Rotorranch
Member
- Feb 10, 2007
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This comes up every couple of days in the forums. It needs to be stickied somewhere.
This is the best description of VIN codes I've found.
Rotor
Vehicle identification number - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vehicle identification number
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
"VIN" redirects here. For other uses, see Vin.
Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) are used to uniquely identify motor vehicles. Prior to 1980 there was not an accepted standard for these numbers, so different manufacturers used different formats. Modern day VINs consist of 17 characters that do not include the letters I, O or Q.
Contents [hide]
1 Parts of the VIN
2 World Manufacturer Identifier
3 Vehicle Descriptor Section
3.1 North American Check Digits
4 Vehicle Identifier Section
4.1 North American Model Year
4.2 North American Plant Code
5 Model year encoding
6 Check digit calculation
6.1 Overview of the process
6.2 Transliterating the numbers
6.3 Weights used in calculation
6.4 Worked example
7 See also
8 References
9 External links
[edit] Parts of the VIN
Modern Vehicle Identification Number systems are based on two related standards originally issued by the ISO in 1979 and 1980, ISO 3779 and ISO 3780, respectively. Compatible but somewhat different implementations of these ISO standards have been adopted by the European Union and the United States of America [1].
The VIN is composed of the following sections:
Standard 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
ISO 3779 WMI VDS VIS
North American / EU
> 500 vehicles / year
Manufacturer Identifier Vehicle Attributes Check Digit Model Year Plant Code Sequential Number
North American / EU
< 500 vehicles / year
Manufacturer Identifier Vehicle Attributes Check Digit Model Year Plant Code Manufacturer Identifier Sequential Number
[edit] World Manufacturer Identifier
The first three characters uniquely identify the manufacturer of the vehicle using the World Manufacturer Identifier or WMI code. A manufacturer that builds fewer than 500 vehicles per year uses a 9 as the third digit and the 12th, 13th and 14th position of the VIN for a second part of the identification. Some manufacturers use the third character as a code for a vehicle category (e.g., bus or truck), a division within a manufacturer, or both. For example, within 1G (assigned to General Motors in the United States), 1G1 represents Chevrolet passenger cars; 1G2, Pontiac passenger cars; and 1GC, Chevrolet trucks.
The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) in the US assigns WMIs to countries and manufacturers.[2]
The first character of the WMI is the region in which the manufacturer is located. In practice, each is assigned to a country of manufacture.
[edit] Vehicle Descriptor Section
The 4th through 9th positions in the VIN are the Vehicle Descriptor Section or VDS. This is used, according to local regulations, to identify the vehicle type and may include information on the platform used, the model, and the body style. Each manufacturer has a unique system for using this field. Most manufacturers since the 1980s have used the 8th digit to identify the engine type whenever there is more than one engine choice for the vehicle. Example: for the 2007 Chevrolet Corvette U= 6.0L V8, E= 7.0L V8.
[MOD EDIT] Removed Check Digit info as per Officer Elkarello
[edit] Vehicle Identifier Section
The 10th through 17th positions are used as the Vehicle Identifier Section or VIS. This is used by the manufacturer to identify the individual vehicle in question. This may include information on options installed or engine and transmission choices, but often is a simple sequential number. In fact, in North America, the last five digits must be numeric.
[edit] North American Model Year
One consistent element of the VIS is character number 10, which is required (in North America) to encode the model year of the vehicle.
[edit] North American Plant Code
Another consistently-used element (which is compulsory in North America) is the use of the 11th character to encode the factory of manufacture of the vehicle. Although each manufacturer has their own set of plant codes, their location in the VIN is standardized.
[edit] Model year encoding
Besides the three letters that are not allowed in the VIN itself (I, O and Q), the letters U and Z and the digit 0 are not used for the year code. Note that the year code can be the calendar year in which a vehicle is built, or a model or type year allocated by the manufacturer. The year 1980 was encoded by some manufacturers, especially General Motors and Chrysler, as "A" (since the 17-digit VIN wasn't mandatory until 1981, and the "A" or zero was in the manufacturer's pre-1981 placement in the VIN), yet Ford and AMC still used a zero for 1980. Subsequent years increment through the allowed letters, so that "Y" represents the year 2000. 2001 through 2009 are encoded as the digits 1 through 9, and subsequent years are encoded as "A", "B", "C", etc.
Code Year Code Year Code Year Code Year
A 1980 L 1990 Y 2000 A 2010
B 1981 M 1991 1 2001 B 2011
C 1982 N 1992 2 2002 C 2012
D 1983 P 1993 3 2003 D 2013
E 1984 R 1994 4 2004 E 2014
F 1985 S 1995 5 2005 F 2015
G 1986 T 1996 6 2006 G 2016
H 1987 V 1997 7 2007 H 2017
J 1988 W 1998 8 2008 J 2018
K 1989 X 1999 9 2009 K 2019
[MOD EDIT] Removed Check Digit info as per Officer Elkarello
This is the best description of VIN codes I've found.
