Volkswagen VIN is the best car story teller
Content
Since the eighties of the last century, each vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine has been assigned an individual VIN code that contains information about the car. The combination of numbers and letters brings real benefits. By this number they find a lot of useful information, including selecting the exact spare part that will fit the version of a particular machine. Considering that there are a lot of modifications, improvements and improvements at AG Volkswagen plants, and the brand ranges are constantly expanding, this opportunity is relevant, in demand and is the only way to properly select the right parts for repair and maintenance.
Volkswagen VIN code
VIN (Vehicle identification number) is an identification number of a car, truck, tractor, motorcycle and other vehicle, consisting of a combination of Latin letters and numbers in a consecutive series of 17 characters. The individual code contains information about the manufacturer, the parameters of the carrier of people or goods, equipment, date of manufacture and other useful information. The writing of the VIN code is defined by two standards.
- ISO 3779-1983 - Road vehicles. vehicle identification number (VIN). content and structure. “Road vehicles. Vehicle identification number. Content and structure”.
- ISO 3780-1983 - Road Vehicles. World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI) code. “Road vehicles. Identification code of the global manufacturer.
An exclusive number is stamped on solid parts of the chassis or body and applied to special plates (nameplates). The Volkswagen Group has determined the location of the marking label on the right side of the upper radiator cross member.
The same information, except for the curb and gross weight, is duplicated by a sticker in the trunk compartment. The VIN number is also knocked out when assembling the car on the upper reinforcement of the engine bulkhead.
In the registration documents of vehicles there is a special line where the VIN code is entered, therefore, when thefts and thefts of cars are tried to change it in order to hide the history of the real car. It becomes more difficult for attackers to do this every year. Manufacturers are developing ever new degrees of VIN protection using the most modern methods of application: stamps, laser beam, barcode stickers.
ISO rules impose certain requirements on compiling a VIN code: characters are applied in one line, without spaces, with clear outlines of characters, without the use of Latin letters O, I, Q due to their similarity with 1 and 0, the last 4 characters are only numbers .
The structure of the VIN number "Volkswagen"
AG Volkswagen is engaged in the production of cars that are focused on two markets: American and European (includes countries on other continents). The structure of VIN codes for cars sold in the countries of the New and Old Worlds is different. For buyers of the European Union, Russia, Asia and Africa, the VIN number does not fully comply with ISO standards, therefore characters from 4 to 6 are represented by the Latin letter Z. For the countries of North and South America, these places contain encrypted information about the model range, engine type and applied passive safety systems.
Although the VIN for Europeans contains a direct indication of the date of manufacture (the number 10), there are many places in VW vehicles that can be used to determine the year of manufacture of the vehicle:
- glass stamps;
- stamps on the reverse side of plastic parts (cabin mirror frame, lining, ashtray, covers);
- labels on seat belts;
- plates on the starter, generator, relay and other electrical equipment;
- stamps on the glasses of headlights and lanterns;
- marking on the main and spare wheels;
- information in the service book;
- stickers in the trunk, engine compartment, on the seats in the cabin and other places.
Video: what is a VIN code, why is it needed
Deciphering the VIN code of VW cars
According to the first three digits, the Volkswagen VIN number differs from analogues of other world leaders in the production of cars. This is due to the fact that AG Volkswagen includes 342 car manufacturing companies, including brands such as Audi, Škoda, Bentley and others.
The whole combination of 17 symbols of VW cars is divided into three groups.
WMI (first three characters)
WMI - world manufacturer index, includes the first three characters.
- The first letter/number indicates the geofence where cars are produced:
- W — FRG;
- 1 - USA;
- 3 — Mexico;
- 9 — Brazil;
- X - Russia.
- The second character informs who made the car:
- V - at the factories of the Volkswagen concern itself;
- B - in the branch office in Brazil.
- The third character indicates the type of vehicle:
- 1 - truck or pickup;
- 2 - MPV (station wagons with increased capacity);
- W - passenger car.
This VIN code belongs to a passenger car made in Germany at the plant of the Volkswagen concern
VDI (characters four through nine)
VDI is a descriptive part, which consists of six code characters and tells about the properties of the machine. For the Eurozone, the signs from the fourth to the sixth are denoted by the letter Z, which indicates the absence of information encrypted in them. For the US market, they contain the following data.
- The fourth character is the execution of the chassis and engine, taking into account the type of body:
- B - V6 engine, spring suspension;
- C - V8 engine, spring suspension;
- L - V6 engine, air suspension;
- M - V8 engine, air suspension;
- P - V10 engine, air suspension;
- Z — engine V6/V8 sports suspension.
- The fifth character is the type of engine for a particular model (number of cylinders, volume). For example, for the Touareg crossover:
- A - petrol V6, volume 3,6 l;
- M - petrol V8, volume 4,2 l;
- G - diesel V10, volume 5,0 l.
- The sixth character is a passive safety system (numbers from 0 to 9 indicating the presence of a type of individual safety for the driver and passengers):
- 2 - inertial-free seat belts;
- 3 - inertial seat belts;
- 4 - side airbags;
- 5 - automated seat belts;
- 6 - airbag plus inertial seat belts for the driver;
- 7 - side inflatable safety curtains;
- 8 - pillows and inflatable side curtains;
- 9 - airbags for the driver and front passenger;
- 0 - front airbags with stepped deployment, side airbags front and rear, side airbags.
- The seventh and eighth characters identify the brand in the model range. Specific numerical values \uXNUMXb\uXNUMXbcan be viewed in the table located just below.
- The ninth character is a free Z symbol for Europe, and an important symbol for America that protects the VIN code from forgery. This check number is calculated by a complex algorithm.The seventh and eighth digits of the VIN indicate that it belongs to the Polo III model
Table: symbols 7 and 8 depending on the Volkswagen model
| Model | transcript |
| Caddy | 14A |
| golf/convertible | 15 |
| Jetta I/II | 16 |
| Golf I, Jetta I | 17 |
| Golf II, Jetta II | 19, 1G |
| New Beetle | 1C |
| Golf III, Convertible | 1E |
| Eos | 1F |
| golf III, wind | 1H |
| Golf IV, Bora | 1J |
| LT | 21, 28. 2d |
| Transport T1 — T3 | 24, 25 |
| Transport Syncro | 2A |
| Crafter | 2E |
| Amarok | 2H |
| L80 | 2V |
| Passat | 31 (B3), 32 (B2), 33 (B1), 3A (B4), 3B (B5, B6), 3C (Passat CC) |
| Corrado | 50, 60 |
| Sirocco | 53 |
| Tiguan | 5N |
| Wolf | 6E |
| Polo III | 6K, 6N, 6V |
| Transporter T4 | 70 |
| taro | 7A |
| Transporter T5 | 7D |
| Sharan | 7M |
| Touareg | 7L |
VIS (positions 10 to 17)
VIS is an identifying part that indicates the start date of the release of the model and the plant where the assembly line operates.
The tenth character indicates the year of manufacture of the Volkswagen model. Previously, a presentation of models of the next year of release took place in car dealerships, and they went on sale immediately after the presentation. The IOS standard recommends starting the next model year on August 1 of the current calendar year. Under normal demand, this factor played a double positive role:
- the buyer directly in the salon saw a sign of the novelty of the presented model;
- car dealers in their warehouses did not have accumulations of cars of past releases.
But demand has been slowly falling in recent years, so there is no annual updating of models, and the tenth point is gradually losing its relevance in the primary market.
And yet, if you know the model year of the car and the time it left the assembly line, you can calculate the age of the car with an accuracy of six months. The year designation table is designed for 30 years and starts anew precisely after this period. Automakers rightly believe that this age is quite enough for any model, although in Russia and some CIS countries certain modifications have not changed and left the assembly line for a longer period of time.
Table: designation of the year of production of models
| Year of construction | Designation (10th character VIN) |
| 2001 | 1 |
| 2002 | 2 |
| 2003 | 3 |
| 2004 | 4 |
| 2005 | 5 |
| 2006 | 6 |
| 2007 | 7 |
| 2008 | 8 |
| 2009 | 9 |
| 2010 | A |
| 2011 | B |
| 2012 | C |
| 2013 | D |
| 2014 | E |
| 2015 | F |
| 2016 | G |
| 2017 | H |
| 2018 | J |
| 2019 | K |
| 2020 | L |
| 2021 | M |
| 2022 | N |
| 2023 | P |
| 2024 | R |
| 2025 | S |
| 2026 | T |
| 2027 | V |
| 2028 | W |
| 2029 | X |
| 2030 | Y |
The eleventh character indicates the plant of the AG Volkswagen concern, from the assembly line of which this car came off.
Table: Volkswagen assembly location
| designation | Assembly place VW |
| A | Ingolstadt / Germany |
| B | Brussels, Belgium |
| C | CCM-Tajpeh |
| D | Barcelona / Spain |
| D | Bratislava / Slovakia (Touareg) |
| E | Emden / FRG |
| G | Graz / Austria |
| G | Kaluga / Russia |
| H | Hannover / Germany |
| K | Osnabrück / Germany |
| M | Pueblo / Mexico |
| N | Neckar-Sulm / Germany |
| P | Mosel / Germany |
| R | Martorell / Spain |
| S | Salzgitter / Germany |
| T | Sarajevo / Bosnia |
| V | West Moreland / USA and Palmela / Portugal |
| W | Wolfsburg / Germany |
| X | Poznan / Poland |
| Y | Barcelona, Pamplona / Spain until 1991 inclusive, Pamplona / |
Characters 12 to 17 indicate the serial number of the vehicle.
Where and how can I find out the history of a car by VIN code
Buyers of used cars always want to see information with all the nuances about the car brand of interest. Detailed information, including model age, maintenance, number of owners, accidents and other data, is provided by authorized dealers on a fee basis.. Even more complete information can be obtained on special sites that provide only the most basic information for free: make, model, year of manufacture of the vehicle. For a small fee (within three hundred rubles), they will introduce the story, including:
- year of operation and mileage of the car;
- recorded accidents;
- use of the car in the taxi service;
- whether the car is listed as stolen or pledged;
- number of border crossings;
- whether the car was deregistered for disposal;
- whether the purchase was related to leasing.
This information can be obtained on the Internet and on your own, but for this you need to have access to different databases: the REP of the traffic police, car services, insurance companies, commercial banks and other organizations.
Video: an overview of online services for checking car VIN codes
Relationship between chassis number and VIN code
The vehicle's VIN is a trusted source of information that contains many details about the vehicle. The body is considered the main base of a passenger car, and AG Volkswagen constructs all brands of sedans, station wagons, convertibles, limousines, minivans and other models without using frames. The rigid frame of VW cars is presented in the form of a load-bearing body. But the VIN code and the body number are not the same thing, and their purpose is different.
The VIN number is placed on solid parts of the body, but in different places. The body number is the manufacturer's information about its brand and type, which consists of 8–12 letters of the Latin alphabet and numbers. Exact information can be obtained from special tables. The VIN code has much more information than the body number, which is just an integral part of the VIN.. The main group of the identification combination of letters and numbers is developed at the parent company, and the manufacturer only adds his data to the end of the VIN number, including an increasing number of bodies of the same type.
It is no coincidence that when registering cars, only the VIN code is entered, and no one is usually interested in the body number.
Table: location of numbers on Volkswagen cars
| Vehicle name | VIN | Motor number | Type name plate |
| I fell | on the back wall engine compartment | In front of the engine compartment, where the block and cylinder head separate. For 37-, 40- and 44-kilowatt motors, it is knocked out on block next to the exhaust manifold. | Front on trim lock bars, right |
| Kafer | on the body tunnel approx. rear seat | ||
| Verto (с 1988) Derby (since 1982) Santana (since 1984) | On the bulkhead of the engine compartment from the side of the water collector in the opening of the plastic shield | ||
| Carrado (c 1988 g.) | In front of the engine compartment, at the point of separation of the block and cylinder head | Next to ID number, in the radiator tank | |
| Scirocco (since 1981) | In front of the engine compartment, at the point of separation of the block and cylinder head | In the engine compartment on the front cladding of the lock cross member | |
| Golf II, Golf Syncro, Jetta, Jetta Syncro (с 1981) | In front of the engine compartment, where the block and cylinder head separate. For 37-, 40- and 44-kilowatt motors, it is knocked out on block next to the exhaust manifold. | In the engine compartment on the right side, or in the radiator tank | |
| Polo - hatchback, coupe, sedan (since 1981) | In front of the engine compartment, at the point of separation of the block and cylinder head | On the front skin of the lock crossbar, on the right, next to the folding lock |
VW decoding example
To correctly identify the data of a specific Volkswagen car model, you need to use special tables for decoding each character. This is due to the fact that the AG VW concern produces model lines of many brands, which, in turn, are divided into generations. In order not to get confused in the sea of information, detailed tables were compiled for each letter. Here is an example of decoding the following VIN code for a Volkswagen car.
- W - the car is made in Europe;
- V - the plant belongs to AG Volkswagen;
- W - passenger car;
- ZZZ - sales on the European market;
- 3B — brand Volkswagen Passat;
- Z - free space;
- W - model released in 1998;
- E - the car is made at the Emden / Germany plant;
- 035363 - body number.
How to find out the complete set by VIN code
If you need detailed information on the car - engine type, transmission, drive, color, factory version and other information - you can find them only from the dealer database by entering the serial number of the car (numbers 12 to 17 of the VIN code) or on special online services.
In addition to the database, the automaker encrypts equipment options using unique PR codes. They are placed on stickers in the trunk of the car and in the service book. Each code includes a certain set of features encrypted in an inscription consisting of three or more characters (a combination of Latin letters and numbers). Throughout the history of the AG Volkswagen concern, such a huge number of coded options have been compiled that it is not possible to give a complete list of them. There are special online services on the Internet where you can get a transcript of any PR code.
Video: determining the vehicle configuration by its VIN code
An example of determining the VW paint code by VIN code
If you need to touch up a damaged body part, you will definitely need a paint code. For a new Volkswagen car, information about the color of the paintwork can be obtained by the VIN code (information can be provided by an authorized dealer).
In addition, the paint code is in the PR code, which is present on a sticker placed in the service book and trunk: near the spare wheel, under the flooring or behind the trim on the right side. The exact paint code can also be determined by a computer scanner if, for example, a filler cap is brought to it.
The invention of VINs and PR codes made it possible to encrypt terabytes of information about each vehicle. since 1980. About one billion cars run along the roads of our planet, so it was necessary to come up with a way to encrypt data that would allow us not to get confused with the selection of spare parts and would increase the level of protection against theft. Previously, only numbers were used, which the "craftsmen" forged with indistinguishable accuracy. Today, data is stored on special servers, and it is almost impossible to deceive a computer.
