To check if your vehicle, or one you’re thinking of buying, is under a recall, go to NHTSA’s website. A good free decoder is available on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website. Some charge for more detailed information. There are several online VIN decoders available. The final six digits are assigned at the assembly plant as the vehicle is sequenced for production. Each automaker uses its own set of plant codes. The plant that built the vehicle is denoted by the eleventh character. Model years 2001 to 2009 use numbers one through nine, and in 2010 the system started over again with the letter A, which continues on until 2030 (the sequence still skips I, O, Q, U or Z).

Model years 1980 to 2000 are denoted by letters A to Y, but the letters I, O, Q, U or Z are not used. The tenth character indicates the vehicle’s model year, but it’s not obvious. The final eight characters (10 through 17) make up the vehicle identifier section, or VIS. It’s based on a mathematical formula developed by the U.S. The ninth character, a number, is a security code to check against invalid VINs.

4: GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating)/Brake system/Body style.

In the Chevrolet example, GM uses character 4 through 8 to communicate the following: So, the first three digits on a Chevrolet Tahoe or Suburban would be 1GN.Ĭharacters four through eight provide a more detailed picture of your vehicle that includes brand, engine size and type.

For example, the complete WMI code General Motors uses for its Chevrolet passenger car division is N. Combined with the first two characters gives the vehicle type or manufacturing division. The third character completes the picture. But “A” also can signify Jaguar or Mitsubishi. Sometimes it’s the first letter of the manufacturer’s name such as S for Subaru, G for General Motors or A for Audi. The second character stands for the automaker.

Your VIN can tell you more about where your car comes from and details about its systems. Some Volvos, like this XC40 Recharge, are made in Belgium, while others are made in Sweden, China, or in the United States. Here are some examples:Įverybody knows Volvos are Swedish, but many manufacturers, Volvo included, operate factories in different countries. The first number or letter indicates the country where your vehicle was built. NHTSA itself established the 17-character identification standard in 1981. Engineering firm SAE International has been contracted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, to oversee distribution of WMI codes for the U.S.

The first three numbers and letters comprise the Wold Manufacturer Identifier, or WMI. That string of 17 letters and characters can be broken down into several zones representing different types of information.

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