10th digit model-year codes
Because the code repeats, the 10th character alone may not be enough to distinguish vehicles separated by 30 years. Other VIN positions and vehicle context are used during decoding.
| VIN code | Possible model years |
|---|---|
| A | 1980 / 2010 / 2040 |
| B | 1981 / 2011 / 2041 |
| C | 1982 / 2012 / 2042 |
| D | 1983 / 2013 / 2043 |
| E | 1984 / 2014 / 2044 |
| F | 1985 / 2015 / 2045 |
| G | 1986 / 2016 / 2046 |
| H | 1987 / 2017 / 2047 |
| J | 1988 / 2018 / 2048 |
| K | 1989 / 2019 / 2049 |
| L | 1990 / 2020 / 2050 |
| M | 1991 / 2021 / 2051 |
| N | 1992 / 2022 / 2052 |
| P | 1993 / 2023 / 2053 |
| R | 1994 / 2024 / 2054 |
| S | 1995 / 2025 / 2055 |
| T | 1996 / 2026 / 2056 |
| V | 1997 / 2027 / 2057 |
| W | 1998 / 2028 / 2058 |
| X | 1999 / 2029 / 2059 |
| Y | 2000 / 2030 / 2060 |
| 1 | 2001 / 2031 / 2061 |
| 2 | 2002 / 2032 / 2062 |
| 3 | 2003 / 2033 / 2063 |
| 4 | 2004 / 2034 / 2064 |
| 5 | 2005 / 2035 / 2065 |
| 6 | 2006 / 2036 / 2066 |
| 7 | 2007 / 2037 / 2067 |
| 8 | 2008 / 2038 / 2068 |
| 9 | 2009 / 2039 / 2069 |
Decode instead of guessing
The full 17-digit VIN decoder can combine the complete VIN with manufacturer coding information rather than relying on a single model-year character.