Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Vehicle identification number
A vehicle identification number (VIN; also called a chassis number or frame number) is a unique code, including a serial number, used by the automotive industry to identify individual motor vehicles, towed vehicles, motorcycles, scooters and mopeds, as defined by the International Organization for Standardization in ISO 3779 (content and structure) and ISO 4030 (location and attachment).
There are vehicle history services in several countries that help potential car owners use VINs to find vehicles that are defective or have been written off.
VINs were first used in 1954 in the United States. From 1954 to 1965, there was no accepted standard for these numbers, so different manufacturers and even divisions within a manufacturer used different formats. Many were little more than a serial number. Starting in January 1966 the US government mandated that a 13-character VIN be used. This specification was phased in over several years. US manufacturers used them starting in January 1966—by January 1, 1969, all cars sold in the US were required to have the 13 character VIN.[clarification needed] The 1966 US specification only stated that the year of manufacture, engine type, and a six digit unique number (with that being the last six characters) were required—the individual manufacturers could use the remaining five spaces for whatever they liked. This was not much better than what was in use by some US manufacturers before 1966.
In 1981, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the United States standardized the format. It required all on-road vehicles sold to contain a 17-character VIN, which does not include the letters O (o), I (i), and Q (q) (to avoid confusion with numerals 0, 1, and 9). This was largely based on the ISO 3779 standard, but is more stringent.
After the introduction of the ISO standard, the manufacturers which produced vehicles for the American market very quickly adjusted to this standard. ISO introduced recommendations for applying the VIN standard and its structure, and the VIN was also used in Europe. However, the sets of information contained in it were introduced gradually. For example, Volkswagen started to encode bigger chunks of information during 1995–1997, and the control digit during 2009–2015 for selected models from the group. The VIN control digit is also used, although not in all brand-models. In the European vehicles, it can be found e.g. in Audi A1.
There are at least four competing standards used to calculate the VIN.
Modern VINs are based on two related standards, originally issued by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1979 and 1980: ISO 3779 and ISO 3780, respectively. Compatible but different implementations of these ISO standards have been adopted by the European Union and the United States.
The VIN consists of 17 characters, and only uses capital letters (excluding I, O and Q) and digits (0-9). It comprises the following sections:
Hub AI
Vehicle identification number AI simulator
(@Vehicle identification number_simulator)
Vehicle identification number
A vehicle identification number (VIN; also called a chassis number or frame number) is a unique code, including a serial number, used by the automotive industry to identify individual motor vehicles, towed vehicles, motorcycles, scooters and mopeds, as defined by the International Organization for Standardization in ISO 3779 (content and structure) and ISO 4030 (location and attachment).
There are vehicle history services in several countries that help potential car owners use VINs to find vehicles that are defective or have been written off.
VINs were first used in 1954 in the United States. From 1954 to 1965, there was no accepted standard for these numbers, so different manufacturers and even divisions within a manufacturer used different formats. Many were little more than a serial number. Starting in January 1966 the US government mandated that a 13-character VIN be used. This specification was phased in over several years. US manufacturers used them starting in January 1966—by January 1, 1969, all cars sold in the US were required to have the 13 character VIN.[clarification needed] The 1966 US specification only stated that the year of manufacture, engine type, and a six digit unique number (with that being the last six characters) were required—the individual manufacturers could use the remaining five spaces for whatever they liked. This was not much better than what was in use by some US manufacturers before 1966.
In 1981, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the United States standardized the format. It required all on-road vehicles sold to contain a 17-character VIN, which does not include the letters O (o), I (i), and Q (q) (to avoid confusion with numerals 0, 1, and 9). This was largely based on the ISO 3779 standard, but is more stringent.
After the introduction of the ISO standard, the manufacturers which produced vehicles for the American market very quickly adjusted to this standard. ISO introduced recommendations for applying the VIN standard and its structure, and the VIN was also used in Europe. However, the sets of information contained in it were introduced gradually. For example, Volkswagen started to encode bigger chunks of information during 1995–1997, and the control digit during 2009–2015 for selected models from the group. The VIN control digit is also used, although not in all brand-models. In the European vehicles, it can be found e.g. in Audi A1.
There are at least four competing standards used to calculate the VIN.
Modern VINs are based on two related standards, originally issued by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1979 and 1980: ISO 3779 and ISO 3780, respectively. Compatible but different implementations of these ISO standards have been adopted by the European Union and the United States.
The VIN consists of 17 characters, and only uses capital letters (excluding I, O and Q) and digits (0-9). It comprises the following sections: