Free VIN decoder and recall check
Check your VIN free. Know your car and its recalls.
Enter your 17-character VIN in Hachi Garage and see the year, make, model, engine and where it was built, plus any safety recalls for that model year. Free, with data from NHTSA. Then keep your car’s whole maintenance log in the same place.
- Free, no card
- Official NHTSA data
- Lookups not stored
1HGCM82633A004352
2003 Honda Accord EX-V6
- Coupe
- 3.0 L V6
- 240 hp
- Automatic
- Built in USA
- Safety recallsFor this make, model and yearCheck yours
- Fill in my carMake, model, year and fuel in one tapOne tap
- Copy every detailFor a parts store, insurer or buyerCopy all
Inside Hachi Garage
What your free VIN check shows
Everything NHTSA knows about your car’s VIN, laid out simply, and saved with the car.
Year, make and model
The model year, maker, model and, when listed, trim and series, read from the VIN.
Engine and drivetrain
Engine size and cylinders, horsepower, fuel, drive type and transmission.
Safety recalls
The recalls for your car’s make, model and year, with the risk and the fix. “Do not drive” recalls come first.
Where it was built
The country of the assembly plant and the manufacturer, even for many cars sold outside the US.
Fills in your car
Use the details to set up the car in one tap: make, model, year and fuel, with the VIN saved.
Copy in one tap
Copy one line or all of it, for a parts store, an insurance quote or a buyer.
How to check your VIN in Hachi Garage
About a minute, start to finish.
- 1
Sign up free
Continue with Google or an emailed code. No card, no trial clock on the VIN check.
- 2
Add a car and paste the VIN
Type or paste the 17 characters. It checks them as you type and looks the car up by itself.
- 3
See the details and recalls
Use the details to fill in the car. Its page keeps the recall count and every VIN detail.
VIN decoder guide
What does a VIN mean? All 17 characters
A vehicle identification number (VIN) is the car’s fingerprint: 17 letters and digits, set by the international ISO 3779 standard and, in North America, by NHTSA’s rules since 1981.
1HGCM82633A004352
- 1–3 · Manufacturer (WMI)The world manufacturer identifier. The 1st character is the region or country (1 = USA), then the maker (HG = Honda).
- 4–8 · Vehicle descriptorThe model, body, engine and restraint system, coded by each maker in its own way.
- 9 · Check digitA digit (or X) worked out from the other 16, so a typo can be caught. Required on North American VINs.
- 10 · Model year3 = 2003 here. See the year chart below.
- 11 · Assembly plantThe factory that built the car, coded by the maker.
- 12–17 · Serial numberThe car’s own production number, different on every car.
A VIN never contains the letters I, O or Q, so they can’t be mistaken for 1 and 0. Cars built before 1981 have shorter VINs with no fixed layout.
10th character
VIN year chart
The 10th character of a North American VIN is the model year. The same code comes back every 30 years, so a B is 1981 or 2011.
To tell them apart on a car, SUV or light truck, look at the 7th character: a digit means 1980–2009, a letter means 2010–2039.
The model year can be a year ahead of the build date: a car built in autumn 2025 is often a 2026 model.
| Code | 1980–2009 | 2010–2039 |
|---|---|---|
| A | 1980 | 2010 |
| B | 1981 | 2011 |
| C | 1982 | 2012 |
| D | 1983 | 2013 |
| E | 1984 | 2014 |
| F | 1985 | 2015 |
| G | 1986 | 2016 |
| H | 1987 | 2017 |
| J | 1988 | 2018 |
| K | 1989 | 2019 |
| L | 1990 | 2020 |
| M | 1991 | 2021 |
| N | 1992 | 2022 |
| P | 1993 | 2023 |
| R | 1994 | 2024 |
| S | 1995 | 2025 |
| T | 1996 | 2026 |
| V | 1997 | 2027 |
| W | 1998 | 2028 |
| X | 1999 | 2029 |
| Y | 2000 | 2030 |
| 1 | 2001 | 2031 |
| 2 | 2002 | 2032 |
| 3 | 2003 | 2033 |
| 4 | 2004 | 2034 |
| 5 | 2005 | 2035 |
| 6 | 2006 | 2036 |
| 7 | 2007 | 2037 |
| 8 | 2008 | 2038 |
| 9 | 2009 | 2039 |
Find it in seconds
Where to find your VIN
The same 17 characters appear in several places. Check that they match.
Dashboard
Through the windshield, at the bottom corner on the driver’s side.
Driver’s door frame
On the sticker in the door jamb, with the tire pressures and build date.
Registration and title
Printed on your registration card, title and the purchase papers.
Insurance card
Your insurance card and policy list the VIN of each covered car.
Engine bay and frame
Stamped on the firewall, the frame or a plate under the hood on many cars.
Service records
Dealer and shop invoices usually show it. Hachi Garage keeps it on the car for you.
1st character
Where was my car built?
The first character of the VIN is the region or country of the maker that built it.
