Audi VIN Decoder
Enter any 17-character Audi VIN. Free US-market Audi VIN decoder backed by the official NHTSA VPIC database — engine code, assembly plant, model year, body class, and every open recall, in about 30 seconds.
How to read an Audi VIN
A Audi VIN, like any modern road-vehicle VIN, is 17 characters split into three blocks: the World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI) in positions 1–3, the Vehicle Descriptor Section (VDS) in positions 4–9, and the Vehicle Identifier Section (VIS) in positions 10–17. Here's a real Audi VIN broken down position by position.
1W2A3U4E5N6A7F849810K11N120130140150160171
| Position | Chars | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | W | Country of origin W = Germany. Audi VINs starting with WA are German-built (Ingolstadt or Neckarsulm); TRU is Audi Hungary (Győr — RS engines and some Q3); WUA is older Audi RS; LFV is the FAW-Audi joint venture in China; and the e-tron (Brussels) historically used WAU. |
| 2-3 | AU | Manufacturer (WMI) AU = Audi passenger car (sedans, Sportbacks, Avants). The other major Audi WMI is WA1, used for the SUVs — Q3 / Q5 / Q7 / Q8 and the SUV-bodied e-tron. CheckMyVIN distinguishes the two automatically from the make/model VPIC returns. |
| 4-8 | ENAF4 | Vehicle Descriptor Section (VDS) Encodes the model line (A4 B9 generation for this VIN), body style (Sedan / Avant / Allroad), restraint type, and engine. Audi shares the VW Group MQB / MLB modular platforms with VW, Skoda, Seat, and Porsche; CheckMyVIN reports the Model, Trim, Body Class and Engine Model that NHTSA VPIC returns rather than trying to decode the chars in isolation. |
| 9 | 8 | Check digit A mod-11 checksum computed from the other 16 positions. NHTSA uses this to reject typos before returning a decode — if the check digit is wrong, VPIC returns ErrorCode 1 and CheckMyVIN treats that as an unreadable VIN. |
| 10 | K | Model year K = 2019. The full year code table is below. The 30-year cycle skips I, O, Q, U, Z and 0 to avoid being confused with similar-looking digits. |
| 11 | N | Assembly plant For this VIN, N maps to Neckarsulm — the plant that builds A4 / A5 / A6 / A7 / A8 / R8. CheckMyVIN reads Plant City and Plant Country directly from the VPIC record rather than inferring from this character: Ingolstadt builds A3 / A4 / A5 / Q2; Győr (Hungary) builds Q3 and the high-performance engines for the RS lineup; Brussels (until 2024) built the e-tron; Bratislava and Martorell handle some Q7 / Q8 volumes. Position-11 changes meaning per WMI. |
| 12-17 | 000001 | Production sequence A 6-digit serial number that increments through the model year at that plant. Not useful on its own, but combined with year and plant it confirms the VIN is internally consistent. |
VIN year codes (position 10)
The 10th character of every modern VIN encodes the model year. The cycle skips the letters I, O, Q, U and Z, and the digit 0, to avoid being confused with similar digits. This table covers every model year currently on US roads.
| Code | Year | Code | Year | Code | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 2010 | H | 2017 | R | 2024 |
| B | 2011 | J | 2018 | S | 2025 |
| C | 2012 | K | 2019 | T | 2026 |
| D | 2013 | L | 2020 | V | 2027 |
| E | 2014 | M | 2021 | W | 2028 |
| F | 2015 | N | 2022 | X | 2029 |
| G | 2016 | P | 2023 | Y | 2030 |
Full year code chart for all years (1980–2030) →
Audi WMI codes (positions 1–3)
The first three characters of the VIN identify the manufacturer and country of assembly. Audi uses several WMI codes depending on plant and model line.
