Check vehicle information with Acura VIN
Looking for the VIN?
Here is there you’ll find it:
In 1986, Honda became the first Japanese company to launch a luxury brand. While the Legend was a competitive mid-sized luxury car, the brand really found its footing with its sports cars. Vehicles like the NSX and Integra Type R are some of the most desirable vehicles from the 1990s, while even their crossovers get innovative technology that make them excellent drivers’ cars.
Buying any luxury vehicle is a major investment. If you want to be sure the vehicle you’re looking at is represented correctly, you should look up the VIN. Using our online VIN check, you’ll find out information about the state of the car when it left the factory, including where it was built and what equipment it came with. This helps you identify changes that suggest shoddy repairs or attempts to artificially boost the value of the vehicle. If you’re worried about the vehicle’s history, order one of our VIN reports. This gathers information from official databases, including title brands, accident reports that can help you separate a great used car from a lemon.
The Vehicle Identification Number is unique to each vehicle, and it encodes information about the model including its equipment, trim level and location of final assembly. When you look up the VIN on our site, you can compare the results to the vehicle to identify changes made since the car rolled out of the factory. For example, the Integra Type R is one of the most frequently replicated cars on the market, due to its rarity and value. It’s relatively easy to install the correct engine in a standard Integra, but it won’t have all of the welding and chassis reinforcements of a genuine car. Not only are you getting a lesser vehicle, you’re getting something worth tens of thousands of dollars less than an original Type R. A VIN search tells you if the vehicle you’re looking at is authentic.
Since the VIN is used to identify the vehicle throughout its life, Acura puts it in several locations that aren’t likely to be damaged or removed for repairs. Here are the most common places you’ll find this code.
You may also find these stickers on the hood and other the other doors. Keep in mind that these stickers may not match the VIN on other components. This indicates these parts were replaced with salvaged items to repair the vehicle.
If you look under the hood, you can usually find the VIN in these locations:
Remember that the VIN is always 17 characters long. Often, this code is printed next to the engine and transmission codes, which are shorter.
The VIN is made of three main sections: the manufacturer identifier, the vehicle identifier and the serial number. Here’s what you can learn when you decode each character in the VIN.
In the first position, you have the country where the car was built:
| Code | Country |
|---|---|
| 1, 5 | USA |
| 2 | Canada |
| J | Japan |
The second position is the manufacturer. You may see one of two characters in this position:
| Code | MODEL |
|---|---|
| 9 | Acura |
| H | Honda |
The third position is the division within Acura that manufactured the vehicle. This can be “4”, “U“ or “N”. These divisions aren’t always geographically bound, so this doesn’t tell you much about where the car was built.
The fourth and fifth positions are used for the model, while the sixth is used for the engine and drivetrain. For example, if you have a TLX, it could have one of three codes:
| Code | ENGINE |
|---|---|
| UB1 | Base TLX |
| UB2 | TLX with a V6 |
| UB3 | TLX with a V6 and SH-AWD |
On some models, Acura uses the sixth digit to indicate new versions of that model. For example, the “YD1” and “YD2” are used on the first generation MDX, while “YD3” and “YD4” are used on the second generation MDX.
The seventh position is the body style and transmission. Acura uses these codes for their vehicles:
| Code | Transmission |
|---|---|
| 1 | Coupe, manual transmission |
| 2 | Coupe, automatic transmission |
| 3 | Hatchback, manual transmission |
| 4 | Hatchback, automatic transmission |
| 5 | Sedan, manual transmission |
| 6 | Sedan, automatic transmission |
| 7 | Wagon, manual transmission |
| 8 | Wagon, automatic transmission |
Position 8 is the standard safety equipment. A “B” or “H” is used on cars that only have front airbags, while a car with an “E” or “F” in this position also has side air bags.
Position 9 authenticates the VIN. This check digit is generated by a mathematical formula using other characters in the VIN number.
Position 10 is the model year. It uses all letters excluding “O”, “I” and “Z”, as well as numbers 0-9. For 2022, this character is “N”.
| Code | Country | Code | Country | Code | Country | Code | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E | 1984 | R | 1994 | 4 | 2004 | E | 2014 |
| F | 1985 | S | 1995 | 5 | 2005 | F | 2015 |
| G | 1986 | T | 1996 | 6 | 2006 | G | 2016 |
| H | 1987 | V | 1997 | 7 | 2007 | H | 2017 |
| J | 1988 | W | 1998 | 8 | 2008 | J | 2018 |
| K | 1989 | X | 1999 | 9 | 2009 | K | 2019 |
| L | 1990 | Y | 2000 | A | 2010 | L | 2020 |
| M | 1991 | 1 | 2001 | B | 2011 | M | 2021 |
| N | 1992 | 2 | 2002 | C | 2012 | N | 2022 |
| P | 1993 | 3 | 2003 | D | 2013 | P | 2023 |
Position 11 is the manufacturing plant. Here are the most common plant codes you’ll find on North American Acuras:
| Code | PLANT |
|---|---|
| A | Marysville, Ohio |
| L | East Liberty, Ohio |
| H | Ontario, Canada |
| C | Sayama, Japan |
| S | Suzuka, Japan |
| T | Tochigi, Japan |
The rest of the VIN is the serial number. Serial numbers are frequently reused, but no two vehicles will have identical VINs.
What kind of information can you get by using our online decoder? Here are a few examples:
If you want to know more about a vehicle’s history, you can order a full VIN report. This will tell you about past titles, vehicle loans, theft reports and more. Using this information, you can avoid vehicles with hidden mechanical or legal problems.
Locations vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. However, there are three places you can find the code on most vehicles:
- Look through the windshield at the dashboard. On the driver’s side, you should see a small metal plate with the number stamped into it.
- Open the driver’s door. Look at the front and side of the door pillar for an I.D. sticker. It usually has the manufacturer’s logo on it. The code should be on this sticker.
- Open the hood. You may see a sticker on the firewall or near the passenger’s side strut tower. Some cars have the number engraved in one of these areas.
Since this number is used to identify the vehicle on official documents, you can also find it on the title, the window sticker, and on insurance policies.
We also decode numbers for RVs, heavy-duty trucks and motorcycles. If you need to decode an RV number, make sure it’s the one issued by the chassis manufacturer, not the RV outfitter.
No. Canadian and Mexican cars usually use the same format. Other countries use their own formats.
It’s up to the manufacturer to determine what they want to include for some parts of the number. For example, some companies don’t include information about transmissions or trim levels.
Usually, no. A few manufacturers stamp the code into the engine. If the VINs on the engine and car match, then it’s the original engine. On most vehicles, there isn’t anything that ties an engine to a specific vehicle. At most, looking up the vehicle on our website will tell you if a different type of engine was installed. For example, if someone swaps a V8 into a Ford Mustang, our site will tell you it originally came with a V6.
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Read moreLooking for the VIN?
Here is there you’ll find it:
