At a glance
- Current model in vPIC
- 500e, in the 2025 and 2026 lists
- 500e WMI
- ZFA: Stellantis Europe, passenger cars
- Plant code
- X = Mirafiori, Turin, Italy
- Year letters
- T = 2026, V = 2027
On this page
- How to read a Fiat VIN
- Why does the sample VIN in Fiat's guide fail?
- How do you check a Fiat VIN's check digit?
- Fiat 500e VIN codes by trim and market
- Which WMIs and models does NHTSA list for Fiat?
- A real Fiat VIN decoded: 2012 Fiat 500
- Where do I find the VIN on a Fiat?
- What can't a Fiat VIN tell you?
- Common questions
- Sources
How to read a Fiat VIN
Stellantis Europe files the Fiat 500e's VIN guide with NHTSA, and a Fiat VIN decoder reads it this way: position 4 for airbags, positions 5 to 7 for the series and body, position 8 for the electric motor. The chart uses ZFAFFAC42VX100989, the typical VIN printed in the 2027 guide with its check digit corrected from 1 to 2. More on that below.
| Position | What Fiat codes there | In ZFAFFAC42VX100989 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | World manufacturer identifier (WMI), 1st character | Z |
| 2 | WMI, 2nd character | F |
| 3 | WMI, 3rd character: ZFA is Stellantis Europe S.p.A., passenger car | A |
| 4 | Restraint system: F adds a knee airbag to the front, side and head airbags; E has no knee airbag | F |
| 5 | Positions 5 to 7 form one code for model, series, drive and body: 1st letter | F |
| 6 | Same code, 2nd letter | A |
| 7 | Same code, 3rd letter: FAC is the Icona/TOP 2-door hatchback | C |
| 8 | Motor: 4 is the 87 kW, 400-volt battery electric drive with front-wheel drive, listed for all markets | 4 |
| 9 | Check digit, calculated under 49 CFR 565 | 2 |
| 10 | Model year: V is 2027 | V |
| 11 | Assembly plant: X is Mirafiori, Turin, Italy | X |
| 12 | Sequence number, 1st character: 0 to 9, then A to Z | 1 |
| 13 | Sequence number, digits only from here | 0 |
| 14 | Sequence number | 0 |
| 15 | Sequence number | 9 |
| 16 | Sequence number | 8 |
| 17 | Sequence number, last digit | 9 |
NHTSA's vPIC database decodes it as a 2027 FIAT 500e, trim Icona/Top: battery electric, 87 kW, 400 volts, front-wheel drive, 2 doors, built at the Mirafiori plant in Turin, error code 0.
Why does the sample VIN in Fiat's guide fail?
Its check digit is wrong. The 2027 guide's typical VIN is ZFAFFAC41VX100989, and the 2026 guide prints ZFAFFAC41TX100989. Run the formula in 49 CFR 565 and position 9 should be 2 for the first and 6 for the second.
NHTSA's vPIC database still decodes ZFAFFAC41VX100989 as a 500e, but flags error code 1: the check digit in position 9 does not calculate properly. This decoder checks position 9 before it looks anything up, so it stops there and asks you to recheck the VIN. On a real car, a failed check digit usually means a character was misread or mistyped, so read it again from the windshield or the door label.
How do you check a Fiat VIN's check digit?
Turn letters into numbers
Use the values in 49 CFR 565.15. For the letters in this VIN, A is 1, C is 3, F is 6, V is 5, X is 7 and Z is 9. Digits keep their own value.
Multiply by the position weight
The weights for positions 1 to 17 are 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 10, 0, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2. Position 9 gets 0, so the check digit never counts toward itself.
Add the 17 results
For ZFAFFAC42VX100989 they total 409. The digit in position 9 adds nothing, so the total is the same whatever is printed there.
Divide by 11 and keep the remainder
409 divided by 11 is 37 with 2 left over, so the check digit is 2. A remainder of 10 is written as X. With T for 2026 in place of V, the total is 391 and the check digit is 6.
