Subaru VIN Decoder
Enter any 17-character Subaru VIN. Free US-market Subaru 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 a Subaru VIN
A Subaru 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 Subaru VIN broken down position by position.
142S344B5S6A7N8C9610K113121130140150160171
| Position | Chars | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Country of origin 4 = United States. Subaru VINs starting with J are Japanese-built (Gunma-Yajima and Gunma-Honkojo plants — Forester, Impreza, WRX / STI, BRZ, XV / Crosstrek pre-2023); 4S = USA, built at Subaru of Indiana Automotive (SIA) in Lafayette IN — the only Subaru plant outside Japan, where Legacy, Outback, Impreza, and Ascent are built for the North American market. |
| 2-3 | S4 | Manufacturer (WMI) S4 = Subaru of Indiana Automotive (Lafayette IN) — SUV / crossover. Other major Subaru WMIs include 4S3 (USA passenger car — Legacy / Impreza sedan from Lafayette), JF1 (Japan passenger — Impreza / WRX / STI / BRZ), and JF2 (Japan SUV — Forester / XV / Crosstrek). The country code (1st char) plus WMI together pin the plant. |
| 4-8 | BSANC | Vehicle Descriptor Section (VDS) Encodes the model line (BS Outback for this VIN), body style, restraint type, trim level, and engine. Subaru does not publish a public VDS-to-trim table, so CheckMyVIN reports the Model, Trim and Engine Model that NHTSA VPIC returns directly. For Subaru in particular, the engine code is the single most useful field — the brand's boxer-engine family identifier (EJ20 / EJ25 / FA20 / FA24 / FB20 / FB25) tells you almost everything about the powertrain. |
| 9 | 6 | 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 | 3 | Assembly plant For this VIN, 3 maps to Lafayette IN — Subaru of Indiana Automotive (SIA), the only Subaru plant outside Japan and the source of every North-American-market Legacy, Outback, Impreza, and Ascent since the mid-2010s. CheckMyVIN reads Plant City and Plant Country directly from the VPIC record rather than inferring from this character; Japan-built Subarus (Forester, WRX / STI, BRZ, Crosstrek) come from one of the Gunma plants. |
| 12-17 | 100001 | 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) →
Subaru WMI codes (positions 1–3)
The first three characters of the VIN identify the manufacturer and country of assembly. Subaru uses several WMI codes depending on plant and model line.
| WMI | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 4S3 | Subaru passenger car (Legacy, Outback) — Lafayette, IN USA |
| 4S4 | Subaru SUV (Outback, Forester, Ascent) — Lafayette, IN USA |
| JF1 | Subaru passenger car — Gunma, Japan |
| JF2 | Subaru SUV — Japan |
Subaru build sheet & options
A full Subaru build sheet — original Monroney sticker, package contents (Premium / Sport / Limited / Touring XT / Wilderness), Eyesight option, dealer-installed accessories — is not part of the federal NHTSA VPIC dataset. CheckMyVIN can confirm the model, trim level, **engine code** (the most useful field for Subaru — see below), drive type (almost always Symmetrical AWD), assembly plant, model year, body class, and recall history pulled live from NHTSA, but it cannot return the original window-sticker options. For the full Monroney your authoritative source is a Subaru dealer, who can pull the build sheet from the VIN through Subaru's service system . Subaru of America also publishes the official owner site at subaru.com. CheckMyVIN never claims options data it cannot verify against the NHTSA record.
Subaru VIN decoder FAQ
Is the Subaru VIN decoder free?
Yes — every Subaru 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 find my Subaru engine code (EJ25, EJ20, FA20, FA24, FB25) 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. For Subaru this is the most important single field: EJ20 / EJ257 = the legendary 2.0L turbo boxer (1996-2014 WRX, 2004-2021 STI), EJ25 / EJ255 = 2.5L turbo (early Forester XT, Outback XT, Legacy GT, 2007+ WRX) and 2.5L NA (Outback / Forester / Legacy / Impreza), FA20 = 2.0L direct-injection turbo (2015-2021 WRX), FA24 = 2.4L turbo (current Ascent, Outback XT, WRX), FB25 = 2.5L NA (current Forester / Outback / Legacy), FB20 = 2.0L NA (current Crosstrek / Impreza). Engine code dictates oil grade (5W-30 vs 0W-20), valve clearance interval, and the engine's known weak points (e.g. EJ25 head gasket and ringland failure on 2.5L turbo).
How do I read a Subaru VIN?
A Subaru VIN is 17 characters: position 1 is the country (J = Japan — Gunma plants, 4 = USA — Lafayette IN), positions 2-3 are the WMI (JF1 = Japan passenger including WRX / STI / BRZ / Impreza, JF2 = Japan SUV / Forester, 4S3 = USA Legacy / Impreza sedan, 4S4 = USA Outback / Ascent SUV), position 10 is the model year (K = 2019 in the example above), and position 11 is the plant. Enter any 17-character Subaru VIN above and CheckMyVIN reads every field via the official NHTSA database.
Where is the Subaru VIN located?
Three places on every modern Subaru: the dash plate at the base of the windshield (visible from outside, driver side), the driver-door jamb certification sticker, and on the title / registration. The engine has its own separate serial number stamped on the block (useful when verifying a non-original engine in an STI / WRX) — that engine serial is NOT the VIN; the 17-character VIN is the legal identifier.
Can CheckMyVIN show the Subaru options list, Eyesight version, or build sheet?
Partially. The decoder shows what NHTSA VPIC stores: model, trim (e.g. Limited+M/R+ES+NAVI, which already encodes a lot — M/R = Moonroof, ES = Eyesight, NAVI = navigation package on Outback for example), engine code, drive type, body class, plant, year. It does NOT show the original Monroney sticker price, individual option-package contents, paint code, or dealer-installed accessories. For that your authoritative source is your Subaru dealer (they can print the original Monroney from the VIN through Subaru's service system) or your MySubaru account at mysubaru.com. CheckMyVIN never invents options data we cannot verify against NHTSA.
What does the 10th character of a Subaru 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.
Does CheckMyVIN cover Subaru BRZ (and what about the Toyota 86 / GR86 connection)?
Yes — Subaru BRZ decodes normally and is one of the few RWD Subarus (almost everything else is Symmetrical AWD). The BRZ shares its platform and FA20 / FA24 boxer engine with the Toyota 86 / GR86 (a Subaru-Toyota joint development), but each is registered to its own brand in NHTSA: a BRZ VIN returns Make = SUBARU, a GR86 VIN returns Make = TOYOTA. CheckMyVIN decodes both correctly.