The chassisnumber explained
The chassis number, also called VIN number or Vehicle Identification Number is a series of unique numbers and / or letters by which a vehicle (in my case a Mazda Miata) can be identified.
Since 1977 it has been agreed by the joint car manufacturers that a chassis number consists of 17 characters. This is laid down in the international standard ISO 3779. Different classifications apply to the different continents, but the standard is the starting point.
A VIN-number is built out of:
| sign | designation | example | miata |
| 1st | country of origin / manufacture | United States (1) of (4), Canada (2), Mexico (3), Japan (J), Korea (K), England (S), Germany (W), Italy (Z) | J (Japan) |
| 2nd | make | Audi (A), BMW (B), Buick (4), Cadillac (6), Chevrolet (1), Chrysler (C), Dodge (B), Ford (F), GM Canada (7), General Motors (G), Honda (H), Jaguar (A), Lincoln (L), Mercedes Benz (D), Mercury (M), Nissan (N), Oldsmobile (3), Pontiac (2 or 5), Plymouth (P), Saturn (8) Toyota (T), Volvo (V) |
M (Mazda Japan) |
| 3rd | vehicle type | car (1), minibus/MPV/pick-up (2), van (3), truck (4), car (V)(alleen Verenigde Staten) | 1 for Miata or Z for MX-5 |
| 4th |
vehicle characteristics like model (coupé, sedan, estate), engine type, model year, series |
every manufacturer is free to have their own system in this | N is the model (MX-5/Miata) |
| 5th |
A is 1st model (1989-1998) |
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| 6th | 35 vehicle type, convertible for european cars the drive type an model: 1= 2 wheel drive, 8 = 2 door convertible |
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| 7th | |||
| 8th | engine rtype 1 = B6 1,6l (87kW) 3 = B6 1,6l (96kW) and also BP 1,8l (103kW) P = BP 1,9l (107 kW) 6 = B6 1,6l (81kW) C = BP 1,6l (66kW) 3 = BP 1,8l (103kW) |
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| 9th | VIN check number (VS) gear type (EUR) |
a check digit which makes is possible to see if the chassisnumber has been tampered with | 2 = manual 5-gears (M15M-D) 5 = Automatic (SB4A-EL) 6 = manual 6-gears (Y16M-D) |
| 10th | model year | 1988 (J), 1989 (K), 1990 (L), 1991 (M), 1992 (N), 1993 (P), 1994 (R), 1995 (S), 1996 (T), 1997(V), 1998 (W), 1999 (X), 2000 (Y), 2001(1), 2002 (2), 2003 (3), 2004 (4), 2005 (5) | (not used on European cars: = 0) |
| 11th | factory | every manufacturer has his own designations | 0 (Hiroshima) of 1 (Hofu) |
| 12th | model running year | from the year the model was first introduced | 1 (1990), 2 (1991), 3 (1992),...,A (2000?), etc... |
| 13th to 17th | production number | the sequence number from the factory. These days where multiple models are built on the same line the cars are no longer built in sequence. e.g. 3 does not have to follow 2. There can be multiple cars in between or before/after (no. 5 built before no. 2) | Mazda builds about 25.000 MX-5/Miata?eunos a year and has so far built over 1.000.000 of them! |
please report any false data to me, if you have any supplement data i would also like to recieve that:
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As an example of an American VIN-number, my own Miata:
The VIN:
J M 1 N A 3 5 1 X L 0 1 4 1 3 7 6
J = Japan
M = Mazda
1 = car (following the US coding, so the car has been produced for the North American market)
N = Miata / MX-5 / Eunos
A = 1st model (1989-1998)
35 = convertible (obviously!)
1 = enginetype: B6 1.6ltr, 16v injection (87kW)
X = check digit
L = model year (1990)
0 = factory: Hiroshima (Hofu was only use when production peaked in '90/'91)
1 = model year (1990)
41376 = production number (Mazda made 51.636 Miatas in 1990)
The chassis number of a European MX-5 is a little different:
J M Z N A 1 8 B 2 0 1 1 3 2 3 5 5
J = Japan
M = Mazda
Z = Mazda Europe
N = MX-5
A = 1st model (1989-1998)
1 = 2-wheel drive
8 = 2-door convertible
B = motortype: 1,6 16v 115pk
2 = gearbox: 5-gears, manual
0 = check digit. Not used in the EU, so blank 'not'
1 = factory: Hofu
1 = 1e model of this type (1990-1994). 2=facelift(1994-1998)
32355 = production number
(some outdated unfortunately)
http://www.vehicleidentificationnumber.com
http://www.miata.net/faq/faq2.html
http://home.planet.nl/~fransang/checkdig.html
http://www.mx-5.com/me my mx-5/tips tricks/articles/vin
http://www.mx-5owners.nl/mx5/html/tech/artikelen/chassisnummers.html
