Decode Your Vehicle Identifications Number for Free.
17-character VIN number
FAQ
Where is the VIN number on a BMW?
Please make sure your BMW is made by a US manufacturer.
Location A appears on the front part of the dashboard on the driver's side of the vehicle, at the base of the windshield. A highly recommended way to find your VIN is to look through the windshield from outside the car.
Location B should be on the driver's door post. Open the door first, and you will find the VIN near the area where the door latches to the vehicle.
Location C is under the hood. A gasoline-powered vehicle usually has the code stamped on the front of the engine block. For older cars, the VIN can also be located at the front end of the frame.
Location D can be found on your vehicle's title, car registration, or insurance documents.
You should be able to find a BMW's VIN at the locations above.
What is a VIN number (Vehicle Identification Number)?
A vehicle identification number, more commonly referred to as VIN, serves as a car's fingerprint. It is a unique code with 17 characters (digits and capital letters) assigned to each BMW sold or manufactured in the US. Each part of the code stands for the exact information about your vehicle. It displays a BMW's history including the year, model, and engine size, as well as the nation and factory where the vehicle was produced. Additionally, a VIN shows when a BMW is purchased, sold, or maintained. And it can be used, by a manufacturer or state agency, to track recalls, registrations, thefts, or warranty claims.
If a BMW was made before the year 1981, you will find the VIN has as few as 5 digits to as many as 13 digits. The standardization was not achieved until January 1981, when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) finalized the present 17-digit format. Our free BMW decoder works fine with a standard 17-digit VIN.
Why my BMW VIN number doesn't decode?
Decoder error? Here's a check list.
Possibility A: If you find our decoder fails to process successfully, please make sure that you put all the 17 letter-and-number combinations in a correct way.
Possibility B: To avoid confusion, the standard VIN format does not contain the letters I, O, and Q. Check if your BMW's VIN is along with these letters.
Possibility C: Your car was made before the year 1981 so it was not accompanied by a standard VIN certified by the NHTSA, as referred to above.
Possibility D: An imported vehicle may not be assigned with a VIN. Check your BMW's origin before using our free lookup tool.
How to decode a BMW VIN number?
Curious about what hides behind a BMW's VIN number?
The very first character tells you the exact country or region of the manufacturer.
Number two digit reveals the vehicle manufacturer.
Digit three is to specify what kind of vehicle it is, an SUV, truck, etc. The first three digits are known as WMI (World Manufacturer Identifier).
Positions four to eight give a general report of a vehicle. They are put together as VDS (Vehicle Descriptor Section).
Number nine serves as the check digit, which is based on a mathematical formula from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The tenth character refers to the model year of your car.
The eleventh position indicates information about what plant your vehicle is from.
The final six digits denote the vehicle's production sequence numbers.
Now enter your BMW's VIN in the decoder above to check its history for FREE!
What BMW models are accessible for our free VIN decoder?
Our BMW VIN decoder supports practically any BMW model on the market. Yet you still need to find out if your BMW came with a certified VIN, which reveals a history report containing basic information about your BMW, such as assembly plant, engine type, model year, etc. Nearly all kinds of BMW vehicles that date back after the 1980s can be instantly deciphered by our well-established VIN decoder, including BMW X4 M, 4 series, M3, i4, X6, and many more.
All you need to do is just put your VIN correctly in the BMW lookup tool above and then you should be able to get valuable information. If our VIN search fails you, check your VIN format to avoid entering the wrong code. Feel free to contact us if you encounter any issues.
