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VINDecoder360 Free VIN decoder built on public NHTSA data

Recall lookup by make/model/year - Where to find your VIN - Check digit calculator - All 59 brands

Decodes from NHTSA vPIC · 59 brands · 2,777 model pages · 8,296 recall campaigns · 1,429,681 owner complaints · model years 1995–2027 · updated 2026-09-25

North American brands

17 brands · 913 model pages

European brands

27 brands · 1,202 model pages

Asian brands

15 brands · 662 model pages

Standards

How a VIN is structured

Tools

Free · no account

Guides

10 guides · updated 2026-09-25

Most complaints

all model years
Most complaints: top 10 models, all model years
#ModelComplaints
1.Ford F-15035,790
2.Ford Explorer31,089
3.Jeep Grand Cherokee27,893
4.Ford Escape27,343
5.Honda Accord22,939
6.Ford Fusion22,383
7.Ford Focus22,086
8.Chevrolet Malibu19,326
9.Chevrolet Silverado 150017,953
10.Toyota Camry16,486

Most recall campaigns

all model years
Most recall campaigns: top 8 models, all model years
#ModelCampaigns
1.Ford F-150158
2.Ford Explorer131
3.Jeep Grand Cherokee123
4.BMW X5103
5.Ford E-350100
6.Ford Escape95
6.Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 250095
6.Ram 150095

(n) = model pages with NHTSA recall or complaint data, model years 1995–2027.

(—) = no NHTSA recall or complaint data (not sold in the U.S. in these model years): brand VIN guide only.

All 59 brands »

Where the data comes from

5 rows
Where VINDecoder360’s data comes from
SourceProvidesCoverageUpdated
NHTSA vPIC (opens in a new tab)
Product Information Catalog and Vehicle Listing		Decode of each VIN: make, model, year, trim, body, engine, drivetrain, plant, safety equipmentStrongest for vehicles built for North AmericaLive, per VIN
NHTSA recalls flat files (opens in a new tab)Recall campaigns per make, model and year8,296 campaigns, MY 1995–20272026-09-25
NHTSA complaints flat files (opens in a new tab)Owner complaints per make, model and year, by component1,429,681 complaints, MY 1995–20272026-09-25
Computed from the VINCheck digit, model-year code, WMI region and countryEvery 17-character VIN—
Standards49 CFR Part 565 · ISO 3779 · ISO 3780 · EU Regulation 2021/535——

Coverage by region

MY 1995–2027
VINDecoder360 coverage by region
RegionBrandsWith NHTSA dataModel pagesOwner complaints
North America1717913843,159
Europe27201,202126,563
Asia1515662459,959
Total59522,7771,429,681

What a decode shows — and what it doesn’t

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Shows

  • Make, model, year, trim, body (vPIC)
  • Engine, drivetrain, plant (vPIC)
  • Safety equipment (vPIC)
  • Check digit, year code, WMI country
  • Recalls and complaints for the make, model and year

Doesn’t show

  • Title brands, accident history
  • Odometer readings, previous owners
  • Theft records
  • Held by state agencies and licensed vehicle-history providers
  • Open recalls on one VIN: nhtsa.gov/recalls (opens in a new tab)

How to decode a VIN

ISO 3779 · 49 CFR Part 565

Every modern VIN has the same 17 positions. ISO 3779 sets the layout internationally; for vehicles sold in the United States, NHTSA’s rule in 49 CFR Part 565 also fixes the check digit, model year and plant positions. Here is the sample VIN 1HGCM82633A004352 split into its six parts.

  1. Position 1: 1 (World manufacturer identifier)
  2. Position 2: H (World manufacturer identifier)
  3. Position 3: G (World manufacturer identifier)
  4. Position 4: C (Vehicle descriptor section)
  5. Position 5: M (Vehicle descriptor section)
  6. Position 6: 8 (Vehicle descriptor section)
  7. Position 7: 2 (Vehicle descriptor section)
  8. Position 8: 6 (Vehicle descriptor section)
  9. Position 9: 3 (Check digit)
  10. Position 10: 3 (Model year)
  11. Position 11: A (Assembly plant)
  12. Position 12: 0 (Production sequence)
  13. Position 13: 0 (Production sequence)
  14. Position 14: 4 (Production sequence)
  15. Position 15: 3 (Production sequence)
  16. Position 16: 5 (Production sequence)
  17. Position 17: 2 (Production sequence)
Sample VIN 1HGCM82633A004352: a 2003 Honda built in the U.S.; the shaded 9th character is the check digit.

From 17 characters to a report in three steps

  1. Enter the VIN. Type or paste all 17 characters. Spaces and dashes are removed, letters are capitalised, and the form stops you if a character can’t appear in a VIN.
  2. We check it, then decode it. The check digit, model-year code and manufacturer prefix are verified straight away. The VIN is then sent to NHTSA’s vPIC service, which returns the specifications the manufacturer filed.
  3. Read specs and safety records. See the decoded specifications next to the recall campaigns and owner complaints on file for that make, model and year. Each result has its own address you can bookmark or share.

