Deciphering Vin Codes

[bdonkersgoed]

Here is a bit about VIN codes that I posted on Benzworld.org . . . I thought that you guys might enjoy it as well . . .

SAMPLE VIN CODE: 3VWFL81H7TM094929

The first character indicates where the vehicle was built (called the World Manufacturer Index or WMI). In our example, the car was built in Mexico.

1 = USA

2 = Canada

3 = Mexico

4 = USA

5 = USA

J = Japan

K = South Korea

S = United Kingdom

W = Germany

Z = Italy

Characters 4-8 indicates a vehicle description unique for each make and model of vehicle.

Character 9 is a Check Digit and must be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0, or X. It is calculated using a mathematical formula for determining the validity of the VIN. In our case, character 9 is 7, so the VIN is OK. Also, the letters I, O, and Q NEVER appear in a VIN.

Character 10 is the Model Year Code:

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

In our example, the car was made in 1996.

Character 11 is the manufacturing plant code (can be a letter or number)

Characters 12-17 is the sequential serial number and it MUST be numeric!

I hope everyone has learned a little bit about VIN numbers now

Have fun!

Bryan

[amf1932]

Very interesting, but I still can't decode most of the stuff on my VIN code for a 2003ES.

All I found out was my car was manufactured in Japan and it's a 2003 model.

Example: The 2nd, 3rd, 4th. and 5th. letters mean absolutely nothing to me. They are JTHBF.

[Lex3486]

Cool man. Never mentioned digits 1 and 2 though

[bdonkersgoed]

I'm not sure what characters 2 and 3 are for . . . but character 1 is the country of manufacture.

A lot of characters in the VIN a serial related, and I'm not sure how to decipher the actual serial codes. But you can see above how the VIN is broken up, and each character's purpose.

Just for fun :)

Bryan