What Is a VIN?
A vehicle identification number (VIN) is a unique, 17-character code given to each car sold in QLD. Decode VIN QLD, then owners or buyers can unlock vital information about the vehicle’s manufacture and history. As every car has a unique VIN, it’s easier to track when that car is built, sold, and serviced.
How Many Numbers and Letters Are in a VIN?
VINs on new cars have 17 characters, while VINs on older vehicles may have as many as 16 characters.
How to Decode VIN QLD
Characters in VIN indicate a vehicle’s make, model, when it was built, and more.
Manufacturer & Country
The first three characters of the VIN are the World Manufacturer Identifier code. It identifies the manufacturer’s country of origin.
The first character of the WMI is the region in which the manufacturer is located or the final point of assembly. Usually this is the country where the car was made.
The second VIN character indicates the manufacturer and the region where the vehicle was produced.
The third VIN character indicates the vehicle type or manufacturing division.
Make, Model, Trim, Engine & More
Characters 4 through 8 are the Vehicle Descriptor Section (VDS). They identify the vehicle brand, model, body style, engine type, transmission and more. Service centres commonly use this information to identify an automaker’s systems so that they can properly service a car.
Model Year
The tenth digit indicates the year. The following chart shows which letter represents which model year.
VIN Year Chart: How to Determine Your Car’s Model Year
| Model Year | Code | Model Year | Code | Model Year | Code | Model Year | Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | A | 1995 | S | 2010 | A | 2025 | S |
| 1981 | B | 1996 | T | 2011 | B | 2026 | T |
| 1982 | C | 1997 | V | 2012 | C | 2027 | V |
| 1983 | D | 1998 | W | 2013 | D | 2028 | W |
| 1984 | E | 1999 | X | 2014 | E | 2029 | X |
| 1985 | F | 2000 | Y | 2015 | F | 2030 | Y |
| 1986 | G | 2001 | 1 | 2016 | G | 2031 | 1 |
| 1987 | H | 2002 | 2 | 2017 | H | 2032 | 2 |
| 1988 | J | 2003 | 3 | 2018 | J | 2033 | 3 |
| 1989 | K | 2004 | 4 | 2019 | K | 2034 | 4 |
| 1990 | L | 2005 | 5 | 2020 | L | 2035 | 5 |
| 1991 | M | 2006 | 6 | 2021 | M | 2036 | 6 |
| 1992 | N | 2007 | 7 | 2022 | N | 2037 | 7 |
| 1993 | P | 2008 | 8 | 2023 | P | 2038 | 8 |
| 1994 | R | 2009 | 9 | 2024 | R | 2039 | 9 |
Assembly Plant
The 11th character identifies the manufacturing plant where the vehicle was assembled. Each manufacturer has its own plant codes.
Production or Serial Number
Characters 12 through 17 indicate the serial number. This number often indicates the sequence in which a car came off the assembly line. Since there is no fixed standard for this number, manufacturers can use this number differently.
