Honda VIN Decoder: Free VIN Lookup

Decode any 17-character Honda VIN to see year, model, engine, and build plant, instantly, free, no signup.

Enter a 17-character Honda VIN

For full vehicle history (title brands, salvage, recalls, market value), get the report for $9.99

A Honda VIN is a 17-character code identifying every Honda built since 1981. US-built Hondas start with 1HG, 19X, 5FN, or 5J6; Canadian with 2HG/2HK; Japanese imports with JHM. Decoding a Honda VIN is free, but a decode never reveals title brands, theft records, or odometer history, that takes a title check.

Example: decoding a Honda VIN

Sample pattern: 19XFC2F••KE••••••

Positions	Characters	Meaning
1–3	19X	Honda Manufacturing of Indiana, USA, passenger car
4–8	FC2F	VDS: Civic sedan body, engine, and trim series
9	•	Check digit
10	K	Model year 2019
11	E	Greensburg, Indiana assembly
12–17	••••••	Sequential production number

Structure per NHTSA 49 CFR Part 565.

Honda WMI codes: where your Honda was built

WMI	Country	Detail
1HG	USA	Passenger cars, Honda of America, Marysville, OH (Accord)
19X	USA	Passenger cars, Honda Mfg. of Indiana (Civic)
2HG	Canada	Passenger cars, Honda of Canada, Alliston, ON (Civic)
2HK	Canada	SUVs, Alliston, ON (CR-V)
5FN	USA	MPVs/SUVs, Lincoln, AL (Odyssey, Pilot, Passport)
5J6	USA	SUVs, East Liberty, OH (CR-V)
JHM	Japan	Passenger cars, Honda Motor Co. (imports)
3CZ	Mexico	Celaya (HR-V)
SHH	UK	Honda of the UK, Swindon (historic Civic)

Source: NHTSA vPIC WMI registry.

How to read each position of a Honda VIN

Positions 1–3, WMI: World Manufacturer Identifier. Identifies the maker and country of origin.
Positions 4–8, VDS: Vehicle Descriptor Section. Encodes body style, engine, restraint system, and model line.
Position 9, Check digit: Math-derived validator. A failed check digit can indicate a typo or a cloned VIN.
Position 10, Model year: Single character; see the table below.
Position 11, Assembly plant: Manufacturer-specific code for the factory.
Positions 12–17, Sequence: Sequential production number unique to that car.

Model-year code table (position 10)

Code	Year	Code	Year
A	1980 / 2010	S	1995 / 2025
B	1981 / 2011	T	1996 / 2026
C	1982 / 2012	V	1997 / 2027
D	1983 / 2013	W	1998 / 2028
E	1984 / 2014	X	1999 / 2029
F	1985 / 2015	Y	2000 / 2030
G	1986 / 2016	1	2001 / 2031
H	1987 / 2017	2	2002 / 2032
J	1988 / 2018	3	2003 / 2033
K	1989 / 2019	4	2004 / 2034
L	1990 / 2020	5	2005 / 2035
M	1991 / 2021	6	2006 / 2036
N	1992 / 2022	7	2007 / 2037
P	1993 / 2023	8	2008 / 2038
R	1994 / 2024	9	2009 / 2039

The position-7 rule: year codes repeat every 30 years. If position 7 is a letter the vehicle is 2010 or newer; if a digit it's 2009 or older. Letters I, O, Q, U, Z are never year codes.

Plant codes vary by model line, the decoder above returns the registered plant for your exact VIN.

Where to find the VIN on a Honda

On a metal plate at the base of the windshield on the driver's side (visible from outside).
On a sticker on the driver's door jamb.
Stamped on the engine block or firewall on many models.
On the title, registration, and insurance card, always confirm the paperwork matches the physical VIN. Mismatches are a serious red flag.

Honda title & history red flags to check before you buy

Decoding a VIN tells you how a vehicle was built. To see what happened to it, you need a full vehicle history report, which surfaces title brands, odometer readings, theft records, and more.

Three Hondas in the top-10 stolen list

Accord (17,797 thefts), Civic (12,725), and CR-V (9,809) all rank in the US top 10, theft and recovered-salvage records are exactly what an NMVTIS title check surfaces.

Pre-2001 Civics lack immobilizers

Older Civics and Accords are stolen at outsized rates because parts interchange freely and resell fast, check any older Honda for theft brands.

Airbag theft and counterfeit replacements

Accords are targeted for airbag theft, with stolen units resold online, a vehicle with theft-recovery history may carry an unverified or counterfeit airbag.

Odometer rollback incentive

Hondas' high resale value per mile makes rollbacks lucrative; NMVTIS odometer records across title transfers expose mileage that goes backward.

Catalytic-converter theft history

Accord and CR-V were frequent cat-theft targets in 2021–2023; insurance claims from these events can appear in damage/salvage records.