Read the full guide: how to decode a VIN »

The six parts of a VIN
The six parts of a VIN
PartWhat it tells you
Pos. 1–3
World manufacturer identifier (WMI)		Identifies the manufacturer. The first character usually shows the country of manufacture — 1, 4 and 5 for the United States, 2 for Canada, 3 mostly for Mexico, J for Japan, K for South Korea, W for Germany. 1HG is a Honda built in the U.S.
Pos. 4–8
Vehicle descriptor section (VDS)		Five characters the manufacturer uses to describe the vehicle: model line, body style, engine, restraint system. Every maker has its own scheme, which is why decoding needs the manufacturer’s filings.
Pos. 9
Check digit (Check)		A digit from 0 to 9, or the letter X, calculated from the other 16 characters with a fixed weighting formula. Mandatory for vehicles built for North America. For the sample VIN the calculation gives 3 — a match.
Pos. 10
Model year (Year)		A letter or digit that repeats every 30 years, so 3 can mean 2003 or 2033. For cars and light trucks, a digit in position 7 points to the earlier cycle — here, 2003.
Pos. 11
Assembly plant (Plant)		The factory that assembled the vehicle, in the manufacturer’s own code. vPIC turns it into a city and country when the maker has filed that information.
Pos. 12–17
Production sequence (Serial)		The production sequence number the vehicle received on the line, which makes the whole VIN unique. Makers building fewer than 1,000 vehicles a year use positions 12–14 to extend their manufacturer code instead.

What a VIN decode returns

three layers of information

A decode returns three layers of information: the build specification from NHTSA’s vPIC database, the checks we calculate from the VIN itself, and the public safety records for the same make, model and year.

Vehicle specificationsNHTSA vPIC

What the manufacturer registered with NHTSA for this VIN pattern:

  • Make, model and model year
  • Trim and series
  • Body class — sedan, pickup, SUV, van, motorcycle and so on
  • Engine cylinders, displacement, fuel type and horsepower, when reported
  • Drive type and transmission, when reported
  • Plant city and country of assembly
  • Safety equipment such as airbag locations, ABS and electronic stability control, when reported

Our own checksCalculated locally

Worked out from the 17 characters themselves, before any database is asked:

  • Check-digit validation of position 9, which exposes most typos
  • Model year from the 10th character, including the 30-year cycle
  • Region and country of manufacture from the WMI prefix
  • A position-by-position breakdown of all 17 characters

Safety recordsNHTSA

Public records filed for the same make, model and model year:

  • Recall campaigns, with the defect, the safety risk and the remedy
  • Owner complaints submitted to NHTSA, grouped by component
  • A direct route to NHTSA’s own VIN recall search to confirm whether a repair is still open

VIN decoder questions, answered

8 questions

What does a VIN decoder do?

It translates the 17-character vehicle identification number into plain facts: who built the vehicle, where, for which model year, and the specifications the manufacturer registered. VINDecoder360 combines NHTSA’s vPIC decoding service with its own check-digit and model-year calculations, and adds the recall and complaint records NHTSA holds for the same make, model and year.

Is VINDecoder360 free to use?

Yes. Decoding a VIN, reading recalls and browsing complaint statistics cost nothing, and there is no account to create. We don’t ask for your name, email address or plate number.

Can a VIN decoder show accident, title or ownership history?

No. A decode describes how the vehicle was built. Accident reports, title brands such as salvage or flood, odometer readings and previous owners are held by state agencies and licensed vehicle-history providers, and they are not part of NHTSA’s public data.

Does it work for cars built outside North America?

Partly. Any 17-character VIN can be checked for format, region of manufacture and model-year code. Detailed specifications come from vPIC, which is built from manufacturer filings for vehicles sold in the United States, so a European- or Asian-market car may return only its manufacturer and year. Many such vehicles also don’t use a calculated check digit.

Why can’t a VIN contain the letters I, O or Q?

They are too easily mistaken for the digits 1 and 0, so the VIN standard leaves them out entirely. If you read an O, it is a zero. The model-year position is stricter still: it also skips U, Z and the digit 0. See VIN model year codes for the full table.

What if the check digit doesn’t match?

Most of the time it is a typo, so read the VIN again from the vehicle itself rather than from an advert. If the number on the car and on the documents both fail, the vehicle may have been built for a market that doesn’t use check digits, or the VIN may have been altered — worth resolving before you buy. How the check digit works.

Are the recalls shown specific to my vehicle?

They are the recall campaigns NHTSA lists for the vehicle’s make, model and model year. A campaign can cover only part of a year’s production, and completed repairs are not shown. To see the status of one particular vehicle, search its VIN on NHTSA’s recall site (opens in a new tab) or ask a franchised dealer.

How old can a vehicle be?

The 17-character format has applied since the 1981 model year. Earlier vehicles carry shorter, manufacturer-specific serial numbers that follow no common standard, so they can’t be decoded here.

Still unsure about something? Contact us and we’ll add the answer here.