- 1, 4, 5
- United States
- 2
- Canada
- 3
- Mexico
- J
- Japan
- K
- South Korea
- L
- China
- M
- India, Indonesia, Thailand
- S
- United Kingdom
- V
- France, Spain
- W
- Germany
- Y
- Sweden, Finland
- Z
- Italy
- 6
- Australia
- 9
- Brazil
- T
- Czechia, Hungary, Turkey
Safety recalls
How to check car recalls by VIN
A recall means the maker or NHTSA found a safety defect. The fix is free, and it stays with the car when it changes owners.
See the recalls for your model year
Hachi Garage lists the recalls NHTSA has for your car’s make, model and year, newest first, with what can go wrong and how it’s fixed.
Read “do not drive” first
Some recalls say park the car, or park it outside, until it’s repaired. Those show at the top.
Confirm your exact car
Not every car of a model year is affected, and yours may already be fixed. Enter your VIN on NHTSA’s recall page or call a dealer; the repair is free.
VIN check or vehicle history report?
Straight answer, so you know what you’re getting.
Free VIN check (Hachi Garage)
What the car is: year, make, model, engine, plant, and the safety recalls for its model year.
Paid history report
What happened to it: accidents, title brands, salvage, past odometer readings. Buy one from a history provider before buying a used car.
Your own service log
What you did to it: every oil change, repair and receipt. Hachi Garage keeps this for free, and it’s what buyers ask for.
Bonus with your free account
Your VIN check is the start of your car’s logbook
Hachi Garage is a car maintenance tracker made by an enthusiast. Once your car is in, the rest is there when you want it.
Maintenance log
Oil, brakes, tires, repairs and fuel, with date, mileage, cost and receipts.
Service reminders
Due by miles or by date, from the maker’s schedule or your own.
Registration and insurance
Expiry dates flagged ahead, so the papers never lapse.
Spending and fuel economy
What the car really costs, by month, by job and per mile.
Build log
Mods and milestones with photos, shared on a public page if you like.
Works offline
Log it in the garage with no signal. It syncs when you’re back online.
Good to know
VIN check questions
Including what a VIN can’t tell you. More on keeping a car’s records on the blog.
Is the VIN check really free?
Yes. Decoding a VIN and checking its safety recalls is free in Hachi Garage, on every plan including Free. The details come from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a US government agency that offers this data at no cost. You only need a free account; no card.
Why do I need an account to check my VIN?
The VIN check lives inside Hachi Garage, next to the car it belongs to. Signing in (Google or an emailed code) keeps the tool fast and free of abuse, and the details and recalls you find stay with your car: they fill in its make, model and year, and the recall count shows on the car’s page.
What does a VIN check tell me?
A decoded VIN gives the model year, make, model and often the trim, body style, engine size, cylinders, horsepower, fuel type, drive type, transmission and the country of the plant that built the car. Hachi Garage also shows the safety recalls NHTSA lists for that make, model and year.
Does a VIN check show accident history or the title?
No. A VIN decoder reads what the car is, not what happened to it. Accident, title, salvage and odometer records come from paid vehicle history reports (such as Carfax or AutoCheck) or the government’s NMVTIS system. Hachi Garage does not sell those reports.
How do I know if my car has an open recall?
Recalls are announced for a make, model and year, and not every car of that year is affected. Hachi Garage shows the recalls for your car’s model year. To see whether your exact car still has one open, enter its VIN on NHTSA’s recall page (nhtsa.gov/recalls) or call a dealer. Recall repairs are free at an authorized dealer.
Does it work for cars sold outside the US?
Partly. NHTSA’s database covers cars sold in the US, so a US-market car decodes fully. For a car built for another market, Hachi Garage still reads the maker, the country it was built in and, where the VIN carries it, the model year, and tells you which details you’ll need to add yourself.
Where is the VIN on my car?
Look through the windshield at the bottom corner on the driver’s side, or on the sticker in the driver’s door frame. It is also printed on your registration, title and insurance card. On older cars and motorcycles it can be stamped on the frame or the engine bay.
Which character of the VIN shows the year?
The 10th character is the model year on cars sold in North America since 1981. The codes run A = 1980 (and 2010), B = 1981 (and 2011) and so on, skipping I, O, Q, U, Z and 0, then 1 to 9 for 2001 to 2009 (and 2031 to 2039). See the VIN year chart.
Why does my VIN never have I, O or Q?
Since 1981, VINs leave out I, O and Q because they look like 1 and 0. If you think you see an O, it is a zero.
Do you keep the VINs I look up?
No. A lookup goes to NHTSA and back; Hachi Garage’s server doesn’t store or log it. The VIN is saved only if you save it on your own car, in your private garage.
Know your car. Keep its story.
Hachi Garage was built by an enthusiast while building Hachi, a 1997 BMW E39 540i. The VIN check is free because every car deserves a proper start to its logbook.
Check my VIN freeVehicle and recall data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (nhtsa.gov), a US government agency. Hachi Garage is not affiliated with or endorsed by NHTSA.