#How to read chevrolet vin code how to#
#How to read chevrolet vin code code#

These are usually but not always numbers in Canada, the United States and Mexico the final five characters must be numbers. These eight characters pertain specifically to the individual vehicle or vessel that bears them. The last string of digits in the VIN вЂ“ characters 10-17 вЂ“ are known as the вЂњvehicle identifier sectionвЂќ or VIS for short. Usually the eighth or ninth character denotes the specific engine type when there's more than one option available for a single car, such as the difference between a V6 and a V8. Every manufacturer uses its own specific system for categorizing its vehicles with the VDS. Also known as the вЂњvehicle descriptor sectionвЂќ or VDS for short, it can include details on the specific platform, the model and the body style. Is it a passenger car? A freight truck? A horse trailer? Characters 4-9 will let you know. вЂњG1вЂќ translates to Chevrolet car, while вЂњGCвЂќ means it's a Chevrolet truck.ДЄ VIN's fourth through ninth characters describe the vehicle's type. And sometimes they're a bit more cryptic.

For example, вЂњVWвЂќ identifies the vehicle as a Volkswagen. The second and third characters of the VIN specifically stand for the automaker. Letters A-H are used for countries located in Africa, letters J-R for countries located in Asia, letters S-Z for European nations, numbers 1-5 for North American as well as Central American and some Caribbean countries, numbers 6-7 for Oceanic nations (Australia and New Zealand, specifically) and numbers 8 and 9 for South American countries. The first character вЂ“ be it a letter or number вЂ“ tells us the region of the world where the automaker's headquarters are located. That denotes where in the world it was made вЂ“ or better said, where it was assembled, as these days vehicles consist of parts that hail from all over the globe вЂ“ and by whom. The first three letters of the VIN denote the manufacturer of the vehicle вЂ“ such as Toyota, Jeep or BMW for example вЂ“ using what is known as the вЂњworld manufacturer identifier,вЂќ or WMI for short.

#How to read chevrolet vin code how to#

Here's how to dissect your vehicle's VIN: It may look like a haphazard mess of numerical alphabet soup, but there's actually rhyme and reason to that string of letters and numbers. That all finally changed in 1981, when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the United States officially standardized the VIN format, creating a 17-character mix of numbers and letters that omits O, I and Q, so as not to be confused with or mistaken for 0, 1 and 9, respectively. But that system eventually proved to be problematic when a car or truck would receive a new or different engine.ДЇor nearly three decades after VINs were introduced, each automaker had its own classification system, which caused just as much confusion as understanding a Ford's VIN versus a VolvoвЂ™s was essentially on par with understanding the difference between English and Swedish.

#How to read chevrolet vin code code#

VINs originated in the United States in 1954, when the federal government tasked automakers and the American Manufacturers Association to develop a system to categorize and classify all motor vehicles in a standardized manner.Д«efore 1954, state transportation bureaus used engine numbers вЂ“ another code that's altogether separate from the VIN вЂ“ to register specific vehicles.