How to Check and Decode a Subaru VIN
Your Subaru VIN is on the driver’s side dashboard or in the door jamb. Learn more about VINs here.
Written by Cassandra Hamilton
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
By matching the characters in your VIN to the corresponding codes, you can decipher your Subaru's VIN. You can find the VIN on the driver’s side of the dashboard or inside the driver’s door jamb.
Your vehicle identification number (VIN) is important — you need it to update your registration or sell your car, among many other things. But what do those 17 digits mean?
The
car insurance
broker and comparison shopping app Jerry
has a guide on how to decode your VIN. We’ve got all the information on where to find them, how they’re made, and how you can read them, plus the easiest way to lower your Subaru car insurance costs.
How to check your Subaru’s VIN
Your Subaru’s vehicle identification number is also known as the VIN. It’s a unique 17-digit code that identifies your Subaru.
The VIN is on your vehicle in multiple places, and you can find it in other locations as well. Some of these locations include:
- Your car insurance card
- Your vehicle registration card
- A metal tag or sticker on the driver’s side of the dashboard
- A sticker on the inside of your driver’s door jamb
Almost every Subaru has a VIN in one of these spots. You can find the VIN in other places as well, such as beneath the hood.
How to decode a Subaru VIN
The DMV needs your VIN to do anything with your car. What kind of information do they get from the 17-digit code?
Even though VINs have been in use in the United States since the 1950s, they weren’t standardized until 1981 with help from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Modern VINs now have standardized meanings that are the same across makes, models, and even continents.
All ten numerical digits (0-9) are used in a VIN along with most letters of the alphabet. The excluded letters are I, O, and Q. This is because they’re frequently confused with 1, 0, and 9. It’s just easier for everyone not to use them.
First position: country of origin
You can find the world manufacturer identifier (WMI) by looking at the first three digits. The first character is the country of origin for your Subaru. The country of origin will either be Japan or the US.
Positions 2-3: manufacturer information
Positions 4-8: vehicle-specific information
The next five digits contain vehicle-specific information. Here you can find information on the line type, the body style, the engine, and the restraint system used. As you can imagine, there are a lot of combinations possible with all the Subaru models, so these digits specify which type of vehicle you’re driving.
Position 9: the VIN check digit
What stops people from manufacturing fake VINs when the information is all standardized? The ninth digit is the “check digit,” which is calculated using a formula based on the first eight characters. No one knows how this formula works, so the ninth digit verifies the authenticity of a VIN.
Position 10: model year
The tenth digit is the model year. Here’s an example table of how the model year is communicated:
Code | Model Year |
|---|---|
J | 1988 |
K | 1989 |
L | 1990 |
M | 1991 |
N | 1992 |
P | 1993 |
R | 1994 |
S | 1995 |
T | 1996 |
V | 1997 |
W | 1998 |
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Obviously, there aren’t enough letters and characters to cover every model year, so Subaru will have to start matching years with the character used.
Position 11: assembly plant
The eleventh digit tells you which plant your Subaru comes from. Your Subaru will either come from Gunma, Japan, or Lafeyette, Indiana.
Positions 12-17: vehicle serial number
The final digits of a VIN are completely unique to your car because they’re the serial number. No two serial numbers are the same for a particular make. This helps identify your specific vehicle.
How to find affordable Subaru insurance
Now that you have all this information on your VIN, should you commit it to memory? Not at all! In fact, you don’t even need your VIN to find great savings on your car insurance when you download the Jerry app.
Jerry
takes care of the hassle of comparison shopping and browses dozens of top insurance companies to find the best quotes for you and your insurance needs. As a licensed broker
, Jerry can also handle signing up or switching your policy as easy as possible, so all you have to worry about is what to do with all your savings!The average Jerry user saves $887 per year on their insurance. How do your savings measure up?
“Jerrywas a great service and very easy to work with. I’m confident I will use them again for my upcoming new car purchase.” —Wells O.
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