#DECODE MITSUBISHI VIN CODE#

The bad news is that it can be a bit of a hassle to track down your manufacturerвЂ™s coding system for that third digit. Each manufacturer uses different codes вЂ“ and, thereвЂ™s good news and thereвЂ™s bad news about that. The third letter or number identifies the type of vehicle it is вЂ“ a car or truck, for example, or a bus or motorcycle. As reminds us, though, вЂњNOT all Japanese cars are made in Japan and NOT all GM cars are made in America and so on.вЂќ HereвЂ™s how you can decode that second letter or number in your VIN. The second letter or number identifies the country where the vehicle was made. The first letter or number reveals the continent where the vehicle was made: Vehicle identifier section (VIS): characters 9 through 17.Vehicle descriptor section (VDS): characters 4 through 8.World manufacturer identifier (WMI): characters 1 through 3.TodayвЂ™s VIN contains 17 letters and numbers and is really a conglomerate of three sets of numbers: Not surprisingly, we found conflicting information online, but we were able to track down specifics from the authoritative source, NHSTA, along with other information-rich sites such as. But, if you know the answer about Steve Maxwell, weвЂ™d love to hear your info! At some point, we knew we needed to cry uncle and get back to selling car parts, and so we did. Snopes had nothing to say on the matter and a search on Google patents didnвЂ™t shed any light, either. True or false? Unfortunately, we donвЂ™t know. The VIN, we are assured, вЂњsoon evolvedвЂќ into todayвЂ™s system. Steve apparently didnвЂ™t fully understand the value of his invention, as he apparently wrote it down on the back of a bar napkin and sold the idea to a far shrewder tavern patron for $1,000. Myth busting is fun and, if you look online, youвЂ™ll find plenty of places willing to tell you that a man named Steve Maxwell вЂњinventedвЂќ the VIN. According to DMV.org (a privately owned, non-governmental site), вЂњdeciphering these codes is a hobby for some car enthusiasts, including collectors who want to own one of the first or last cars to come off an assembly line.вЂќ Plus, of course, itвЂ™s a great way to understand the history of your vehicleвЂ“or the vehicle youвЂ™re thinking about buying. The main purpose of the VIN is to definitively identify a specific vehicle, but its usage goes beyond that. That changed in 1981, when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) began requiring standardized VINs for any vehicle that took to the road.ДЄs far as the numberвЂ™s location in your vehicle, NHTSA says the VIN must be inside the vehicle, and visible through the windshield when youвЂ™re looking through the left windshield pillar.

#DECODE MITSUBISHI VIN CODE#

VINs first existed in 1954, but their length and code values were not yet standardized. The VIN (vehicle identification number) of your car has been described as its fingerprintвЂ“no other vehicle can have the exact same one, even if the other vehicle is close enough to yours to be its вЂњtwin.вЂќ ItвЂ™s also been compared to your carвЂ™s social security number.

Decode mitsubishi vin