Fiat 500e VIN codes by trim and market
The guides list five codes for positions 5 to 7 and three motor codes for position 8, and several are marked Mexico only:
| Code | Position | Meaning | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| FAB | 5 to 7 | 2-door hatchback: Pop (2026), Pop/CORE (2027) | No limit listed |
| FAC | 5 to 7 | 2-door hatchback: Icona (2026), Icona/TOP (2027) | No limit listed |
| FAJ | 5 to 7 | 2-door cabriolet, Top | Mexico only |
| FAR | 5 to 7 | 3-door hatchback, Top | Mexico only |
| FAE | 5 to 7 | 595, 2-door hatchback or cabriolet | Mexico only |
| 2 | 8 | Battery electric, front-wheel drive, rated 70 | Mexico only |
| 4 | 8 | Battery electric, front-wheel drive, rated 87 | All markets |
| 6 | 8 | Battery electric, front-wheel drive, rated 113.7 | Mexico only |
Every 500e in the guides is a 400-volt battery electric car with front-wheel drive, hydraulic brakes and left-hand drive, built at Mirafiori. The guides give the motor ratings without a unit; vPIC decodes code 4 as 87 kW.
Which WMIs and models does NHTSA list for Fiat?
A vPIC search for manufacturers named Fiat returns nothing, because Fiat's codes are registered to Stellantis Europe S.p.A. Searching that name returns three:
- ZFA: passenger cars, Italy. Decodes as Fiat.
- ZFB: multipurpose vehicles, Italy. Can decode as Jeep, Fiat or Ram.
- ZAC: multipurpose vehicles, with the country listed as the USA. Can decode as Dodge, Jeep, Fiat or Ram.
NHTSA also lists 3C3, Chrysler de Mexico in Toluca, as a passenger car code shared by Dodge, Chrysler, Fiat and Lancia. With a shared code, the decoder reads the make from the whole VIN, so if yours turns out to be a Jeep, the Jeep VIN decoder has its codes.
vPIC knows 11 Fiat model names: 124 Spider, 500, 500L, 500X, 500e, Brava, Ducato, Freemont, Spider 2000, Strada and X 1/9. Only the 500e is in its 2025 and 2026 lists. For a Fiat built before the 1981 model year, see the classic car VIN page.
A real Fiat VIN decoded: 2012 Fiat 500
This 2012 Fiat 500 went through an NHTSA crash test (test 7507), and the test record lists its VIN. NHTSA's vPIC database returns this for 3C3CFFAR9CT114196:
| Field | vPIC result |
|---|---|
| Vehicle | 2012 Fiat 500 Pop (series: FF) |
| Body and drive | Hatchback, 2 doors, front-wheel drive |
| Engine | 1.4L four-cylinder |
| Plant | Toluca, State of Mexico, Mexico (Chrysler de Mexico) |
| GVWR | Class 1: 6,000 lb or less |
| Airbags | Front and side (all rows) |
vPIC's airbag and safety fields can be incomplete; the window sticker or owner's manual has the full list.
Where do I find the VIN on a Fiat?
- Through the windshield, low on the driver's side. It must be readable from outside next to the left windshield pillar, in characters at least 4 mm high (49 CFR 565.13).
- On the certification label in the driver's door opening, along with the month and year the car was built (49 CFR 567.4).
- On the title, the registration and most insurance cards.
If the decoder flags the check digit, compare these copies before anything else. Where to find the paint code covers the color code, which the VIN leaves out.
What can't a Fiat VIN tell you?
How the car has been used. The VIN is fixed at the factory, so it says nothing about battery health, range today, accidents or owners, and it doesn't code color or options. The decoder shows Stellantis Europe's coding from NHTSA's database and the recalls NHTSA lists for that model and year. Selling a 500e? How to sell a car walks through it.