Free VIN decoder
What is this vehicle?
Enter the 17-character VIN. You get the manufacturer's own specifications and the safety recalls listed for that model — the two things that tell you what you're actually looking at. No account, no email, nothing to buy.
What you get back
Two answers, and we are equally serious about both.
One tells you what the vehicle is. The other tells you which safety recalls cover it.
What it is
Specifications
Year, make, model and trim. Engine, transmission, drivetrain. Body class, doors, seating, weight rating. Manufacturer and assembly plant — exactly as the manufacturer registered them.
And what to do about it
Safety recalls
Every recall campaign NHTSA lists for that year, make and model, with the defect and the remedy. To see whether one is still open on your car, check the VIN with NHTSA or a dealer. Repairs are usually free at a franchised dealer — confirm coverage with the dealer for older campaigns.
What this cannot tell you
Said here rather than in the footer, because it decides whether this tool answers your question at all.
You will get
- Year, make, model, trim
- Engine, transmission, drivetrain
- Body class, doors, seating, weight rating GVWR — the maximum the vehicle is rated to weigh, loaded
- Manufacturer and assembly plant
- Safety recalls for the year, make and model
You will not
- Title or title-brand records salvage, flood, lemon, rebuilt
- Accident or damage history
- Theft records
- Odometer readings
- Number of previous owners
Those records require licensed commercial data sources or an approved NMVTIS provider. RunThatVIN provides manufacturer specifications and official NHTSA recall information, for free.
How to decode a VIN
Find the 17-character VIN first. On most cars and light trucks it is on a plate at the base of the windshield on the driver's side, readable from outside, and on a label in the driver's door jamb. It is also printed on the title, the registration card and the insurance card. Our guide to where to find the VIN covers motorcycles, trailers and RVs too.
Type or paste it into the box above, or scan the barcode on the door-jamb label with your phone, where there is one. Spaces and hyphens are removed for you. The letters I, O and Q never appear in a VIN, so if you see one, it is a 1, a 0 or a misread character. Then press Decode.
The result shows the vehicle as its manufacturer registered it: year, make, model and trim, engine and transmission, body and seating, weight rating, and the plant that built it. Below that are the safety recall campaigns NHTSA lists for that year, make and model, each with the defect, the risk and the remedy.
Reading the VIN yourself
The first three characters identify the manufacturer. Characters 4 to 8 describe the vehicle, the 9th is a check digit, the 10th is the model year, the 11th is the assembly plant, and the last six are the serial number. How to read a VIN walks through each position, and the VIN year chart lists every model year code from 1980 to 2039.
Where the data comes from
Specifications come from NHTSA's Vehicle Product Information Catalog (vPIC), which manufacturers file before selling a vehicle in the United States. Recalls come from NHTSA's public recall data. We add nothing to either and fill no blanks with guesses. The data sources page explains what each covers and how long we cache it.
Quick answers
Is this VIN decoder free?
Yes. There is no account, no email requirement and nothing to buy. The tool uses NHTSA public data.
Does it show accident or title history?
No. RunThatVIN shows manufacturer specifications and NHTSA recall campaigns only. Title, title-brand, accident, theft, odometer and ownership records require an approved NMVTIS provider.
Which vehicles can it decode?
Vehicles manufactured for sale in the United States from 1981 onward. Pre-1981 vehicles and grey imports built for other markets will not decode.
Are the recalls specific to my vehicle?
No. NHTSA indexes recall campaigns by year, make and model, not by individual VIN. Many listed campaigns may already have been repaired on a given car. To check one car, enter its VIN in NHTSA's recall lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls.