I did a search both here and via Google and didn't find details, so I'm hoping someone here can help.

I'm looking for the legend to decipher the VIN and determine what option packages are on the car. I'm not certain it's possible, but you can do that on some brands of vehicles. What I'm specifically looking for is to determine if a vehicle has the Ultra Luxury Pkg, Modern Luxury Pkg, etc. I'm thinking that the info on how to read the VIN would be in the Factory Service Manual, if anyone here has one.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Steve -- Toyota/Lexus fan looking to get an LS430

 

Not sure if you can tell by VIN. But by looking at the car, you can tell the difference easily.

 

I only know that the 10th # is the model year which is marked A-...I think T but not sure. A being 1980, B being 1981 C being 1982...and so on until the year 2000. I think the 8th digit is the engine size. Shouldn't this be in the manual, I'll go check.

 

Steve,

As far as I know the VIN doesn't tell you much other than that it's a Lexus. What you want to look for is the full model code, that contains some info. This is located on the inner drivers side door jam.

Each letter/digit means something, example model code: UCF30L - AEAGKA

UCF30L - AEAGKA = Basic model code most people refer to
UCF30L - AEAGKA = Steering wheel position, L is left hand drive
UCF30L - AEAGKA = Model name, "A" is Lexus
UCF30L - AEAGKA = Body type, "E" is 4 door sedan
UCF30L - AEAGKA = Gear shift type, "A" is 5 speed automatic, "P" is 4 speed auto
UCF30L - AEAGKA = Grade, always G from what I have seen
UCF30L - AEAGKA = Engine specification, "K" is DOHC and SFI
UCF30L - AEAGKA = Destination, "A" is USA, "K" is Canada

 

I thought the first was where it was made, in this case a big J would be up front. If it was american it would be 1 I think.

 

If it were american, it would be A. Like all the fords.

 

I was talking about the model code, not the VIN. But moving back to the VIN...."J" for Japan would make sense, so would "A" for American....for the first character of the VIN.

 

I believe American is I, not A.

Jonny

 

I? On most of the american made vehicles I have worked with, it was a 1 and some older Toyotas had the J. I'm going to check the Envoy...Envoy says 1 and the Isuzu and both Lexus LS's have a J. So Ford must do theirs different.

 

My bad, my bad, it does start witha 1. I was thinking of someting else
for german cars, its W.

The second Letter in the VIN would be the first letter in the Car makers Name. "F" for ford, "B" for BMW and so on.