What Is a Lemon Car? Everything You Need to Know
Here we will tell you everything about the lemon car.
Read moreCheck vehicle information with Hyundai VIN
Looking for the VIN?
Here is there you’ll find it:
Hyundai reached American shores in 1986 with the Mitsubishi-based Excel. Although the company didn't introduce its first engine and transmission until 1991, they are now the 8th largest vehicle brand in America. Today, the company is well known for its sedans, SUVs, high-performance “N” division, and class-leading Ionic electric cars.
Are you shopping for a used Hyundai? EpicVIN's tools make it easy to decode the VIN, so you can learn how vehicles were configured from the factory. This includes where and when they were made and their standard equipment. If you want to learn more, order a VIN report. It will include a basic vehicle owner lookup, as well as data collected from government and corporate records. We are an official National Motor Vehicle Title Information Service (NMVTIS) source.
The VIN number is a unique identifier issued to every vehicle at the factory. Since 1981, this number has used a standard 17-character format containing vehicle information. This includes the model, engine, when, and where it was built. Our Hyundai VIN lookup will decode this number for you, so you can find out what all those characters mean. This makes verifying model information easy before looking at a vehicle.
Want to know more about a vehicle before you buy it? Order one of our vehicle reports. We gather information from government and corporate databases to create a complete vehicle history. It includes title changes, accident reports, and more. Helping you to avoid vehicles that could be hard to register and insure due to legal issues or are hiding hidden damage.
Why is it important to do a DMV VIN check? Our Hyundai VIN decoder will tell you all the information in this code. This includes where and when the vehicle was manufactured, its engine, transmission, and other important details. This lets you verify that the information in sales listings is correct, saving you time when looking for a specific model.
There are several places you can find this number printed or stamped on the vehicle:
Since the VIN is critical, it may be found on vehicle paperwork, including titles, insurance policies, and service receipts. Still can't find the VIN? We also offer license plate lookup, which finds the VIN based on public vehicle registration records.
What kind of information can you look up when you use our VIN check? Here's a breakdown of each character's meaning in this code.
First Character: Country of Origin
2 | Canada |
1,3 | USA |
K | Korea |
Second Character: Division
H | Hyundai USA or Bromont, Canada |
M | Hyundai Korea |
Third Character: Brand
Hyundai divides its brand identifier into different plants and subdivisions. If there is a “3” in this position and an “H” or “W” in the eleventh position, the vehicle was built by Hyundai USA. If this character is an “M”, it was made in Bromont, Canada. Any other character in this position indicates Hyundai Korea built the vehicle.
Fourth Character: Model
Here's a list of codes used on common Hyundai models:
C | Sonata, Accent |
D | Elantra |
F | Azera |
G | Equus, Genesis Coupe |
H | Tiburon |
J | Elantra, Tucson |
L | Other models |
N | Veracruz |
S | Santa Fe |
V | Accent, Excel and S-Coupe |
W | Sonata |
Fifth Character: Body Style or Trim Level
On most models, Hyundai uses this part of the VIN to indicate the vehicle's body type:
A | 5 door hatchback |
C | convertible |
D | 3 door hatchback |
F | sedan |
G | coupe |
P | van |
S, W | wagon |
V | minivan |
On 2001-2009 models, this number indicates the trim level. These numbers changed year to year.
Sixth Character: Trim Level or Body Style
On most models, this number indicates the trim level:
1 | Base model |
2 | GL |
3 | GLS, LS, LX, or GS |
On 2001 to 2009 models, this number indicates the body style:
1, 8 | front wheel drive wagon |
2 | minivan |
3 | 3 door hatchback |
4 | sedan |
5 | 5 door hatchback |
6 | coupe |
7 | all wheel drive wagon |
Seventh Character: Safety Systems
This identifies the standard safety equipment built into the passenger compartment:
1 | seat belts only |
2 | airbags |
3 | driver airbag |
4 | driver and passenger airbag |
5 | drive airbag and passenger airbag with On/Off switch |
Eighth Character: Engine
Each possible digit in this position covers several engines, depending on the model. For example, an “A” in this position could be a 1.5l, a 1.8l or a 2.0l. Our Hyundai VIN check can tell you the correct engine for the vehicle's VIN.
Ninth Character: Checksum Digit
This digit is chosen based on other parts of the VIN. This acts as a form of error correction: if the result of the VIN formula and this digit don't match, part of the VIN was typed in wrong.
Tenth Character: Model Year
This digit is standard on all vehicles sold in North America. It alternates between numbers and letters. Letters have been used since 2010, while numbers will return in 2031.
Eleventh Character: Factory
This is where the vehicle was built.
Korean plants:
A | Asan |
C | Changwon |
K | Gwangju |
U | Ulsan |
6 | Sohari |
North American plants:
B | Bromont, Canada |
H | Montgomery, Alabama, USA |
W | Los Angeles, USA |
Characters Twelve to Seventeen: Serial Number
All vehicles are required to use these characters for serial numbers, no matter who makes them. However, it's up to the manufacture to choose how they format this section. Hyundai uses the last digit to indicate the month of manufacture:
A | January |
B | February |
C | March |
D | April |
E | May |
F | June |
G | July |
H | August |
J | September |
K | October |
L | November |
M | December |
Serial numbers are reused, but complete VINs are never duplicated.
What kind of information can you find using EpicVIN's VIN search? Here are a few examples:
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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