Check vehicle information with Infiniti VIN
Looking for the VIN?
Here is there you’ll find it:
Infiniti is the luxury line for the Japanese automotive brand Nissan. The line was started in 1989. It’s one of the most popular types of luxury cars on the market today, with a range of benefits. It’s more affordable than competitor models like Lexus and Mercedes. Due to something called a VIN number, you can actually check out your car in great detail to find out a lot of crucial details about it. VIN stands for “Vehicle Identification Number” and it acts like the fingerprint of your car. Typically 17 digits long, no two cars have the same VIN, and in identifying this number, you can find out where it was manufactured, various specifications for replacement parts, recall information, registration and warranty claims, and much more. Decoding the VIN can even help you go as far as to find out if your car has ever been stolen before, or what sort of insurance coverage a previous owner had.
Looking up your VIN can give you a lot of information. Whether you want information on your car’s assembly, when and where it was made, or any other sort of information, you will run your VIN and get a VIN report through decoding it. There are 17 VIN digits, and each number, or sequence of numbers, gives you information in a specific order.
You can typically find your unique number on your dashboard, in the lower left corner parallel to the steering wheel. You should also have VIN numbers printed on the pillars of your car, such as the body pillar, your door pillar (or door sills), and also on the chassis and engine. For instance, at the front of your engine block, just in front of your cylinder head, you should find a VIN number.
There are multiple locations where your VIN number can be found. We will go over this in more detail below.
Just to recap and be succinct, so it’s not lost in the prose, your VIN number can be found:
Yes, there are quite a few places where a VIN can be located. So when it’s time to run a VIN check, you should have no trouble finding the number. It will be the same number in every location.
While this piece is specifically about an Infiniti and how todecode the VIN numbersfor your luxury class Nissan, keep in mind here that all automobiles are going to have VIN numbers, and they’re all going to be in the same location(s), and the decoder sequence is going to be the same.
Speaking of your Infinity in particular, the idea is that the string of 17 digits and letters is giving you information. Now, you just have to decode it:
The very first number of your VIN (and only the first number) tells you where the vehicle was built. Keep in mind that this is in relation to the manufacturer specifically. For instance, the first number of an Infiniti VIN is going to give you information on an Infiniti manufacturing facility, not one for Honda or Ford. This gives you the country of origin.
| Code | Country |
|---|---|
| 5N3 INFINITI NISSAN | The USA |
| JN1 INFINITI NISSAN | Japan |
| JN8 INFINITI NISSAN | Japan |
| JNK INFINITI NISSAN | Japan |
| JNR INFINITI NISSAN | Japan |
Flexible Fuel Vehicles (FFV) can be identified by the 2nd, 3rd, and 8th digits of your VIN. Yes, this can be a little confusing, since the identification skips over four places. Though this is why it’s a good idea to learn how to decode the VIN, or to use a free decoder to help you with the task. Or else, you might just end up being confused.
| Code | Vehicle |
|---|---|
| A | VG30D (3.0, V6) (J30) |
| A | VQ35DE (3.5, V6) (EX35/M35/FX35) |
| A | VQ56DE (5.6, V8) (QX56) |
| B | SR20DE (2.0, R4) (G20) |
| B | VQ35DE (3.5, V6) (G35 (V36) |
| B | VK45DE (4.5, V8) (M45) |
| B | VK50DE (5.0, V8) (FX50) |
| C | SR20DE (2.0, R4) (G20) |
| C | VQ35DE (3.5, V6) (I35, G35 (V35) |
| D | VQ35DE (3.5, V6) (I35) |
| E | VE30DE (3.0, V6) |
| H | VG30E (3.0, V6) |
| M | VG33ER (3.3, V6) (QX4) |
| N | VH45DE (4.5, V8) (Q45 1989…1996) |
| R | VG30DE (3.0, V6) (QX4) |
| T | VG33E (3.3, V6) (QX4) |
The characters on your VIN 4 through 8 (yes, the 8th character is used again in this sequence) will give you an overall portrait of your vehicle. For instance, when you decode your Infinity VIN, this part of the sequence is going to give you the brand, the make/model, the engine size, and other model-specific information about your particular car.
The 9th character on your VIN, typically a letter, is the security code that identifies that your VIN has been approved of and authorized by the manufacturer of the vehicle. Again, this is going to be very brand-specific to your Infiniti.
The 10th character of the VIN is going to tell you the year that your car was built. Because this is only one single character, you won’t be able to get this exact information unless you’re looking up the precise Infinity VIN codes to see which year your number correlates with. This is why it’s a great idea to use a free decoder to help you identify what’s happening. This way, you only have to plug your characters in and the decoder does the work.
| Code | Country | Code | Country | Code | Country | Code | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| R | 1994 | 4 | 2004 | E | 2014 | R | 2024 |
| S | 1995 | 5 | 2005 | F | 2015 | S | 2025 |
The 11th character of the VIN is going to tell you the exact plant at which your Infiniti was built. The first number indicates the country or origin, while this tells you exactly where it was made. As with the model year number, you will need to correlate this single character with the brand-specific information to find out where your car was built.
| Code | Plant |
|---|---|
| M | Nissan Motor Tochigi Plant (Japan) |
| N | Nissan Assembly Plant, Canton, MS (The USA) |
| T | Nissan Motor Tochigi Plant (Japan) |
| W | Kyushu Plant (Fukuoka, JAPAN) |
| X | Oppama Plant (Kanagawa, Japan) |
The last 6 characters of your VIN will be your car’s unique serial number. This is the vital part of the VIN if you want to check on your car’s history as it relates to accidents, insurance, etc. Other parts of the VIN can tell you information about the assembly of your vehicle and where it’s from; but it’s the serial number that’s going to tell you what your car has been through.
Here are a few examples of Infiniti VIN numbers, and how decoding them traces back some basic information. Of course, with the right decoder and network, you find a lot more detailed information than this.
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:
