The VIN, the vehicle identification number, follows an international standard. This screen reads it from the car, or from what you type, and shows what each part means: region and country of manufacture, manufacturer, model year, check digit, plant and serial number.
All of this is worked out on the phone, with no internet.
Open with the car's VIN
The screen opens with the VIN of the selected car, which the app reads when it connects. If it has not been read yet, connect the adapter with the ignition on.
Read what the VIN says
Each part appears with its meaning. The manufacturer and the model year are compared with what you registered, and the screen tells you when they do not match.
Decode another VIN
Type any VIN, for example the one of a used car you are looking at. A VIN has 17 characters.
Fetch details
An optional extra for VINs in the North American format. It looks up model, version, engine and body in the public database of NHTSA, the United States road safety agency. The first time, the app explains what is sent and asks for your consent. The database covers vehicles sold in the United States.
- Country
- Where the vehicle was built, from the first two characters. The first one alone gives the region.
- Manufacturer
- From the first three characters, looked up in the app's own list.
- Model year
- From the 10th character. It repeats every 30 years, and some manufacturers use it differently.
- Check digit
- The 9th character. Required in North America and China; elsewhere it may not be used, and that is not an error.
- Vehicle descriptor
- Characters 4 to 8, the manufacturer's own code for model, body and engine.
- Fetch details
- Optional online lookup, shown only for VINs in the North American format.