Decoding Vehicle Identification Number

By now, you know that Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) are 17 characters long. But, you might be confused about what, exactly, that means for your car. So, let’s break it down further.

Click on the year below to see how to decode the Vehicle Identification Number of your Mustang.

Sample of VIN tag

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Position	What it represents	Character	What it means
1-3	Manufacturer Code	1FA	This is the Ford Motor Co. Code
4	Restraint system	B	Car has active seat belts
5	Type of Car	P	Passenger vehicle
6-7	Body Style	40 41 42 44 45	Coupe LX Hatchback LX Hatchback GT Convertible LX Convertible GT
8	Engine Code	A E	LX (2.3L, 4 cyl, 88 hp) GT (5.0L, V-8, 225 hp)
9	Check Digit	6 (for example)	Character varies on every car; Ensures that no two cars have the same VIN.
10	Year	H	1987
11	Assembly Plant	F	Dearborn, Michigan
12-17	Consecutive Unit Number	000001	Production number; in this example, the car was the first produced.

Position	What it represents	Character	What it means
1-3	Manufacturer Code	1FA	This is the Ford Motor Co. Code
4	Restraint system	B	Car has active seat belts
5	Type of Car	P	Passenger vehicle
6-7	Body Style	40 41 42 44 45	Coupe LX Hatchback LX Hatchback GT Convertible LX Convertible GT
8	Engine Code	A E	LX (2.3L, 4 cyl, 88 hp) GT (5.0L, V-8, 225 hp)
9	Check Digit	6 (for example)	Character varies on every car; Ensures that no two cars have the same VIN.
10	Year	J	1988
11	Assembly Plant	F	Dearborn, Michigan
12-17	Consecutive Unit Number	000001	Production number; in this example, the car was the first produced.

Position	What it represents	Character	What it means
1-3	Manufacturer Code	1FA	This is the Ford Motor Co. Code
4	Restraint system	B	Car has active seat belts
5	Type of Car	P	Passenger vehicle
6-7	Body Style	40 41 42 44 45	Coupe LX Hatchback LX Hatchback GT Convertible LX Convertible GT
8	Engine Code	A E	LX (2.3L, 4 cyl, 88 hp) GT (5.0L, V-8, 225 hp)
9	Check Digit	6 (for example)	Character varies on every car; Ensures that no two cars have the same VIN.
10	Year	K	1989
11	Assembly Plant	F	Dearborn, Michigan
12-17	Consecutive Unit Number	000001	Production number; in this example, the car was the first produced.

Position	What it represents	Character	What it means
1-3	Manufacturer Code	1FA	This is the Ford Motor Co. Code
4	Restraint system	C	Car has air bags and active seat belts
5	Type of Car	P	Passenger vehicle
6-7	Body Style	40 41 42 44 45	Coupe LX Hatchback LX Hatchback GT Convertible LX Convertible GT
8	Engine Code	A E	LX (2.3L, EFI, 4 cyl, 88 hp) GT (5.0L, EFI, V-8, 225 hp)
9	Check Digit	6 (for example)	Character varies on every car; Ensures that no two cars have the same VIN.
10	Year	L	1990
11	Assembly Plant	F	Dearborn, Michigan
12-17	Consecutive Unit Number	000001	Production number; in this example, the car was the first produced.

Position	What it represents	Character	What it means
1-3	Manufacturer Code	1FA	This is the Ford Motor Co. Code
4	Restraint system	C	Car has air bags and active seat belts
5	Type of Car	P	Passenger vehicle
6-7	Body Style	40 41 42 44 45	Coupe LX Hatchback LX Hatchback GT Convertible LX Convertible GT
8	Engine Code	S E	LX (2.3L, EFI, 4 cyl, 105 hp) GT (5.0L, EFI, V-8, 225 hp)
9	Check Digit	6 (for example)	Character varies on every car; Ensures that no two cars have the same VIN.
10	Year	M	1991
11	Assembly Plant	F	Dearborn, Michigan
12-17	Consecutive Unit Number	000001	Production number; in this example, the car was the first produced.