Paste any 17-character VIN below. Get year, make, model, trim, body class, engine, transmission, GVWR, safety features, and more — instantly.
The decoder above works for every make. Below are the prefixes you'll see most often for 18 common makes and where their vehicles are built. The first three characters, the World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI), are the fastest tell. These are common prefixes, not an exhaustive list: manufacturers add and retire WMIs over time, and the decoder always reads the authoritative record from NHTSA.
Honda builds most of its U.S.-market cars in North America, so a Honda VIN usually starts with a 1, 2 or 3 (U.S., Canada, Mexico) rather than a J for Japan.
Common models: Honda Civic, Honda Accord, Honda CR-V, Honda Pilot, Honda Odyssey.
Toyota splits production between Japan (VINs starting with J) and North America (1, 2, 3, 4, 5), so the first character tells you fast where a given unit was assembled.
Common models: Toyota Camry, Toyota Corolla, Toyota RAV4, Toyota Tacoma, Toyota Highlander.
Ford VINs almost always start with 1 (U.S.), 2 (Canada) or 3 (Mexico). The third character separates cars, trucks and SUVs — handy when you're confirming a body style against the title.
Common models: Ford F-150, Ford Explorer, Ford Escape, Ford Mustang, Ford Fusion.
Chevrolet is GM's highest-volume brand. Most U.S. Chevys start with 1G1 (cars) or 1GC/1GN (trucks and SUVs); some subcompacts were built in Korea and start with KL.
Common models: Chevrolet Silverado, Chevrolet Equinox, Chevrolet Malibu, Chevrolet Tahoe, Chevrolet Traverse.
GMC shares platforms with Chevrolet trucks and SUVs, so its VINs run close: 1GT for trucks and 1GK for SUVs, built primarily in the U.S.
Common models: GMC Sierra, GMC Acadia, GMC Terrain, GMC Yukon, GMC Canyon.
Nissan builds heavily in Smyrna, Tennessee and in Mexico, so U.S. Nissans commonly start with 1N or 3N; Japan-built units start with JN.
Common models: Nissan Altima, Nissan Rogue, Nissan Sentra, Nissan Frontier, Nissan Versa.
Jeep (now part of Stellantis) builds in the U.S. and Mexico, so its VINs typically start with 1C4 or 1J; older Grand Cherokees and Wranglers used 1J4 and 1J8.
Common models: Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Wrangler, Jeep Cherokee, Jeep Compass, Jeep Renegade.
Dodge VINs generally start with 1C3 or 2C3 (U.S. and Canada cars) and 3C for Mexican production. Ram trucks split off into their own brand in 2010 with their own WMIs.
Common models: Dodge Charger, Dodge Challenger, Dodge Durango, Dodge Journey, Dodge Grand Caravan.
Ram became its own brand in 2010. Its VINs commonly start with 1C6 (U.S.) or 3C6 (Mexico); a Ram built before 2010 will decode as a Dodge.
Common models: Ram 1500, Ram 2500, Ram 3500, Ram ProMaster.
Hyundai builds Korean units (VINs starting with KM) and U.S. units in Montgomery, Alabama (starting with 5N), so the first character quickly tells you the country of origin.
Common models: Hyundai Elantra, Hyundai Sonata, Hyundai Tucson, Hyundai Santa Fe, Hyundai Kona.
Kia builds in South Korea (VINs starting with KN) and in West Point, Georgia (starting with 5XX). Some compacts come from Mexico and start with 3KP.
Common models: Kia Forte, Kia Optima, Kia Sportage, Kia Sorento, Kia Soul.
Subaru builds in Japan (VINs starting with JF) and in Lafayette, Indiana (starting with 4S). The Indiana plant handles much of the U.S. Outback, Legacy and Ascent volume.
Common models: Subaru Outback, Subaru Forester, Subaru Crosstrek, Subaru Legacy, Subaru Ascent.
Most Mazdas sold in the U.S. are built in Japan (VINs starting with JM) or Mexico (starting with 3M); a joint U.S. plant in Alabama began building the CX-50 more recently.
Common models: Mazda Mazda3, Mazda CX-5, Mazda CX-30, Mazda CX-9, Mazda MX-5 Miata.
Volkswagen sells German-built cars (VINs starting with WVW) alongside U.S. production in Chattanooga, Tennessee (1VW) and Mexican production in Puebla (3VW).
Common models: Volkswagen Jetta, Volkswagen Tiguan, Volkswagen Atlas, Volkswagen Passat, Volkswagen Golf.
BMW cars are largely German-built (VINs starting with WBA/WBS), but its X-series SUVs are built in Spartanburg, South Carolina and start with 5UX — a common surprise on U.S. units.
Common models: BMW 3 Series, BMW 5 Series, BMW X3, BMW X5, BMW X7.
Mercedes-Benz cars come from Germany (VINs starting with WDB/WDD), while several SUVs are built in Vance, Alabama and start with 4JG. Sprinter vans use their own WMIs.
Common models: Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Mercedes-Benz GLE, Mercedes-Benz GLC, Mercedes-Benz GLS.
Lexus is Toyota's luxury brand and is mostly Japan-built (VINs starting with JT). The ES sedan is built alongside Toyotas in Georgetown, Kentucky, and the RX has been built in Canada.
Common models: Lexus RX, Lexus ES, Lexus NX, Lexus GX, Lexus IS.
Tesla VINs start with 5YJ for Fremont, California production and 7SA for the newer Austin, Texas plant; China-built cars (mostly export) start with LRW.
Common models: Tesla Model 3, Tesla Model Y, Tesla Model S, Tesla Model X.
A consumer decodes a VIN once, out of curiosity. A dealer decodes every car, at four points where a wrong spec costs money:
The VIN encodes how the car was built, not what happened to it. The recall list in a decode result covers the year, make and model; whether this exact car still has an open recall is a separate free lookup on NHTSA's recall site; title brands, accident history and odometer records come from a paid history report; and option packages and colors aren't in the VIN at all, so use the window sticker or a build sheet for those.
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The trim level is encoded in the VIN's vehicle-descriptor section (characters 4–8), and this decoder returns it in the Trim field when the manufacturer reports it to NHTSA. Paste your 17-character VIN above and check the vehicle overview — trim, series, and body style appear together. Two caveats: some manufacturers report trim inconsistently (especially on older vehicles), and packages/options aren't part of the VIN at all — for those you need the window sticker or a build sheet from the manufacturer. If the trim field comes back empty here, the VIN plate on the driver's door jamb and the owner's manual are the next places to check.
A modern VIN is a 17-character code standardized in 1981 under FMVSS 565. Each position carries specific information. You can decode it by hand with the map below, or paste the full VIN into the tool above and get every field at once.
The 10th character of a VIN is the model year. Find that character on your VIN and match it here:
The letters run on a 30-year cycle and never use I, O, Q, U, Z or 0. Because of that repeat, check the 7th character to place the year: if it's a number the model year is 1980–2009, and if it's a letter the model year is 2010–2039.
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