This is a quick primer on decoding Vehicle Identification Numbers on a car. This is helpful when making sure a car hasn't been modded (converted to turbo, converted to AWD), checking what kind of car is truly for sale online, or checking major parts like the transmission to make sure it is for the right generation for your car.
| 4 E 3 C T 4 4 R 1 L E 0 0 0 0 0 1 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | E | 3 | C | T | 4 | 4 | R | 1 | L | E | 6 digits |
| 1st Digit |
2nd Digit |
3rd Digit |
4th Digit |
5th Digit |
6th Digit |
7th Digit |
8th Digit |
9th Digit |
10th Digit |
11th Digit |
12th Digit |
| Country | Make | Vehicle Type |
Others | Line | Price Class |
Body | Engine | Check Digits |
Model year |
Plant | Serial Number |
| 4- USA/ Canada J- Japan |
A- Mitsu E- Eagle P- Plymouth |
3- Passenger Car |
6- Manual seatbelt A- Driver/ passenger airbags 2G B- Manual seatbelt Canada C- Auto seatbelt |
F-? G- 1G AWD K- 2G FWD L- 2G AWD S- 1G FWD T- 1G AWD X- GVR4 (and Spyders) |
1G: 3- Medium? 4- High 5- Premium 6- Special 2G: 2- Low 3- Medium 4- High 5- Premium |
4- 3door hatch- back 5- 2door conv 6- 4door sedan |
B-? F- 2.0 turbo 1G/2G G- 2.4 NT 2G R- 2.0 NT T- 1.8 NT U- 2.0 turbo 1G Y- 2.0 NT 2G |
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 X |
L- 1990 M- 1991 N- 1992 P- 1993 R- 1994 S- 1995 T- 1996 V- 1997 W- 1998 X- 1999 |
E- DSM Z- GVR4 |
000001 to 999999 |
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