Honda recalls: check before you buy

Approximately 12.9 million Honda and Acura vehicles in the US were recalled for Takata inflator ruptures (~21 million inflators), Honda's largest-ever campaign, covering 2001–2015 model years. In February 2024, ~750,000 Honda/Acura vehicles were recalled over a front passenger airbag defect. Certain 2023–2024 Accord/Accord Hybrid, 2023–2025 CR-V Hybrid, and 2025 Civic/Civic Hybrid were recalled for high-pressure fuel pumps that may crack and leak, raising fire risk.

Run a free Honda recall check →

Recall counts shown by the free tool are model-level context for this model year, not a VIN-specific verdict. VIN-specific recall completion status is in the $9.99 report.

Buying a Honda hybrid or EV?

Hybrids now drive Honda's US volume, CR-V Hybrid and Accord Hybrid make up a large share of sales, and the Prologue EV launched in 2024. The 2023–2025 fuel-pump recall specifically includes hybrid trims, so a VIN recall check matters on near-new used Hondas. Hybrid battery replacements typically run $2,000–$8,000, cheaper than full-EV packs but still material on a used purchase.

What to check on a used Honda

Used Hondas sell fast, which means the good ones and the rebuilt ones are competing for the same buyer. Civics, Accords, CR-Vs, and Pilots are among the most commonly stolen and most commonly rebuilt vehicles on the road, so paperwork matters more here than the test drive feel.

On older Accords and Odysseys, automatic transmission history is worth asking about directly, along with any timing belt service on V6 engines. Check for prior airbag recall work, since some vehicles changed hands several times during those campaigns and the repair was never completed. On CR-V and Civic models, look for uneven panel gaps, mismatched paint, and replacement headlights, which often signal an unreported front-end repair.

Theft-recovery and flood cars are the two brands most likely to be quietly cleaned up. A recovered stolen Honda can be repaired and retitled with no visible sign of the history, and a flood car can look perfect for one dry season before the electronics fail.

Confirm the title brand history, the odometer trend across recorded readings, total-loss and theft records, any open lien, and VIN-specific recall completion before you buy.

See the history on this exact Honda before you pay for it.

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Looking at safety campaigns? Read Honda recalls: how to check open safety recalls, or run a VIN through the free recall check.

Free VIN decode vs. full vehicle history report

What you learn	TitlePull Report, $9.99 one-time	Free decoder	Other providers
Year, make, model, engine specs	✓	✓	✓ (free)
Title history	✓	No	Varies by provider
Title brands (salvage, flood, lemon)	✓	No	Varies by provider
Odometer readings over time	✓	No	Varies by provider
Theft & total-loss records	✓	No	Varies by provider
Recalls	✓ VIN-specific completion status	Model-level list (free tool)	Varies
Black Book® valuation	✓	No	Often extra
AI summary	✓	No	Rare
Subscription required	Never	Never	Often

Checked the specs? Now check the history.

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Honda VIN decoder: frequently asked questions

Driver-side dashboard at the windshield base, driver-door jamb label, engine bay firewall stamp, and your title/registration. All four should match, mismatches suggest VIN tampering.

1HG is Honda of America Manufacturing in Marysville, Ohio, a US-built Honda passenger car, most commonly an Accord. 19X means Honda's Indiana plant, 2HG means Alliston, Ontario, and JHM means built in Japan.

Check the first VIN character: 1, 4, or 5 = USA; 2 = Canada; 3 = Mexico; J = Japan. A JHM Accord and a 1HG Accord are mechanically similar but built in different plants.

Yes, model, engine, year, and plant decode free, including at TitlePull. Title brands, theft records, salvage history, and odometer readings are state/NMVTIS data and only appear in a paid history report ($9.99 flat, no subscription).

Run the VIN through a vehicle history report with NMVTIS theft and salvage records. The Accord logged 17,797 thefts in a recent annual ranking (NICB, 2025), among the highest of any car in America.

Position 10: K = 2019, L = 2020, M = 2021, N = 2022, P = 2023, R = 2024, S = 2025. For 1980s–2000s Hondas the cycle repeats every 30 years, so use position 7 (letter vs. digit) to disambiguate.

A VIN recall lookup at nhtsa.gov shows open recalls including Takata, relevant because ~12.9 million Honda/Acura vehicles were affected. A title history report adds whether the car was ever salvaged, which can mean a non-OEM airbag was installed.

No. Decoding translates build data only. Accident-related total-loss declarations, salvage/rebuilt brands, and junkyard records come from insurer and state title data in a full history report.

By the TitlePull Team · Published June 7, 2026 · Last updated July 29, 2026 · Fact-checked against NHTSA vPIC

Sources: NHTSA vPIC & 49 CFR Part 565 · NHTSA recall database · NICB theft data · HLDI (Highway Loss Data Institute) · Mitchell · NMVTIS (U.S. Department of Justice).