What Does Your Car's 17-Digit VIN Number Mean

Have you ever wondered what your vehicle's 17 alphanumeric VIN numbers?represent? Do you know the VIN can be used to identify the make and model of the car, as well as its year and place of manufacture? It also contains encoded information about the car's specifications and any options installed on it.

It is worth noting that no two vehicles have the same VIN, but nearly all 17-digit vehicle identification numbers (VINs) share a similar structure.

Let's take a deeper look at what each character in the VIN could mean.

The digits in a vehicle's VIN can be broken down into four sections:

The first section: World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI)

These are the first 3 figures which describe the manufacturer and the origin of the vehicle. It tells you about the country in which the vehicle was manufactured e.g. J – Japan. It also gives an indication of the manufacturer's name e.g. T- Toyota and the type of vehicle e.g. truck, passenger car, multipurpose car, etc.

The second section: Vehicle Description Section (VDS)

These are the next 5 figures (4th to 8th) which describe the vehicle’s make, e.g. features and attributes of the vehicle, body type, engine type, and platform used.

The third section: Check Digit - This is the 9th digit of the VIN which verifies the previous digits of the VIN. It is also used to check the accuracy of the transcription of the VIN.

The fourth section: Vehicle Identifier Section (VIS)

This comprises of the 10th to 17th digits which identify the individual vehicle. It is unique to every single vehicle. It gives you information such as:

• The year the vehicle model was made e.g., C is 1982 or 2012, F is 1985 or 2015 year of production.
• The Plant code (assembly plant from which the vehicle was produced)
• The sequence of the vehicle as it rolled out of the production line.

Let's look at an example of a VIN number and what it can tell us

JTDKTUD3XFD524183 – 2015 Japan Toyota Yaris L 5-Door AT

JTFBURHE3JP743261?— 2018 Toyota Corolla L CVT (1.8L L4 DOHC 16V), SEDAN 4-DR

Now try and see if you can decode your VIN.?