Volkswagen Vehicle Identification Number (VIN): Part II- 17 character VIN

VIN definition and history.

A car‘s vehicle identification number (VIN) is the automotive equivalent of human DNA. In the early 1980s, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sought to standardize these identifying numbers when they began requiring all road vehicles to have a 17-character VIN. A format for Vehicle Identification Numbers was "officially" outlined in ISO Standard 3779 February 1977 which was last revised in 1983.


VW and VINs
Early VINs were not standardized between manufacturers, nor were they called VINs at the onset. VINs are critical pieces of information for identifying the exact VW type and the engine that was put into it when it was built. It helps identify the origin of the VW and may also give clues regarding the stock parts that were used in the vehicle when it was built.

VW 17-character VIN:

With the international standards requirement of a 17-digit VIN number, the VW VIN numbers since August '79 would look something like this:

W  V  W  Z  Z  Z  8  6  Z  C  W  0  6  3  9  9  3

This number can be found on a plate or sticker as well as engraved on the body in letters about 1 cm high. Each character or digit has a particular purpose as follows: 

1st Character- identifies the country where it was manufactured.

VIN Character 1 - Manufacturing Country Codes
1 or 4	2	3	J	K	S	W	Z
USA	Canada	Mexico	Japan	Korea	England	Germany	Italy

  

2nd Character-specifies the manufacturer, for example:

VIN Character 2 - Car Manufacturer Codes
A	B	H	A	D	N	T	V	V
Audi	BMW	Honda	Jaguar	Mercedes	Nissan	Toyota	Volvo	VW

3rd Character- indicates the vehicle type or manufacturing division. This varies among car makes and models.

4th to 8th Character- reveals information about the vehicle's features an/or attributes, such as body style, engine type, model, series, etc. 

9th Character- is a VIN accuracy check digit verifying the previous numbers within the VIN. This is calculated from a mathematical formula after all the other characters in the VIN have been assigned and can either be a single number, or the letter "X". The correct numeric remainder that results from the computation (0-9) is inserted as the check digit but if the remainder is 10, the letter "X" is used to indicate that value. 

10th Character- tells you the model year; varies among car manufacturers 

VIN Character - Model Year Codes
1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	A
1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
B	C	D	E	F	G	H	J	K	L
1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000
M	N	P	R	S	T	V	W	X	Y
2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	A

11th Character- reveals the assembly plant for the vehicle. 

12th to 17th Character- indicate the sequence of the vehicle for production as it rolled off the manufacturer's assembly line. The last four characters are always numeric. 

These last six characters are perhaps the most critical portion of the VIN for most European cars. Because of mid-year production changes by car makers, these can be extremely important in identifying the proper part numbers for ignition, fuel emission and engine components. These types of parts are often listed with the caveat that they fit vehicles up to a particular VIN or before/after a particular VIN sequence.

NOTES:

 'Z' is used by VW as a 'filler' character in VIN codes. This means the information for that particular part of the VIN is not provided.  

Production year runs from August to July. So a car manufactured in October 1992, will be a 1993 model according to the VIN. 

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