What’s in a GM VIN?
Unlock the full story of your GM vehicle with our VIN decoder! Tailored specifically for General Motors models, we can reveal your car’s unique specifications, build details, and history. From classic Chevrolets to modern Cadillacs, decode your VIN now and get unparalleled insight into your GM’s heritage and features.
How to decode a GM VIN Number
All GM vehicles manufactured after 1981 can be read in the following format:
Characters 1-3 are the World Manufacturer Identifier portions of a General Motors VIN. For GM vehicles, VIN character 1 will relate to its country of origin (typically the US, Canada, Mexico, or China), Character 2 is typically a “G” for General Motors, and character 3 will reflect the vehicle type.
| GM WMI | Country of Origin | Vehicle Type |
|---|---|---|
| 1G1 | UNITED STATES (USA) | Passenger Car |
| 1G4 | UNITED STATES (USA) | Passenger Car |
| 1G6 | UNITED STATES (USA) | Passenger Car |
| 5G8 | UNITED STATES (USA) | Passenger Car |
| 1G0 | UNITED STATES (USA) | Passenger Car |
| 2G1 | CANADA | Passenger Car |
| 2G4 | CANADA | Passenger Car |
| 2G6 | CANADA | Passenger Car |
| 3G1 | MEXICO | Passenger Car |
| 1GC | UNITED STATES (USA) | Truck |
| 1GT | UNITED STATES (USA) | Truck |
| 3GC | MEXICO | Truck |
| 3GT | MEXICO | Truck |
| 5GA | UNITED STATES (USA) | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
| 1GY | UNITED STATES (USA) | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
| 3GY | MEXICO | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
| 1GN | UNITED STATES (USA) | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
| 2GN | CANADA | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
| 3GN | MEXICO | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
| 1GK | UNITED STATES (USA) | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
| 2GK | CANADA | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
| 6G1 | AUSTRALIA | Passenger Car |
| 3GG | MEXICO | Truck |
| KL1 | SOUTH KOREA | Passenger Car |
| 3G0 | MEXICO | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
| LSG | UNITED STATES (USA) | Passenger Car |
| ADM | SOUTH AFRICA | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
| 2C1 | UNITED STATES (USA) | Passenger Car |
| 1G2 | UNITED STATES (USA) | Passenger Car |
| 2G2 | UNITED STATES (USA) | Passenger Car |
| 3G2 | UNITED STATES (USA) | Passenger Car |
| KL2 | UNITED STATES (USA) | Passenger Car |
| 1G8 | UNITED STATES (USA) | Passenger Car |
| 5GD | UNITED STATES (USA) | Passenger Car |
| 2C2 | UNITED STATES (USA) | Passenger Car |
| 4G5 | UNITED STATES (USA) | Passenger Car |
| 1GM | UNITED STATES (USA) | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
| 2CG | UNITED STATES (USA) | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
| 1G5 | UNITED STATES (USA) | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
| 2GC | UNITED STATES (USA) | Truck |
| 2GT | UNITED STATES (USA) | Truck |
| 3GK | UNITED STATES (USA) | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
| 3GM | UNITED STATES (USA) | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
| 3G5 | UNITED STATES (USA) | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
| 3G7 | UNITED STATES (USA) | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
| 1GG | UNITED STATES (USA) | Truck |
| 2CT | UNITED STATES (USA) | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
| 2CK | UNITED STATES (USA) | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
| 2CN | UNITED STATES (USA) | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
| 4GD | UNITED STATES (USA) | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
| 4NU | UNITED STATES (USA) | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
| 5S3 | UNITED STATES (USA) | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
| 5GR | UNITED STATES (USA) | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
| 5GT | UNITED STATES (USA) | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
| 5GZ | UNITED STATES (USA) | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
| 4NT | UNITED STATES (USA) | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
| 4GT | UNITED STATES (USA) | Truck |
| 3G4 | UNITED STATES (USA) | Passenger Car |
| 1G7 | UNITED STATES (USA) | Passenger Car |
| 5GN | UNITED STATES (USA) | Truck |
| 3GS | UNITED STATES (USA) | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
| 6G2 | AUSTRALIA | Passenger Car |
| 1GH | UNITED STATES (USA) | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
| 4G3 | UNITED STATES (USA) | Passenger Car |
| 1G3 | UNITED STATES (USA) | Passenger Car |
| 2G3 | UNITED STATES (USA) | Passenger Car |
| 4G1 | UNITED STATES (USA) | Passenger Car |
| 4G2 | UNITED STATES (USA) | Passenger Car |
| JG1 | UNITED STATES (USA) | Passenger Car |
| JG2 | UNITED STATES (USA) | Passenger Car |
| JGC | UNITED STATES (USA) | Truck |
| JGT | UNITED STATES (USA) | Truck |
| J8C | UNITED STATES (USA) | Truck |
| J8T | UNITED STATES (USA) | Truck |
| 3G3 | UNITED STATES (USA) | Passenger Car |
| LRB | CHINA | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
| 2G5 | CANADA | Truck |
| 2G8 | CANADA | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
| W0V | UNITED STATES (USA) | Passenger Car |
| 2G7 | CANADA | Passenger Car |
| 5G2 | UNITED STATES (USA) | Passenger Car |
| 5G5 | UNITED STATES (USA) | Truck |
| 5G3 | UNITED STATES (USA) | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
| 4W5 | UNITED STATES (USA) | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
| 3GP | MEXICO | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
Characters 4-8 in a GM VIN are the Vehicle Descriptor Section. These relate the vehicle’s trim and configuration options, like its engine type, transmission, model, body style and gross vehicle weight range.
