North American BMW vehicles (common locations):
1. The driver side windshield, bottom right facing outward.
2. Inside the driver's side door jamb.
European BMW vehicles (common locations):
1. Stamped onto the right-hand suspension turret in the engine bay.
2. A VIN code 'plate' is riveted to the left-hand suspension turret in the engine bay. This plate may shows additional information such as weight and capacity.
3. The passenger side windshield, bottom right facing outward.
How to Read BMW VIN Codes
The following is the standardized structure of the VIN for the United States and Canada.
| Char 1: Country of Manufacturer | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 = USA | 2 = Canada | 3 = Mexico | 4 = USA | J = Japan | K = Korea | S = England | W = Germany | Z = Italy |
| Char 2: Vehicle Manufacturer Code | ||||||||
| A = Audi | B = BMW | H = Honda | A = Jaguar | D = Mercedes | N = Nissan | T = Toyota | V = Volvo | V = VW |
| Char 3: Vehicle Category or Manufacturing Division | ||||||||
| Vehicle category type or manufacturing division, or can be both. | ||||||||
| Char 4-8: Features & Attributes | ||||||||
| Codes for body style, engine type, model, series, etc. Varies among models and factory installed equipment. | ||||||||
| Char 9: Digit Calculation Check | ||||||||
| VIN number accuracy check digit, compulsory for vehicles in North America, but often used world-wide. | ||||||||
| Char 10: Model Year Encoding | ||||||||
| A = 1980 | B = 1981 | C = 1982 | D = 1983 | E = 1984 | F = 1985 | G = 1986 | H = 1987 | J = 1988 |
| K = 1989 | L = 1990 | M = 1991 | N = 1992 | P = 1993 | R = 1994 | S = 1995 | T = 1996 | V = 1997 |
| W = 1998 | X = 1999 | Y = 2000 | 1 = 2001 | 2 = 2002 | 3 = 2003 | 4 = 2004 | 5 = 2005 | 6 = 2006 |
| 7 = 2007 | 8 = 2008 | 9 = 2009 | A = 2010 | B = 2011 | C = 2012 | D = 2013 | E = 2014 | F = 2015 |
| G = 2016 | H = 2017 | J = 2018 | K = 2019 | L = 2020 | M = 2021 | N = 2022 | P = 2023 | R = 2024 |
| Char 11: Vehicle Identifier Section (1) | ||||||||
| Number reveals the assembly plant for the vehicle. | ||||||||
| Char 12-17: Vehicle Identifier Section (2) | ||||||||
| Used by the manufacturer to identify an individual vehicle. May include information on options installed, engine and transmission choices, but often is a simple sequential number. | ||||||||
