VIN guides: reading a VIN, check digits, recalls and year codes
Guides on how a VIN is built, how the check digit and the model-year code work, where to find the number and how to check a vehicle for recalls with NHTSA data.
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VIN-guider
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How to read a VIN: the 17 characters, position by position
What each of the 17 VIN positions means under US rules: manufacturer code, vehicle attributes, check digit, model-year code, plant and serial number.
Uppdaterad 17 oktober 2026
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The VIN check digit: how position 9 is calculated
The check-digit calculation from 49 CFR 565.15 with its own worked example, what a mismatch means, and why a correct check digit does not prove a VIN is real.
Uppdaterad 17 oktober 2026
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Where to find the VIN on a car, truck or motorcycle
Where US rules require the VIN to be displayed, how to read it through the windshield, and which documents repeat it. Copy it exactly, character by character.
Uppdaterad 17 oktober 2026
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How to check a vehicle for safety recalls with NHTSA data
What a safety recall is, how to check one exact VIN on NHTSA.gov, what the make, model and year list on PlateVIN shows, and how to read a campaign entry.
Uppdaterad 17 oktober 2026
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What a VIN decoder can and cannot tell you about a vehicle
A VIN decoder translates the manufacturer’s build codes. It does not know the car’s history. What NHTSA vPIC returns, what a missing value means and where decoding fails.
Uppdaterad 17 oktober 2026
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The model-year code in a VIN: position 10 and the 30-year cycle
How position 10 encodes the model year, why the same letter can mean 1990 or 2020, and how position 7 settles it for cars and light trucks. Includes the full code table.
Uppdaterad 17 oktober 2026
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VIN manufacturer codes (WMI): what the first three characters tell you
The first three VIN characters name the manufacturer and vehicle type. How SAE assigns them, what a 9 in third position means, with real examples from NHTSA vPIC.
Uppdaterad 17 oktober 2026