VIN decoder, recalls and owner complaints

What the check digit does, and why it runs first

1. 1
2. 2
3. 3
4. 4
5. 5
6. 6
7. 7
8. 8
9. 9check digit
10. 10
11. 11
12. 12
13. 13
14. 14
15. 15
16. 16
17. 17

• Position nine is a self test. Every other character has a numeric value and a fixed weight for its position. Multiply, add, divide by eleven, and the remainder is the character that belongs in position nine. The arithmetic is set out in the federal rule, and it means a VIN can be checked without knowing anything about the car.
• Checked before anything is sent. So this page checks it before it sends anything anywhere. If the digit doesn't match, one of the other sixteen characters is mistyped, and being told that immediately is more useful than a lookup that quietly returns the wrong vehicle.
• Three letters are never used. I, O and Q look too much like 1 and 0, and a VIN gets copied by hand onto insurance forms, titles and repair orders more than almost any number on a car. If you think you're reading an I or an O, you're reading a 1 or a 0. Where the number sits on the car covers the rest of the pattern.

How to read all 17 characters

Every VIN follows the same layout, set by the federal rule. The carmaker decides what most positions mean, but the slots are fixed.

Sources: 49 CFR 565.15; the region codes, SAE International’s WMI assignments (ISO 3780).

The model year is the 10th character

The year letters skip I, O, Q, U, Z and 0, and the cycle repeats every 30 years. On cars and light trucks from 2010 on, a letter in position 7 tells you it’s the newer cycle.

• A 2010
• B 2011
• C 2012
• D 2013
• E 2014
• F 2015
• G 2016
• H 2017
• J 2018
• K 2019
• L 2020
• M 2021
• N 2022
• P 2023
• R 2024
• S 2025
• T 2026
• V 2027
• W 2028
• X 2029
• Y 2030

1 to 9 = 2001 to 2009 (and 2031 to 2039 later)

Source: 49 CFR 565.15.

What this can and can't tell you

It can tell you

• The pattern for that run of vehicles. The federal decoder returns what the manufacturer filed for that run of vehicles: make, model, year, body style, engine, fuel, and the plant that built it.
• The recall campaigns for the model year. NHTSA's recall file is keyed by make, model and year, so the campaigns shown cover every car of that run.
• What owners reported, for that year and model. Complaints come live from NHTSA, counted by the year each was filed.

It can't tell you

• Anything about your individual car. It doesn't know who owns the car, where it is, whether it has been in a crash, what it sold for, or the exact date it was built. None of that is in a VIN.
• Whether your car had the recall work done. That's in the manufacturer's repair records, which NHTSA's own VIN lookup reads and this page doesn't.
• Complaints filed under a name we can't match. NHTSA files some cars under model names the decode doesn't return. Then the count is missing, and that's a gap in matching names, not a clean record.

Absence isn't safety. The federal complaint system is voluntary and most problems never reach it. A safety recall is repaired free at a franchised dealer whoever owns it now, as long as the car was first sold no more than 15 years before the recall. Recalls follow the vehicle, not the owner.

Questions people ask about VINs

Asked most often

Is this VIN decoder really free?

Yes. There’s no sign-up. Recalls, complaints, crash ratings and fuel economy are read from NHTSA and the EPA when you decode. Bulletins come from NHTSA files we refresh monthly. Nothing you type is stored.

Can a VIN show accident history or a salvage title?

Not on its own. Title brands are in NMVTIS, which charges a few dollars per report, and NICB’s VINCheck shows free whether an insurer reported the car stolen or totaled. The Your next checks card links both.

How do I know if a recall is still open on my car?

Run the VIN on NHTSA’s recall lookup. It reads the carmaker’s repair records for that exact car. A safety recall is repaired free at a franchised dealer, as long as the car was first sold no more than 15 years before the recall.

What does the 10th character of a VIN mean?

It’s the model year. A is 2010, the letters run to Y for 2030, and the year letters skip I, O, Q, U and Z.

Where do I find my VIN?

On the dash at the driver’s side, read through the windshield, on the label in the driver’s door jamb, and on the title, registration and insurance card.

Method and sources

Every decoded field, recall, complaint count and crash rating comes from NHTSA at the moment of the request, and the fuel figures from the EPA. Bulletins come from NHTSA's monthly file, warranty extensions and known issues we compiled from carmaker and NHTSA documents, and the check digit rule is federal.

What we didn't do: we didn't build a vehicle history report and this isn't one. We can't tell you about a specific car's accidents, title brands, mileage or owners, because that information isn't in the VIN and isn't in any free federal source. Anyone offering it for free from a VIN alone is selling something else.

Decoded data, recalls, complaints and crash ratings come from NHTSA, and fuel figures from the EPA, at the moment of the request. Bulletins come from NHTSA's monthly file. This page is general information, not advice about your specific vehicle, see the disclaimer.