Rotor
Vehicle identification number - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vehicle identification number
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
"VIN" redirects here. For other uses, see Vin.
Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) are used to uniquely identify motor vehicles. Prior to 1980 there was not an accepted standard for these numbers, so different manufacturers used different formats. Modern day VINs consist of 17 characters that do not include the letters I, O or Q.
Contents [hide]
1 Parts of the VIN
2 World Manufacturer Identifier
3 Vehicle Descriptor Section
3.1 North American Check Digits
4 Vehicle Identifier Section
4.1 North American Model Year
4.2 North American Plant Code
5 Model year encoding
6 Check digit calculation
6.1 Overview of the process
6.2 Transliterating the numbers
6.3 Weights used in calculation
6.4 Worked example
7 See also
8 References
9 External links
[edit] Parts of the VIN
Modern Vehicle Identification Number systems are based on two related standards originally issued by the ISO in 1979 and 1980, ISO 3779 and ISO 3780, respectively. Compatible but somewhat different implementations of these ISO standards have been adopted by the European Union and the United States of America [1].
The VIN is composed of the following sections:
Standard 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
ISO 3779 WMI VDS VIS
North American / EU
> 500 vehicles / year
Manufacturer Identifier Vehicle Attributes Check Digit Model Year Plant Code Sequential Number
North American / EU
< 500 vehicles / year
Manufacturer Identifier Vehicle Attributes Check Digit Model Year Plant Code Manufacturer Identifier Sequential Number
[edit] World Manufacturer Identifier
The first three characters uniquely identify the manufacturer of the vehicle using the World Manufacturer Identifier or WMI code. A manufacturer that builds fewer than 500 vehicles per year uses a 9 as the third digit and the 12th, 13th and 14th position of the VIN for a second part of the identification. Some manufacturers use the third character as a code for a vehicle category (e.g., bus or truck), a division within a manufacturer, or both. For example, within 1G (assigned to General Motors in the United States), 1G1 represents Chevrolet passenger cars; 1G2, Pontiac passenger cars; and 1GC, Chevrolet trucks.
The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) in the US assigns WMIs to countries and manufacturers.[2]
The first character of the WMI is the region in which the manufacturer is located. In practice, each is assigned to a country of manufacture.
[edit] Vehicle Descriptor Section
The 4th through 9th positions in the VIN are the Vehicle Descriptor Section or VDS. This is used, according to local regulations, to identify the vehicle type and may include information on the platform used, the model, and the body style. Each manufacturer has a unique system for using this field. Most manufacturers since the 1980s have used the 8th digit to identify the engine type whenever there is more than one engine choice for the vehicle. Example: for the 2007 Chevrolet Corvette U= 6.0L V8, E= 7.0L V8.
[MOD EDIT] Removed Check Digit info as per Officer Elkarello
[edit] Vehicle Identifier Section
The 10th through 17th positions are used as the Vehicle Identifier Section or VIS. This is used by the manufacturer to identify the individual vehicle in question. This may include information on options installed or engine and transmission choices, but often is a simple sequential number. In fact, in North America, the last five digits must be numeric.
[edit] North American Model Year
One consistent element of the VIS is character number 10, which is required (in North America) to encode the model year of the vehicle.
[edit] North American Plant Code
Another consistently-used element (which is compulsory in North America) is the use of the 11th character to encode the factory of manufacture of the vehicle. Although each manufacturer has their own set of plant codes, their location in the VIN is standardized.
[edit] Model year encoding
Besides the three letters that are not allowed in the VIN itself (I, O and Q), the letters U and Z and the digit 0 are not used for the year code. Note that the year code can be the calendar year in which a vehicle is built, or a model or type year allocated by the manufacturer. The year 1980 was encoded by some manufacturers, especially General Motors and Chrysler, as "A" (since the 17-digit VIN wasn't mandatory until 1981, and the "A" or zero was in the manufacturer's pre-1981 placement in the VIN), yet Ford and AMC still used a zero for 1980. Subsequent years increment through the allowed letters, so that "Y" represents the year 2000. 2001 through 2009 are encoded as the digits 1 through 9, and subsequent years are encoded as "A", "B", "C", etc.
Code Year Code Year Code Year Code Year
A 1980 L 1990 Y 2000 A 2010
B 1981 M 1991 1 2001 B 2011
C 1982 N 1992 2 2002 C 2012
D 1983 P 1993 3 2003 D 2013
E 1984 R 1994 4 2004 E 2014
F 1985 S 1995 5 2005 F 2015
G 1986 T 1996 6 2006 G 2016
H 1987 V 1997 7 2007 H 2017
J 1988 W 1998 8 2008 J 2018
K 1989 X 1999 9 2009 K 2019
[MOD EDIT] Removed Check Digit info as per Officer Elkarello
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