At a glance
- Acura car WMIs
- 19U, 19V, 5KC (U.S.), 2HH (Canada), JH4 (Japan)
- Acura SUV WMIs
- 5J8, 5FR (U.S.), 2HN (Canada), 3HD (Mexico, shared with Honda)
- Positions 4 to 8
- American Honda's five-character model code
- Ohio plant letters
- A Marysville, L East Liberty
On this page
What an Acura VIN lookup returns
Paste the VIN from the windshield or door jamb and the decoder validates it, then reads the record American Honda supplied to NHTSA's vPIC database. For an Acura that usually means the model year, model, trim, body style, engine size and cylinders, fuel, drive, transmission, GVWR class, doors, the plant and the air bags.
Recall campaigns NHTSA lists for that model and year show up with the result. A campaign on the list doesn't mean this car still needs the repair; NHTSA's VIN recall search or an Acura dealer can tell you that.
If the VIN turns out to belong to a Honda, the decoder says so and points you to the Honda VIN decoder.
Acura or Honda? The first three characters tell you
Acura is part of Honda, but in vPIC the two brands mostly use different WMIs. These are the codes vPIC assigns to the make Acura:
| WMI | Company in vPIC | Vehicle type |
|---|---|---|
| 19U, 19V, 5KC | American Honda Motor Co. | Passenger car |
| 5J8, 5FR | American Honda Motor Co. | MPV (SUV) |
| 5FS | American Honda Motor Co. | Truck |
| 2HH, 2HN, 2HU | Honda of Canada Mfg. | Car, MPV, truck |
| JH4 | Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Japan) | Passenger car |
| 3HD | Honda de Mexico | MPV, shared by Honda and Acura |
Honda-badged models use codes such as 1HG, 19X, 5FN, 2HG and JHM. 3HD, added to vPIC in June 2024, is the one code listed for both brands, so on those VINs the decoder relies on the rest of the VIN to name the make.
How to read an Acura VIN
American Honda's VIN filings with NHTSA lay the VIN out as AAA BBBBB C D E FFFFFF: manufacturer and type, a five-character model code, the check digit, the year, the plant and a sequential production number. The filings quoted here are for Honda-badged models; the codes and plants in the right column are vPIC's Acura entries.
| Position | American Honda's layout | On an Acura VIN |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manufacturer, make and type (WMI) | 1 or 5 United States, 2 Canada, 3 Mexico, J Japan |
| 2 | WMI | 9, F, J or K on American Honda codes; H on Canadian, Mexican and Japanese codes |
| 3 | WMI | U, V or C for Acura cars, 8 or R for Acura SUVs (American Honda) |
| 4 | Model code, 1st character | Five characters that stand for one combination of model, trim, drive, transmission, body, GVWR class, restraints and engine |
| 5 | Model code, 2nd character | |
| 6 | Model code, 3rd character | |
| 7 | Model code, 4th character | |
| 8 | Model code, 5th character | |
| 9 | Check digit, per 49 CFR 565.15 | 0 to 9, or X |
| 10 | Model year | T = 2026, V = 2027 |
| 11 | Plant | See the plant table below |
| 12 | Sequential production number | Six digits, positions 12 to 17 |
| 13 | Sequential production number | |
| 14 | Sequential production number | |
| 15 | Sequential production number | |
| 16 | Sequential production number | |
| 17 | Sequential production number |
In Honda's 2027 Passport filing, for example, model code YF9H3 means the RT-L with AWD, a 10-speed automatic, a five-door SUV body, GVWR class D (5,001 to 6,000 lb) and the J35Y8 engine. That is how much five characters carry in American Honda's system.
A real Acura VIN decoded: 2011 MDX
This 2011 MDX went through an NHTSA crash test (test 7137), and the test record lists its VIN. NHTSA's vPIC database returns this for 2HNYD2H23BH503734:
| Field | vPIC result |
|---|---|
| Vehicle | 2011 Acura MDX (trim: Base) |
| Body | SUV, 5 doors |
| Engine | 3.7L V6 (engine code J37A1), 300 hp, 6-speed automatic |
| Plant | Alliston, Ontario, Canada (Honda of Canada Mfg.) |
| GVWR | Class 1D: 5,001 to 6,000 lb |
| Airbags | Front, side (row 1) and curtain (rows 1 to 3) |
vPIC's airbag and safety fields can be incomplete; the window sticker or owner's manual has the full list.
Acura plant codes (position 11)
| Code | Plant location in vPIC |
|---|---|
| A | Marysville, Ohio |
| L | East Liberty, Ohio |
| Y | PMC, Marysville, Ohio (19U and 5J8 codes) |
| E | Greensburg, Indiana |
| B | Lincoln, Alabama |
| H | Alliston, Ontario |
| G | El Salto, Jalisco, Mexico |
| M | Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico (3HD code) |
| S, T, C | Suzuka, Takanezawa and Sayama, Japan |
| X | Yorii, Saitama, Japan (JH4 code) |
| U | Swindon, United Kingdom |
vPIC gives every Acura code the same Honda plant table, so it shows where an Acura could come from, not where today's models are built.
Acura models in vPIC
For 2026, vPIC lists five Acura models: the ADX, Integra, MDX, RDX and ZDX. The TLX appears through 2025. The full list of 17 runs back to the Legend, Integra and Vigor and includes the CL, ILX, NSX, RL, RLX, RSX, SLX, TL and TSX.
Where is the VIN on an Acura?
- Look through the windshield at the driver's side of the dash. Federal rules require the VIN there on cars and SUVs, readable from outside (49 CFR 565.13).
- Open the driver's door: the certification label on the door edge or pillar carries it (49 CFR 567.4).
- Check the title, registration or insurance card.
For the original window sticker, see the Acura window sticker page. Getting ready to sell? CarShots turns your phone photos into clean listing shots on a backdrop, about 20 seconds each.