How to Check a Car's Displacement?
4 Answers
The simplest and most direct method is to look at the vehicle's identification plate. The vehicle identification plate is a label that indicates the basic characteristics of the vehicle, including the manufacturer's brand. You can also visit professional inquiry websites to check. You can search for the keyword "motor vehicle environmental protection" on Baidu. Another way is to find the vehicle's factory certificate, provided it is a new car. Check the vehicle's factory certificate for the information. Alternatively, you can personally take the vehicle's registration certificate to the environmental protection window at the vehicle management office or the local motor vehicle pollution management center. The staff there will assist in checking the information.
I just helped my dad check the displacement of his used car a couple of days ago. The most straightforward method is to look at the vehicle license. On the third page of the license under the 'Brand and Model' section, for example, it might say 'Changan SC6489B5'—the displacement is usually hidden within that alphanumeric combination. A 1.5L displacement typically shows up as numbers like 1468CC. If you don't have the document handy, open the front door and crouch down to check the vehicle identification plate on the B-pillar; it will have the engine displacement printed on it, though the font is small so look carefully. By the way, when washing the car, avoid using a high-pressure water jet directly on the plate, as it can easily wash away the lettering.
Checking the engine displacement isn't that complicated. I usually refer to the vehicle conformity certificate, where the 'Engine Model and Displacement' section clearly states it. If you can't find the certificate, here's a trick: start the car and listen to the engine sound – smaller displacement engines have more frequent 'puttering' sounds at idle, while larger displacement engines produce deeper, more resonant noises. The most reliable method is to check the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number), that 17-digit code at the bottom left of the windshield. Decode it using a mobile app, and the 8th letter indicates the displacement grade. A mechanic once taught me that you can also estimate by checking the engine oil capacity – generally, a 4L oil bottle corresponds to a 2.0L engine displacement.
Want to know the displacement? Just check the most prominent label in the engine bay! It's usually stuck on the engine cover or firewall metal plate, with black background and white letters indicating '1598mL' for a 1.6L engine. If the label is covered by oil stains, use your phone to check the official model parameters on the manufacturer's website by entering the model code on the rear of the car. Remember one time when car shopping, the salesperson pointed at the '280TSI' badge on the rear and claimed it was a 2.0T, but checking the label revealed only 1.4L - so don't just trust the badges. It gets even more complicated with new energy vehicles, where plug-in hybrids require adding the electric motor power to the engine displacement for total output.
