BMW VIN decoder
Type your BMW's VIN to see its model, chassis code and year, and what AutoLingo for BMW reads on it.
What's in a BMW VIN
| Characters | What they are |
|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | The maker: WBA for BMW cars built in Germany, WBS for BMW M, 4US and 5UX for BMWs built in Spartanburg, South Carolina. |
| 4 to 7 | BMW's type code: the model and its engine, body and market. |
| 8 | Equipment details such as the restraint system, depending on the market. |
| 9 | A check digit on cars sold in North America, worked out from the other 16. |
| 10 | The model year, which can run a year ahead of the build date. |
| 11 to 17 | The serial number, starting with the plant that built the car: BMW identifies a car by these last 7 (the short VIN). |
Questions
- Where is the VIN on a BMW?
- At the bottom of the windshield on the driver's side, where you can read it from outside; on the label in the driver's door frame; and on your registration, title and insurance card.
- Why do BMW's tools use only the last 7 characters?
- The last 7 are the car's serial number, unique among BMWs. BMW's dealer tools, parts catalogs and service records identify a car by them, often called the short VIN. This decoder takes either the full 17 or just the last 7.
- Does the VIN tell me my BMW's factory options?
- No. The VIN gives the model, but the options the car was built with (its equipment, paint, market) are in BMW's records and in the car's own modules. AutoLingo for BMW reads them from the car, with how each module is coded.
- What is a chassis code like E46 or F30?
- BMW's name for a generation of a model: the E46 is the 3 Series from 1998 to 2006, the E90 the 3 Series sedan from 2005, the F30 the one after it. Parts, guides and forums go by the chassis code, so it's the first thing to know about a BMW. Every BMW model and its chassis code.
- Why does it say it couldn't decode my VIN?
- Check for a mistyped character: a VIN never has I, O or Q. This decoder covers BMW cars of the E- and F-chassis generations, from the 1980s to about 2019; G-chassis BMWs and newer, MINI and motorcycles aren't in it.
AutoLingo for BMW adapter
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Every BMW model AutoLingo for BMW works on · BMW fault codes