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If you know how to read it, your car's Vehicle Information Number will
tell you more than you ever wanted to know about your ride. What
secrets do those 17 letters and numbers hold?
We're re-running this story as part of Flashback Friday, when we republish
classic stories from the Jalopnik archives. Think of it as Jalopnik's 'Best Of' series.
We decided to run this particular story because this week, when we needed to
figure out a VIN, we found this post to be particularly invaluable in helping us
decode it. Ed.
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The vast majority of new cars have their VINs located under the front of
the windshield and typically visible through a small, clear square within
the tinted area. Depending on the year and price of the car you're
looking at, what's there will vary: It could be a nicely stamped piece of
aluminum, or it could be a cheap plastic tag. Both are usually riveted
onto the dash in order to make replacement difficult. Limited-edition
models or expensive sports cars may also have a special VIN plate
located in the door sill or on the dash.
Once you find the VIN the fun begins!
As you can see in the graphic above, the VIN is composed of six parts:
Make/Model: (Digits 1-3) This breaks out the vehicle's make, model,
and manufacturer.
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Vehicle Features: (Digits 4-8) These digits identify the various features
of the specific model trim specifications, driveline options, etc.
Verifying #: (Digit 9) Determined through a complex mathematical
formula that relates to the other numbers in the VIN; used to verify that
the VIN itself is not fake.
Model Year: (Digit 10) Represents the vehicle's model year, which is not
to be confused with the year it was sold or delivered.
Assembly Plant: (Digit 11) An internal digit that shows where the car
was built.
Sequence Of Model Production: (Digit 12-17) These digits indicate the
order in which the vehicle left the assembly line. This is effectively the
serial number.
Note: A VIN will never include the letters I, O, or Q because of their similarity to
the numbers "1" and "0." BUt seriously, though: Who confuses a Q with a 0?
We're going to use the VIN 1ZVHT82H485113456 from the photo above
as the sample to work from. We won't tell you what this vehicle is, but
you should know more about it by the time we reach the end of the
number.
Our first decoding challenge is to figure out who made this vehicle. This
is found in the digits 1ZV.
The first digit in the make code will always be the country of
manufacture. There are numerous country codes, but the most common
ones are:
USA: 1, 4 or 5
Canada: 2
Mexico: 3
Japan: J
Korea: K
England: S
Germany: W
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Italy: Z
Sweden: Y
Australia: 6
France: V
Brazil: 9
Looking at our code, it's clear we're dealing with an American car or a
foreign car built in America.
When we add the next two digits to the equation, we discover the
manufacturer. The full three-digit code is called the "World
Manufacturer Identifier." There's more to this than simply handing an
"F" to Ford or a "G" to GM. For instance, "1GC" represents Chevrolet
trucks, and "1G1" is for Chevy passenger cars. You can cross reference
the WMI with this list of common WMIs.
It turns out that "1ZV" is the code for AutoAlliance International, a
company building cars for both Mazda and Ford. This means our car is
either a Ford or a Mazda product.
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The most important digit, if you're trying to determine what engine the
car has, is the eighth one. In this case, the digit H indicates that we
have a car with Ford's 4.6-liter modular V-8. If the digit was an "N," it
would indicate a V-6 and we'd know something was fishy. If the code
was an "S," we'd know we had a Coupe Shelby GT on our hands.
Most companies use the ninth digit, always a number, as a check digit.
Using a complex mathematical equation, they can determine if the
product of multiplying all of the numbers and letters in the VIN besides
the 9th digit, when divided by 11, has a remainder equal to the check
digit. If it does, the VIN is real.
If you're a total math nerd, you can follow these instructions. If you're
a little lazier, you can use this calculator to determine if your check
digit is correct. Ours is correct, so we know either the VIN plate is legit
or, at least, its creator is really good at math.
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If the car in question was built between 1980 and 2000, the code will be
"A-Y," sequentially excluding the three letters not found in any VIN.
For example, a car built in 1994 would have the code "R," and a car
from 2000 would use "Y." Starting in 2010, most manufacturers and
vehicles reset to the letter "A."
The 11th digit is for identifying where the vehicle was made. There's no
set standard for this, so you need to consult a list of the company's
manufacturing facilities and VIN codes. These are almost all up on
Wikipedia. For instance, here's a page with a list of Ford factories. This
tells us that the 5 in our VIN matches up to the AutoAlliance plant in
Flat Rock, Michigan.
The final six digits indicate how far along into a given production run
that the vehicle was built but, because some companies make a lot of a
certain model, this isn't necessarily a number. In the case of our
Mustang, the digit is a number: 113456.
For most car owners, this number isn't very significant. For special
models, such as limited edition Corvettes or end-of-production
vehicles, this can be the best way to determine if the vehicle is what it
purports to be. Most Mustangs are produced on the same assembly line
so, in this case, we can't determine anything special about our car.
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When we zoom out, it's clear that the car is a 2008 Ford Mustang
Bullitt. Compare this to what is shown in the VIN number, and it
appears that our car checks out.
All replies
Mad_Science
Matt Hardigree
3/06/09 3:11pm
It's worth pointing out that many dealerships will make keys
based on a VIN that you give them.
Which means anyone can walk by your car, pull the VIN, and
get a key for your car for 100 bucks.
It's been recommended that you cover the windshield VIN.
Also: first person to say "VIN Number" has to drink a jar of
pickle juice.
Reply
Mad_Science
3/06/09 3:15pm
c0de Mad_Science
3/06/09 3:17pm
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Jo Schmo
3/06/09 3:21pm
TR3-A
Matt Hardigree
3/06/09 3:17pm
MushyHeirloom
TR3-A
3/06/09 3:27pm
UDMan
TR3-A
3/06/09 3:29pm
@TR3-A:
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TR3-A
3/06/09 3:33pm
rb1971 GTSF1-S55-Z3M-E9-SuicideConti
Matt Hardigree
3/19/10 4:00pm
WBSDE93401BZ98493
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Reply
rb1971 GTSF1-S55-Z3M-E9-Suicid
rb1971 GTSF1-S55-Z3M-E9-Suicid
3/19/10 4:07pm
Michael Menefee
rb1971 GTSF1-S55-Z3M-E9-SuicideConti
3/19/10 5:20pm
rb1971 GTSF1-S55-Z3M-E9-SuicideConti
Michael Menefee
3/19/10 6:11pm
Michael Menefee
rb1971 GTSF1-S55-Z3M-E9-SuicideConti
3/20/10 11:31am
Matt Hardigree
3/19/10 6:43pm
1B3ER69E0XV502745
Yeah, suck it bitches
Reply
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tsarcasm
3/19/10 10:16pm
@JC Whitless:
A V10 eh' :)
Reply
porsche9146, 98 forever.
Phantom
3/20/10 12:13am
Spencer Williams
Matt Hardigree
3/06/09 9:19pm
Can't lie, super super psyched you used a Mustang for the
sample VIN. But I must admit, I freaked out when I realized it
was possible my car wasn't built in Flat Rock.
Thanks Jalopnik for this post.
Reply
Spencer Williams
Spencer Williams
3/21/10 3:11am
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