What Is a VIN and Why Is It Important?
A Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is a unique 17-character code assigned to every vehicle by the manufacturer. It serves as the car's fingerprint and provides important information about it.
The VIN number includes details such as the make, model, year, engine type, transmission type, and even where it was manufactured. By decoding the VIN correctly, you can gain valuable insights into any vehicle’s history.
How to Use the VIN to Identify a Vehicle's Year
The 10th Position of the VIN represents the year the vehicle was manufactured.
Take the number or letter in position 10 and use the the following VIN to year table to determine the model year of the vehicle.
VIN to Year Table
| Code | Year | Code | Year | Code | Year | Code | Year | Code | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1980 | L | 1990 | Y | 2000 | A | 2010 | L | 2020 |
| B | 1981 | M | 1991 | 1 | 2001 | B | 2011 | M | 2021 |
| C | 1982 | N | 1992 | 2 | 2002 | C | 2012 | N | 2022 |
| D | 1983 | P | 1993 | 3 | 2003 | D | 2013 | P | 2023 |
| E | 1984 | R | 1994 | 4 | 2004 | E | 2014 | R | 2024 |
| F | 1985 | S | 1995 | 5 | 2005 | F | 2015 | S | 2025 |
| G | 1986 | T | 1996 | 6 | 2006 | G | 2016 | T | 2026 |
| H | 1987 | V | 1997 | 7 | 2007 | H | 2017 | V | 2027 |
| J | 1988 | W | 1998 | 8 | 2008 | J | 2018 | W | 2028 |
| K | 1989 | X | 1999 | 9 | 2009 | K | 2019 | X | 2029 |
Interesting Fact: The characters O, I, U and Z, and the number zero are not used in the model year code to avoid confusion and misinterpretation (e.g., the letter “V” and “U” may be misinterpreted so only the letter “V” is used and not the letter “U”).
What to Learn More About Your Vehicle?
If you want to decode the rest of your vehicle's VIN, this article called “How to Read the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)” will show you how.