Decoding Your VIN Can Tell You a Lot About Your Car
Checking your car’s VIN is an easy way to find out which safety features are on a used car, where a vehicle was made, or whether it has a concerning history
A car’s window sticker tells you where a car is assembled, which safety features it comes equipped with, the Environmental Protection Agency-rated fuel economy, and most everything else you’d want to know about the vehicle’s equipment. But what if you’re buying a used car without its original window sticker or you want to find out more about the car you already own?
That’s where the 17-digit vehicle identification number, or VIN, can help.
For decades, every passenger vehicle sold in the U.S. has a VIN, a unique combination of numbers and letters that, when decoded, can tell you where and when a car was made and what engine or transmission it’s equipped with. (The letters I, O, and Q never appear in a VIN, because they can be confused with the numbers 1 and 0.)
Photo: John Powers/Consumer Reports Photo: John Powers/Consumer Reports
How to Decode a VIN—and What It Can Tell You
The different digits of a VIN correspond to different attributes of the vehicle—the eighth digit represents the engine, and the 10th shows the year of manufacture, for instance. But without a chart from the manufacturer, the easiest way for consumers to decipher it is through an online VIN decoder.
A lot of websites claim to be able to decode a VIN, but some of the ones we found through a simple Google search are filled with ads, while others try to sell you additional services. That’s why we like the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration’s VIN decoder, an official U.S. government service that offers a comprehensive look at how a car was originally equipped based on data submitted to NHTSA by automakers. It’s easy to use and totally free.
Start by entering your VIN and clicking “Decode VIN.” Then select “Show All Vehicle Details.”
Photo: VINCheck/Consumer Reports Photo: VINCheck/Consumer Reports
The column on the right—"Value”—will tell you how your vehicle is equipped. The site isn’t perfect—if a column is blank, it means NHTSA doesn’t have information on whether a vehicle has the feature listed across the row. But you’ll probably learn at least a few details about the car that can be helpful, say, if you’re purchasing a used car and want to verify what the dealership says about which options are included.
We ran the VIN of the Chevrolet Trax in our test fleet, and NHTSA’s site confirmed that it’s a 1LT trim level with a 1.2-liter, 3-cylinder engine. In the case of our Trax, NHTSA lacked data on safety systems. However, when we ran the VIN of a BMW 230i we tested a few years ago, NHTSA’s site showed that it came equipped with forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane departure warning, lane keeping assistance, lane centering, and adaptive cruise control.
Photo: John Powers/Consumer Reports Photo: John Powers/Consumer Reports
How Can a VIN Tell You Where a Car Was Made?
If you have access to a vehicle, the easiest way is to check the driver’s-side doorjamb; there, the manufacturer will state in plain English where a vehicle’s final assembly took place and when it was assembled.
If you’re shopping for a new vehicle, the top right of the window sticker found on every new car shows where it was built.
Photo: Keith Barry/Consumer Reports Photo: Keith Barry/Consumer Reports
You can also look at the first two characters of the VIN. They are called a World Manufacturer Identifier and show where a car’s final assembly took place.
These are World Manufacturer Identifiers for vehicles sold in the U.S.:
1, 4, 5, 7F through 7Z, and 70: U.S.
2: Canada
3: Mexico
9A through 9E and 93 through 99: Brazil
AA through AH: South Africa
J: Japan
KL through KR: South Korea
L: China
MA through ME and MY through M0: India
ML through MR: Thailand
SA through SM: United Kingdom
TJ through TP: Czech Republic
TR through TV: Hungary
U5 through U7: Slovakia
VA through VE: Austria
VF through VR: France
VS through VW: Spain
W: Germany
YA through YE: Belgium
YS through YW: Sweden
YF through YK: Finland
XL through XR: The Netherlands
ZA through ZU: Italy
What Else Can a VIN Tell You?
A VIN is also your gateway to finding out for free if a car has open recalls or if it has ever been stolen:
Car recalls are free repairs to fix safety defects. There’s no federal law requiring that dealerships disclose whether a used car has unrepaired recalls, so it’s best to check if a used car has an open recall before you buy it. Enter a vehicle’s VIN at NHTSA’s recalls page to search the federal safety regulator’s official recall database. You can also use Consumer Reports’ Car Recall Tracker to check for recalls and receive recall notifications.
Use the VINCheck tool at the National Insurance Crime Bureau’s website to discover whether a car has been reported stolen or has a salvage title, indicating that it was seriously damaged due to a severe crash, a flood, or another issue.
Photo: VINCheck/Consumer Reports Photo: VINCheck/Consumer Reports
Some dealerships will provide a used car’s service records based on its VIN. Note that not all dealerships offer this service, especially if the records identify the prior owner of the vehicle.
Paid vehicle history report services such as CarFax and AutoCheck can also tell you if a car has been involved in a crash, as well as additional information, including how many owners it has had and whether it has been used as a rental car. These services rely on insurance and police records and aren’t comprehensive: Not all crashes show up on a vehicle history report, which is why it’s wise to have a used car inspected by a professional before you purchase it. A mechanic can uncover signs of poor post-crash repairs or let you know whether a repaired car is still worth purchasing.