Character 9 is the check digit, which a formula developed by the DOT to help validate VINs in order to reduce fraud.
Character 10 is the model year. It can either be numerical (1-9) or an alphabet character (excluding I, O, U, Q and Z). This can be decoded by referencing the below table:
| Code | Year | Code | Year | Code | Year | Code | Year | Code | Year |
|------|------|------|------|------|------|------|------|------|------|
| A | 1980 | L | 1990 | Y | 2000 | A | 2010 | L | 2020 |
| B | 1981 | M | 1991 | 1 | 2001 | B | 2011 | M | 2021 |
| C | 1982 | N | 1992 | 2 | 2002 | C | 2012 | N | 2022 |
| D | 1983 | P | 1993 | 3 | 2003 | D | 2013 | P | 2023 |
| E | 1984 | R | 1994 | 4 | 2004 | E | 2014 | R | 2024 |
| F | 1985 | S | 1995 | 5 | 2005 | F | 2015 | S | 2025 |
| G | 1986 | T | 1996 | 6 | 2006 | G | 2016 | T | 2026 |
| H | 1987 | V | 1997 | 7 | 2007 | H | 2017 | V | 2027 |
| J | 1988 | W | 1998 | 8 | 2008 | J | 2018 | W | 2028 |
| K | 1989 | X | 1999 | 9 | 2009 | K | 2019 | X | 2029 |
- Character 11 is the vehicle plant and factory location where the GM vehicle was manufactured. Given GM’s size and quantity of brands, decoding your VIN is a great way to find out specifically where your <a target="_blank" rel=“noopener” href="/vin-decoder/gmc/sierra/">Sierra, <a target="_blank" rel=“noopener” href="/vin-decoder/chevrolet/silverado/">Silverado, <a target="_blank" rel=“noopener” href="/vin-decoder/chevrolet/corvette/">Corvette, <a target="_blank" rel=“noopener” href="/vin-decoder/chevrolet/camaro/">Camaro, <a target="_blank" rel=“noopener” href="/vin-decoder/chevrolet/tahoe/">Tahoe, or <a target="_blank" rel=“noopener” href="/vin-decoder/cadillac/">Cadillac was built.
- Characters 12-17 represent the serial number assigned to the vehicle that helps differentiate from similar models in the same production run and model year.
How do you decode a GM vehicle’s engine size from a VIN?
Whether your General Motors vehicle features a legendary LS V8 or one of GM’s Ultium electric vehicle batteries, the eighth character in a vehicle’s VIN (as a part of the VDS section) is often its engine code.
There’s no true standard for the VDS portion of a VIN number across different manufacturers, meaning there’s no standard index for engine codes across vehicle manufacturers—but our GM VIN decoder can still help you find stats such as engine horsepower and displacement specs, its camshaft configuration and more.
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General Motors VIN lookup made easy
The VIN to a vehicle built by General Motors is the key to unlocking data and information about a vehicle’s specs, features, history, and more. And even if you don’t have your GM vehicle’s VIN, we can still help you find info about its history with our license plate lookup!
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