Car purchases are really huge investments and must be carried out with great care. Any mistake made during this process can lead to a consumer ending up with a defective vehicle or, even worse, a lemon. To prevent this during a used car purchase, we recommended carrying out VIN decoding to have access to the vehicle specifications.
If you are a car buyer interested in purchasing a used Toyota vehicle, then you must be fully aware of the vehicle’s information and history. To get Toyota specifications by VIN, a car buyer would have to utilize a Toyota VIN number lookup tool provided by car report services such as PremiumVIN. This article explains how to locate the VIN of a vehicle and look up Toyota specs by VIN.
What is the Vehicle Identification Number?
Every Toyota vehicle is manufactured with a unique code of letters and numbers. With this code, consumers in need of Toyota vehicles can easily look up their Toyota vehicle specifications. This code is referred to as the Vehicle Identification Number. The Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is a 17-character code, usually less in classic vehicles, that is used to identify vehicles. It serves as a unique identifier and can be used to gain access to vehicle specifications and history.
The VIN of a vehicle comprises both letters and numbers that are arranged in specific positions that provide vital information about your Toyota. The information generated after a Toyota VIN number lookup ranges from vehicle specifications to accident history, damage history, service history, theft records, and lien records, among others.
Where is the VIN number on a Toyota vehicle?
The VIN number can be found on several parts of a Toyota vehicle and on paperwork. Some of the most common locations where you may find the VIN on a Toyota vehicle include:
- The vehicle’s dashboard.
- The driver’s side door or windshield.
- The driver’s side door jamb.
- The engine block.
- Vehicle registration documents.
- Certificate of title.
- Insurance documents, etcetera.
Can I look up my vehicle specs by VIN number? Yes, you can. Car owners and buyers can carry out a VIN lookup to determine their Toyota specifications by VIN. In the next section, we will examine how to decode a Toyota VIN number with and without a VIN lookup or VIN decoding tool.
How to decode a Toyota VIN number without a VIN lookup tool?
Decoding a Toyota VIN number begins with understanding what each character represents and what it says about your Toyota. As earlier mentioned, a VIN number of a regular Toyota vehicle has 17 characters, each holding a different meaning. Let’s have a look at the characters of a VIN and the information they carry:
The first three characters: World Manufacturer Identifier.
The first three characters are referred to as the World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI). They identify the vehicle’s manufacturer and country of origin. The first character on a Toyota VIN represents the country of origin of the vehicle and could be a digit or a letter, with:
- 1 representing the USA
- 2 representing Canada
- 3 representing Mexico
- 4 representing the USA
- 5 representing the USA
- 6 representing Australia
- 8 representing Argentina
- 9 representing Brazil
- J representing Japan
- S representing the UK
- M representing Thailand
- K representing Korea
- V representing France.
The second character identifies the manufacturer. For Toyota vehicles, it can be either N – NUMMI (New United Motor Manufacturing) or T – Toyota.
The third character identifies the vehicle’s type. For example, having:
- D, G, K, X, 1, 2, 7, and N as the third character tells that the vehicle is a passenger car.
- A, B, F, M, and 4 represent trucks.
- E, L, or 3 stand for multipurpose passenger vehicles or SUVs.
- 5 represents convertibles.
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The next five characters: Vehicle Description Section
The next five characters after the first three provide the Toyota car’s specs and provide information on the vehicle’s model, body type, engine type, and others. The fourth character on a VIN number indicates the body type of the vehicle:
- A – 2DR sedan 2WD
- B – 4DR sedan 2WD or 4DR truck 4WD
- C – 2DR coupe 2WD
- D – 4DR truck 4WD
- E – 4DR truck 2WD
- G – 4DR wagon 2WD
- H – 4DR wagon 4WD
- K – 4DR wagon 2WD
- L – 4DR wagon 4WD or 4DR truck 4WD
- M – 5DR van 2WD
- N – 2DR regular cab truck 2WD
- P – 2DR regular cab truck 4WD
- S – 3DR liftback 4WD
- T – 2DR extended cab truck 2WD
- X – 5DR SUV; W – 2DR extended cab 4WD
- Y – sport van
- Z – 5DR wagon 2WD.
The fifth character on a Toyota VIN number provides information about a vehicle’s engine type;
- 4 – 7A-FE Lean Burn
- A – 3MZ-FE
- B – 1NZ-FXE or Toyota AZ engine#2AZ-FXE|2AZ-FXE
- D – 2ZZ-GE
- E – 2AZ-FE
- F – 1MZ-FE or 2AR-FE
- G – 5S-FE
- H – 1AZ-FE
- J – 1FZ-FE
- K – 2GR-FE
- L – 2RZ-FE
- M – 3RZ-FE
- N – 5VZ-FE or 2ZR-FXE
- P – 3S-FE
- R – 1ZZ-FE
- S – 1BM or Electric
- T – 3S-GTE
- U – 1GR-FE or 2ZR-FE
- V – 1NR-FE
- Y – 3UR-FE.
The sixth character represents the vehicle series.
The seventh character on a Toyota VIN represents the vehicle’s safety features:
- 0 – Manual Belts with 2 Airbags and Curtain Airbags
- 1 – Manual Belt
- 2 – Manual Belts with Driver Side Airbag
- 3 – Manual Belts with 2 Airbags
- 6 – Manual Belts with 2 Airbags, Side Airbags, Curtain Airbags, and Knee Airbag for driver
- 7 – Manual Belts with 2 Airbags and Knee Airbag for driver
- 8 – Manual Belts with 2 Airbags and Side Airbags
- D – Manual Belts with 2 Airbags, Side Airbags, Three-Row Curtain Airbags and Knee Airbag
- F – Manual Belts with 2 Airbags, Side Airbags, and Knee Airbag.
