = 2018 K = 2019 L = 2020 M = 2021 N = 2022 P = 2023 R = 2024 S = 2025 T = 2026 V = 2027 W = 2028 X = 2029 Y = 2030 1 = 2031 2 = 2032 3 = 2033 4 = 2034 5 = 2035 6 = 2036 7 = 2037 8 = 2038 9 = 2039 |
As you can see, each letter or number has been assigned to two different years. To find out which one applies to your VIN, you must look at the 7th letter or number in your VIN. If the 7th VIN position is a letter, then your vehicle is made in 2010 through 2039. If the 7th VIN is a number, then your vehicle is made prior to 2010.
Positions 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
This is where the auto manufacturers enter unique information about the particular vehicle the VIN belongs to. The name of the assembly plant, extra options added to the vehicle, Production Sequence Number and things of that nature. This is different from company to company, so to find more details about this go to the Automobile Manufacturer website for your vehicle.
| A–H = Africa | J–R = Asia | S–Z = Europe | 1–5 = North America | 6–7 = Oceania | 8–9 = South America |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AA-AH South Africa AJ-AN Ivory Coast AP-A0 not assigned BA-BE Angola BF-BK Kenya BL-BR Tanzania BS-B0 not assigned CA-CE Benin CF-CK Madagascar CL-CR Tunisia CS-C0 not assigned DA-DE Egypt DF-DK Morocco DL-DR Zambia DS-D0 not assigned EA-EE Ethiopia EF-EK Mozambique EL-E0 not assigned FA-FE Ghana FF-FK Nigeria FL-F0 not assigned GA-G0 not assigned HA-H0 not assigned |
JA-J0 Japan KA-KE Sri Lanka KF-KK Israel KL-KR Korea (South) KS-K0 Kazakhstan LA-L0 China MA-ME India MF-MK Indonesia ML-MR Thailand MS-M0 not assigned NA-NE Iran NF-NK Pakistan NL-NR Turkey NS-N0 not assigned PA-PE Philippines PF-PK Singapore PL-PR Malaysia PS-P0 not assigned RA-RE United Arab Emirates RF-RK Taiwan RL-RR Vietnam RS-R0 Saudi Arabia |
SA-SM United Kingdom SN-ST East Germany SU-SZ Poland S1-S4 Latvia S5-S0 not assigned TA-TH Switzerland TJ-TP Czech Republic TR-TV Hungary TW-T1 Portugal T2-T0 not assigned UA-UG not assigned UH-UM Denmark UN-UT Ireland UU-UZ Romania U1-U4 not assigned U5-U7 Slovakia U8-U0 not assigned VA-VE Austria VF-VR France VS-VW Spain VX-V2 Serbia V3-V5 Croatia V6-V0 Estonia WA-W0 West Germany XA-XE Bulgaria XF-XK Greece XL-XR Netherlands XS-XW USSR XX-X2 Luxembourg X3-X0 Russia YA-YE Belgium YF-YK Finland YL-YR Malta YS-YW Sweden YX-Y2 Norway Y3-Y5 Belarus Y6-Y0 Ukraine ZA-ZR Italy ZS-ZW not assigned ZX-Z2 Slovenia Z3-Z5 Lithuania Z6-Z0 not assigned |
1A-10 United States 2A-20 Canada 3A-37 Mexico 38-30 Cayman Islands 4A-40 United States 5A-50 United States |
6A-6W Australia 6X-60 not assigned 7A-7E New Zealand 7F-70 not assigned |
8A-8E Argentina 8F-8K Chile 8L-8R Ecuador 8S-8W Peru 8X-82 Venezuela 83-80 not assigned 9A-9E Brazil 9F-9K Colombia 9L-9R Paraguay 9S-9W Uruguay 9X-92 Trinidad & Tobago 93–99 Brazil 90 not assigned |