What is the VIN model year code?
The 10th character of a VIN, a letter or digit that encodes the vehicle's model year on a 30-year cycle.
The code skips I, O, Q, U, Z and 0. Letters ran A=1980 to Y=2000, digits 1=2001 to 9=2009, then letters again from A=2010. The cycle repeats every 30 years, so A means 1980 or 2010; the 7th character and the vehicle itself settle which.
Model year is not the build date: a 2027 model can be built in 2026. Recalls are usually defined by model year and production date range together.
Example: L = 2020, M = 2021, N = 2022, P = 2023, R = 2024, S = 2025, T = 2026, V = 2027.
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Related terms
- VIN (Vehicle Identification Number)The 17-character code that identifies one vehicle. Recall lookups use it to tell whether that exact vehicle is in a campaign and whether it has been fixed.