How to Identify Vehicle Year from VIN Code?
2 Answers
The method to identify the vehicle year from the VIN code is: Look at the 10th digit of the VIN code, which indicates the year. The VIN code is the vehicle's identification number, also known as the VIN, determined according to national vehicle management standards. It contains information about the vehicle's manufacturer, year, model, body type and code, engine code, and assembly location. The VIN code can be found in the following locations: 1. Lower right corner of the front windshield; 2. On the door hinge pillar or door lock pillar; 3. In the engine compartment; 4. Left side of the dashboard; 5. In the chassis number column of the vehicle registration certificate. The VIN code consists of 17 digits or letters, with each position representing different information: 1. The first digit indicates the geographical region; 2. The second digit indicates the country; 3. The third digit indicates the vehicle manufacturer; 4. The fourth to eighth digits indicate the vehicle characteristic code; 5. The ninth digit is a check digit; 6. The tenth digit indicates the year; 7. The eleventh digit indicates the assembly plant; 8. The twelfth to seventeenth digits indicate the production sequence number.
When helping a friend check a used car, I discovered that the vehicle identification number (VIN) contains a hidden year code! The 10th digit of the 17-digit code located under the windshield on the driver's side represents the year. For example, last year when assisting my cousin with a car purchase, the 10th digit of the car he liked was 'L', and after checking the table, I found it was manufactured in 2020. Note that the letters I, O, Q, U, and Z are skipped. Before 2010, numbers 1 through 9 represented the years 2001 to 2009. Nowadays, car dealers often claim a car is an '18 model', but it might actually be produced in 2017—always verify the VIN to avoid being misled. Recently, I've noticed that some new energy vehicles also display the production month and year separately on the battery nameplate, which is more straightforward than the VIN.