The eight characters represent the Toyota vehicle model:
- 0 – MR2 Spyder
- 1 – Tundra
- 3 – Echo and Yaris
- 4 – Scion xB and xD
- 7 – Scion tC
- A – Highlander, Sequoia, Celica and Supra
- B – Avalon
- C – Sienna and Previa
- D – T100
- E – Corolla or Matrix
- F – FJ Cruiser
- G – Hilux
- H – Highlander
- J – Land Cruiser
- K – Camry
- L – Tercel and Paseo
- M – Previa
- N – Tacoma and older trucks
- P – Camry Solara
- R – 4Runner and Corolla
- T – Celica FWD
- U – Prius
- V – RAV4
- W – MR2 non Spyder
- X – Cressida.
The check digit
The ninth character is referred to as the check digit. It is used to determine the validity and originality of the Toyota VIN. For car buyers trying to get their Toyota vehicle specifications by VIN, you should be informed that some car sellers, especially private sellers, manipulate vehicles’ VINs and provide fake VINs for customers. With the check digit, car buyers can determine the authenticity of their VINs.
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The last eight characters: Vehicle Identifier Section (VIS)
The last eight characters encode information about the vehicle’s production sequence number, plant location, and other information. The tenth character represents the vehicle’s model year;
- V – 1997
- W – 1998
- X – 1999
- Y – 2000
- 1 – 2001
- 2 – 2002
- 3 – 2003
- 4 – 2004
- 5 – 2005
- 6 – 2006
- 7 – 2007
- 8 – 2008
- 9 – 2009
- A – 2010
- B – 2011
- C – 2012
- D – 2013
- E – 2014.
The eleventh character encodes factory and plant information of the vehicles:
- 0 to 9 – Japan
- A – Onnaing-Valenciennes, France
- C – Cambridge, ON, CA
- E – United Kingdom
- K – Japan
- M – Baja CA, Mexico
- N – Kolin, Czech Republic
- R – Lafayette, IN, US
- S – Princeton, IN, US
- U – Georgetown, KY, US
- W – Woodstock, ON, CA
- X – San Antonio, TX, US
- Z – Fremont, CA, US.
The twelfth to seventeenth characters represent your Toyota vehicle’s production sequence number.
With this information, vehicle owners or buyers can decode their Toyota specs by VIN number. This information, however, cannot stand as the basis for purchasing a Toyota vehicle from a dealership, auction, or private party. To get accurate and complete Toyota specifications by VIN, it is recommended to utilize a Toyota VIN number lookup tool to have full access to vehicle specifications.
How to get Toyota Specifications by VIN?
The Toyota VIN number lookup tool is a tool provided by PremiumVIN that allows consumers, car buyers, and car owners to gain access to accurate Toyota vehicle specifications by VIN (Vehicle Identification Number). To get your Toyota car specs by VIN, you could:
- Generate a vehicle history report.
- Generate a window sticker.
Generate a vehicle history report
A vehicle history report is a document that contains the accurate specifications and history of a vehicle. After a Toyota VIN has been decoded, car buyers may go ahead and generate a vehicle history report that would contain detailed and concise information about a Toyota car. With the Toyota VIN Check Tool, customers get their full vehicle information, which includes:
- Accurate vehicle specifications.
- Accident history.
- Damage history.
- Auction history.
- Service history.
- Maintenance history.
- Title brand history.
- Accurate odometer readings.
- Lien and loan records.
- Theft records, and more.
With the vehicle history report, Toyota owners can have their Toyota vehicle specifications and records so they can make informed decisions and get more value for their money.
To easily decode a VIN with the Toyota VIN decoder tool, follow the steps below:
- First, you need to locate your Vehicle Identification Number from the car’s dashboard, or other locations.
- Visit the PremiumVIN website.
- Navigate to the Toyota VIN decoder page.
- Enter your email address, phone number, and VIN number.
- Click on “Decode VIN.”
- After your VIN has been decoded, you may proceed to generate a vehicle history report for your vehicle.
Generate a window sticker
If you are interested in getting accurate information on the vehicle specifications, Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP), and others, we would recommend generating a window sticker. A window sticker, also known as a Monroney label, is a label that contains the vehicle specifications and features of a vehicle. It is required by law for dealerships to provide window stickers for their customers; however, this is not always the case.
With a quick glance, a consumer can gain access to their Toyota vehicle specifications. Some of the information included in a window sticker generated by PremiumVIN includes:
- Year, make, and model.
- Vehicle Identification Number.
- Interior features.
- Exterior features.
- Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP).
- Safety and security features.
- NHTSA safety ratings.
- Warranty information, and more.
To easily generate a window sticker with the Toyota window sticker tool, follow the steps below:
- First, you need to locate your VIN.
- Visit the PremiumVIN website.
- Navigate to the Toyota window sticker lookup page.
- Enter your email address, phone number, and VIN number.
- You may also be required to create a unique password for a new member account that is created.
- Click on “Get Access Now.”
Accurate and vetted Toyota information is a huge resource for purchasing reliable used vehicles at dealerships or car sales. With these steps and the tools provided by PremiumVIN, consumers can gain unrestricted access to Toyota specifications by VIN and purchase the best vehicles for themselves.
