Freightliner VIN decoder

A Freightliner VIN has the same 17 characters as a car's, but Daimler Truck North America packs truck information into it: the axle configuration, whether it's a truck or a tractor, the cab, the GVWR class, the engine and even the brake system. The decoder validates the VIN and returns what vPIC holds for it, including the model, body class, GVWR, engine and plant, and NHTSA recall campaigns for that model and year.

Three things work differently on a heavy truck:

• The model year letter repeats. DTNA's own year table lists Y for both 2000 and 2030 and 1 for both 2001 and 2031. The position 7 rule that sorts this out on light vehicles (49 CFR 565.15) only covers vehicles up to 10,000 lb GVWR, so check the title if a decoded year looks off.
• There may be no VIN plate behind the windshield. That rule also stops at 10,000 lb GVWR (49 CFR 565.13).
• The engine code includes the brakes. DV is a Detroit DD13 with air brakes, DW the same engine with hydraulic brakes.

This follows the decoder DTNA filed with NHTSA in its March 13, 2026 update for the 1FU, 1FV, 3AK and 3AL codes:

• Detroit: DV DD13 (12.8 L), D5 and D6 DD15 (14.8 L), D1 DD16 (15.6 L), D2 DD8 (7.7 L), FB DD5 (5.1 L), all with air brakes; F7 Detroit Electric.
• Cummins: FG X15 (15 L), FM X12 (11.9 L), GE X10 (10 L, new in the March 2026 update), FC B6.7, GJ B7.2 (new in the same update), GD X15N natural gas.
• Other: F9 ZF Electric, F8 Hexagon Purus electric, and 00 for no engine.

Put the codes together and a 2027 Cascadia 126-inch sleeper, 6x4 tractor, Detroit DD13 with air brakes, built in Cleveland, North Carolina, would start like this. It's a pattern from DTNA's chart, not a real truck: ? is the check digit and # the serial.

1FUJJHDV?VL######

1. 1FU: Daimler Truck North America, Freightliner, truck.
2. J: 6x4 truck-tractor.
3. JH: Cascadia 126-inch sleeper cab, generation five, Class 8.
4. DV: Detroit DD13, diesel, 12.8 liters, air brakes.
5. V: model year 2027. L: Cleveland, North Carolina.

Not every Freightliner VIN starts with 1FU. vPIC also lists these:

• 4UZ: Freightliner Custom Chassis, an incomplete vehicle code also listed for Mitsubishi Fuso. Motor homes, walk-in vans and buses built on these chassis carry the chassis VIN, so the decode describes the chassis, not the body.
• 2FU, 2FV, 3FF: codes registered to Freightliner Corporation.
• 3BH, 3BJ: Daimler Vehiculos Comerciales Mexico codes, shared with Western Star.
• WD2, WDY, WDP, WDR, WD6: codes registered to DaimlerChrysler AG in Germany; vPIC's make list for WD2 reads Sprinter (Dodge or Freightliner).

For motor homes in general, see the RV VIN lookup.

Jayco listed this VIN as the end of a VIN range in its recall report to NHTSA (recall 23V-477), passing on DTNA's recall 23V-237 for wiper linkages that may break to the motor homes it built on this chassis. It's a chassis VIN, so the decode describes what Freightliner built, not the motor home. NHTSA's vPIC database returns this for 4UZADVFC3NCNP8909:

vPIC lists 94 Freightliner model names for 2026. Beyond the Cascadia, RA Cascadia, eCascadia, M2, eM2 106, 108SD, 114SD and SD122, they include the Sprinter and eSprinter, Custom Chassis motor home platforms such as the XC series, MT walk-in van chassis, school and shuttle bus chassis, and legacy names like the FLD120, Classic, Columbia, Coronado and Argosy.

Start with the certification label on the driver's door edge or door frame, which carries the VIN (49 CFR 567.4). Then check the title, the registration and the cab card. Don't count on a dash plate: trucks over 10,000 lb GVWR don't need one.

If you list trucks for a dealership, CarShots puts phone photos on a clean backdrop in about 20 seconds each. Comparing other heavy trucks? See the Kenworth VIN decoder.