History of the VIN
Detroit automobile manufacturers began stamping and casting identifying numbers on cars and their parts in the mid 1950's . The primary purpose of this vehicle identification number (VIN) was to give an accurate description of the vehicle when mass production numbers were starting to scale in very significant numbers. The early VINs came in a range of variations depending on the individual manufacturer at that time.

In the early 1980's the U.S. National highway Traffic Safety Administration (USDOT) required that all road vehicles must contain a 17 character VIN. This established the standard fixed VIN system which major vehicle manufacturers use currently. The result was a unique "DNA" style number for each individual vehicle rolled off the assembly line.

The Vehicle Identification Number was originally described in ISO Standard 3779 in February 1977 and last revised in 1983. The ISO-VIN was designed to identify motor vehicles, trailers, motorcycles and mopeds and consists of several parts described below.


How to read a VIN
1st character- Identifies the country in which the vehicle was manufactured.
U.S.A.(1or 4)
Canada(2)
Mexico(3)
Japan(J)
Korea(K)
England(S)
Germany(W)
Italy(Z)

2nd character- Identifies the manufacturer.
Audi(A)
BMW(B)
Buick(4)
Cadillac(6)
Chevrolet(1)
Chrysler(C)
Dodge(B)
Ford(F)
GM Canada(7)
General Motors(G)
Honda(H)
Jaquar(A)
Lincoln(L)
Mercedes Benz(D)
Mercury(M)
Nissan(N)
Oldsmobile(3)
Pontiac(2or5)
Plymouth(P)
Saturn(8 )
Toyota(T)
VW(V)
Volvo(V).

3rd character- Identifies vehicle type or manufacturing division.
B truck
D passenger car
E multipurpose passenger vehicle
K passenger car
L multipurpose passenger vehicle
M truck
X passenger car
1 passenger car
2 passenger car
3 multipurpose passenger vehicle
5 incomplete vehicle

4th to 8th characters- VDS - Vehicle Descriptor Section.
These 5 characters occupy positions 4 through 8 of the VIN and may be used by the manufacturer to identify attributes of the vehicle. Identifies vehicle features such as body style, engine type, model, series, etc.

4th position: body type
A 2WD 2-door sedan
B 2WD 4-door sedan
C 2WD 2-door coupe
D 2WD 3-door liftback tC
F 2WD 2-door convertible
G 2WD 4-door wagon
H AWD 4-door wagon
J 2WD 4-door light truck
K 2WD 5-door wagon
L AWD 5-door wagon
M 2WD 5-door door van
Z 2WD 5-door wagon

5th Position: Engine
A 3MZ-FE
B INZ-FXE
D 2AZ-FE
E 2AZ-FE tC and xB2
F 1MZ-FE
G 3MZ-FE
H 1AZ-FE
K 1NZ-FXE
L 2RZ-FE
M 3RZ-FE
N 5VZ-FE
P 3MZ-FE
R 1ZZ-FE
S 1BM
T 2UZ-FE xA and xB1
T 1NZ-FE
U 1GR-FE xD
Y 2ZZ-GE

6th Position: series
T xA and xB
E tC
U xD
7th position: restraints
0 manual belts with 2 airbags and curtain airbags
1 manual belt with 1 STD
2 manual belts with 2 airbags
3 manual belts with 2 airbags
8 manual belts with 2 airbags and side airbags

8th Position: Model
A Highlander
A Sequoia
B Avalon
C Sienna
E Corolla
E Matrix
J Land Cruiser
K Camry
N Tacoma
P Camry Solara
R 4Runner
R Corolla
T Celica
U Prius
V RAV4
V RAV4-EV
0 MR2 Spyder
1 Tundra
3 Echo
4 Scion xA or xB
7 tC

9th Character - The check digit "character or digit 9" in the sequence of a vehicle identification number (VIN) built beginning with model year 1981 (when the 17 character digit format was established) can best be described as identifying the VIN accuracy.

A check digit shall be part of each vin (since 1981) and shall appear in position
nine (9) of the VIN on the vehicle and on any transfer documents containing
the vin prepared by the manufacturer to be given to the first owner for purposes
other than resale. Thus, the vins of any two vehicles manufactured within a 30
year period shall not be identical. The check digit means a single number or letter
"x" used to verify the accuracy of the transcription of the vehicle identification
number.

After all other characters in the VIN have been determined by the manufacturer
the check digit is calculated by carrying out a mathematical computation
specified. This is based on vin position, sample vin, assigned value code,
weight factor and multiply assigned value times weight factors. The values are added and the total is divided by 11. The remainder is the check digit number.
The correct numeric remainder - zero through nine (0-9) will appear.
However, if the remainder is 10 the letter "X" is used to designate the check
digit value/number.



Check Digit Calculation
Firstly, find the numerical value associated with each letter in the VIN. (I, O and Q are not allowed.) Numerical digits use their own values.
A: 1
J: 1

B: 2
K: 2
S: 2
C: 3
L: 3
T: 3
D: 4
M: 4
U: 4
E: 5
N: 5
V: 5
F: 6

W: 6
G: 7
P: 7
X: 7
H: 8

Y: 8

R: 9
Z: 9




Secondly, look up the weight factor for each position in the VIN except the 9th (the position of the check digit).
1st: ×8
5th: ×4
10th: ×9
14th: ×5
2nd: ×7
6th: ×3
11th: ×8
15th: ×4
3rd: ×6
7th: ×2
12th: ×7
16th: ×3
4th: ×5
8th: ×10
13th: ×6
17th: ×2





Thirdly, multiply the numbers and the numerical values of the letters by their assigned weight factor, and sum the resulting products. Divide the sum of the products by 11. The remainder is the check digit. If the remainder is 10, the check digit is the letter X. Valid check digits also run through the numbers zero to 9.
Worked example
Consider the hypothetical VIN 1M8GDM9A_KP042788, where the underscore will be the check digit.
VIN: 1 M 8 G D M 9 A _ K P 0 4 2 7 8 8
Value: 1 4 8 7 4 4 9 1 0 2 7 0 4 2 7 8 8
Weight: 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 10 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Products: 8 28 48 35 16 12 18 10 0 18 56 0 24 10 28 24 16

The sum of all 16 products is 351. Dividing by 11 gives a remainder of 10, so the check digit is "X" and the complete VIN is 1M8GDM9AXKP042788.


10th character- Identifies the model year.
J 1998
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 2000
2 2002
3 2003
4 2004
5 2005
6 2006
7 2007
8 2008
9 2009
X 2010

11th character- Identifies the assembly plant for the vehicle.
0-9 Japan
C Cambridge, Ontario
S Princeton, Indiana
U Georgetown, Kentucky
Z Fremont, California

12th to 17th characters- VIS - Vehicle Identifier Section. The last 6 characters of the VIN are used for the identification a of specific vehicle.

The last four characters shall always be numeric. Identifies the sequence of the vehicle for production as it rolled off the manufacturers assembly line.

 

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