franbev

While cleaning the windshield on my '90 ES 250 I noticed that there was no VIN number visible on the top of dash face. The little alcove for the VIN plaque was there and an official looking strip of metal with Toyota printed all across it was there too but nothing stamped on it. The serial number on my title matched the number on the firewall so I'm confident that the car wasn't stolen. If the car was made in Japan would they skip that step?

LeX2K

It's there you need to look at it from a certain angle. To put your mind at rest the chances of someone spoofing the VIN on an ES250 is about zero.

surgeon0

There are 5 main places a VIN should exist and then it is also everywhere else on panels (etc). If it is missing on dash, door jamb, etc then you should be worried. As for dash did you try shining a flash light from the side and notice any imprints? Some vins are embossed on place and some have stickers. If the stickers got some bleach or harsh cleaner similar to brake fluid on a tissue or cloth while cleaning, that might explain that. Or it is possible the dash was replaced maybe for a bad crack or something like that. Before title or new registration, someone would have had to personally verify the VIN (you mention check against firewall for example). All good.

franbev

I tried hard to read the VIN in different lighting and angles but no luck. Regardless, the other locations match my title. Does the serial number, 0100332, indicate the place and date of manufacture?