Which digit in the car VIN indicates the year?
2 Answers
In a car VIN, the 10th digit represents the year. The Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is a unique 17-character alphanumeric code assigned to each vehicle. It identifies the manufacturer, engine, chassis number, and other specifications of the car. To avoid confusion with the numbers 1 and 0, the letters I, O, and Q are not used in VINs. The first digit 'L' indicates China, the 2nd and 3rd digits represent the manufacturing plant, digits 4 through 9 denote the vehicle type and configuration, the 10th digit indicates the model year, the 11th digit (a letter or number) shows the assembly plant, and digits 11 through 17 represent the production sequence.
I recently went through the process of changing cars and paid special attention to the VIN details. A car's VIN consists of 17 characters, with the 10th character indicating the year code. This position tells you the manufacturing year of the car—for example, the letter 'L' stands for 1990, while the number '5' represents 2005. When I first looked at a VIN, I wondered why the year was placed in the middle, but later learned that this design separates the model and manufacturer information at the front from the serial number at the end. The importance of the year digit is obvious—if you overlook it when buying a used car, you might end up with a tampered odometer or a salvaged vehicle, leading to significant losses. My former neighbor learned this the hard way, wasting money on repairs for an old car. I recommend using a free VIN decoder app to verify the actual year. Also, checking this digit during regular maintenance can help prevent potential issues.