| WMI | Meaning |
|---|---|
| WAU | Audi passenger car — Germany |
| WA1 | Audi SUV (Q5, Q7, Q8) — Germany / Slovakia |
| TRU | Audi TT / Sport — Hungary |
| 93U | Audi — Brazil |
Audi build sheet & options
A full Audi build sheet — original window-sticker (Monroney) options, paint code, S line / Black Optic packages, Bang & Olufsen sound, virtual cockpit tier, dealer-installed extras — is not part of the federal NHTSA VPIC dataset. CheckMyVIN can confirm engine family (EA888 2.0T, EA839 V6, RS-spec TFSI), assembly plant, model year, body class, and recall history pulled live from NHTSA, but it cannot return the original window-sticker options list. For the original Monroney sticker your authoritative source is your Audi dealer, who can pull the build sheet from the VIN through Audi's service system. Audi also publishes the official brand site at audi.com. CheckMyVIN never claims options data it cannot verify against the NHTSA record.
Audi VIN decoder FAQ
Is the Audi VIN decoder free?
Yes — every Audi VIN lookup on CheckMyVIN is free, no signup, no email gate, no usage cap on individual users. Data comes from the public NHTSA VPIC API. The optional "full vehicle history report" link at the bottom of each report is an affiliate to a paid third-party history service; you can ignore it.
How do I read an Audi VIN?
An Audi VIN is 17 characters: position 1 is the country (W = Germany; T = Hungary for some RS models; L = China for FAW-Audi), positions 2-3 are the WMI (AU = passenger car including A3 / A4 / A5 / A6 / A7 / A8, A1 = SUVs including Q3 / Q5 / Q7 / Q8), position 10 is the model year (K = 2019 in the example above), and position 11 is the plant (N = Neckarsulm for A4-A8 / R8). Enter any 17-character Audi VIN above and CheckMyVIN reads every field via the official NHTSA database.
Where is the Audi VIN located?
Three places on every modern Audi: the dash plate at the base of the windshield (visible from outside, driver side), the driver-door jamb certification sticker, and on the engine bay firewall (stamped into the bulkhead, useful when restoring a car where the dash plate has been damaged or replaced). The myAudi app and your purchase paperwork also list the VIN.
Can CheckMyVIN show the Audi window sticker or options list?
Partially. The decoder shows what NHTSA VPIC stores: model, trim (e.g. quattro Premium Plus, S line, RS), engine, body class, plant, year. It does NOT show the original Monroney window sticker — the priced options list with the dealer destination charge and as-equipped MSRP. For that, your authoritative source is your Audi dealer, who can print the original Monroney from the VIN through Audi's service system. CheckMyVIN never invents options data we cannot verify against NHTSA.
What does the 10th character of an Audi VIN mean?
The 10th character is the model year code, following the ISO 3779 cycle every manufacturer uses: A = 2010, B = 2011, … K = 2019 (the worked example above), … Y = 2030. The cycle skips the letters I, O, Q, U, Z and the digit 0 to avoid being confused with similar-looking characters.
How do I tell an Audi engine code (EA888, EA839, TFSI) from the VIN?
The engine code is in the Engine Model field NHTSA VPIC returns — decode the VIN above and look at the Vehicle Specifications block. EA888 is the 2.0L turbo I4 used across A3 / A4 / A5 / Q3 / Q5 from 2008 onward; EA839 is the 2.9L / 3.0L V6 TFSI used in S4 / S5 / A6 / SQ5; the RS lineup (RS4 / RS5 / RS6 / RS7) uses 2.9L twin-turbo V6 or 4.0L twin-turbo V8 variants. Engine code dictates oil grade, service interval, and the engine's known weak points — so it's the most useful field to pull from the report.
Does CheckMyVIN cover Audi e-tron, RS, and the Sport quattro?
Yes — every Audi in the NHTSA VPIC database is supported. e-tron (Q4 / Q6 / Q8 e-tron and the older e-tron SUV) decodes with Electrification Level = BEV and the report switches to the EV view (battery kWh, no oil / spark / timing rows). RS variants return the RS-spec engine code (e.g. 4.0L TFSI biturbo on RS6 / RS7). The original 1984 Audi Sport quattro and other pre-1981 Audis use shorter pre-standard VIN formats with limited VPIC coverage; modern Audi (1981+) decodes fully.