At a glance
- Korean WMIs
- KMH (cars), KM8 and KMU (SUVs), KME (trucks)
- U.S. WMIs
- 5NM and 5NT (Alabama), 7YA (Georgia Metaplant), 5NP
- Plant letters
- U Ulsan, A Asan, H Montgomery, Y Metaplant
- 2027 model year
- V in position 10
On this page
What the Hyundai VIN decoder returns
Enter the VIN from the dash or door jamb and the decoder looks it up in NHTSA's vPIC database. For a Hyundai you'll usually see the model year, model, trim level, body style, engine size or electric drive, fuel type, GVWR class, doors, the plant and the air bag layout Hyundai reported.
Hyundai's data has a quirk worth knowing: vPIC often stores the trim as a level, such as Middle level, instead of a badge like SEL. The decoder shows what vPIC has. Hybrid, electric and fuel cell models also carry an electrification field, which tells a Sonata Hybrid from a regular Sonata.
NHTSA recall campaigns for the model and year are listed with each result. To see whether a campaign is still open on this exact car, run the VIN through NHTSA's recall search.
Hyundai VIN positions explained
Hyundai's NHTSA filings for the 2027 Nexo, 2027 Santa Cruz and 2026 Ioniq 9 use the same layout. The right column is a real 2012 Sonata Hybrid.
| Position | What Hyundai encodes | Codes from recent filings | KMHEC4A41CA035212 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Country | K = Korea; 5 and 7 = United States | K |
| 2 | Maker | M = Hyundai Motor Company; N = Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama; Y = Metaplant America | M |
| 3 | Vehicle type | H car (KMH), 8 MPV (KM8), M MPV (5NM), T truck (5NT), A MPV (7YA) | H |
| 4 | Make and line | T Nexo, J Santa Cruz, M Ioniq 9 | E |
| 5 | Model series | Santa Cruz: A SE, C SEL Activity, D XRT. Ioniq 9: S, T SE, U SEL, W Limited, Y Calligraphy. Nexo: 7 Blue | C |
| 6 | Body, drive and GVWR class | Nexo: 4 wagon 4x2. Santa Cruz: 4 double cab 4x2, D 4x4. Ioniq 9: 5 wagon 4x2, F wagon 4x4 | 4 |
| 7 | Restraint system | A letter keyed to the filing's air bag chart: D on the Nexo and Santa Cruz, S on the Ioniq 9 | A |
| 8 | Engine or motor | Santa Cruz: E 2.5L GDI, F 2.5L turbo GDI. Ioniq 9: 1 rear motor, 3 or 5 dual motor. Nexo: 7 fuel cell with a 150 kW motor | 4 |
| 9 | Check digit | 0 to 9, or X | 1 |
| 10 | Model year | C = 2012, T = 2026, V = 2027 | C |
| 11 | Plant | U Ulsan, A Asan, H Montgomery (Alabama), Y Metaplant (Georgia) | A |
| 12 | Sequential number | Six digits, positions 12 to 17 | 0 |
| 13 | Sequential number | 3 | |
| 14 | Sequential number | 5 | |
| 15 | Sequential number | 2 | |
| 16 | Sequential number | 1 | |
| 17 | Sequential number | 2 |
Codes in positions 4 to 8 are set model by model. Older Hyundais use different letters for the same idea, so the decoder reads each VIN against its own year's data.
Example: a 2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid VIN decoded
KMHEC4A41CA035212 comes from a GSA Auctions listing for a 2012 Hyundai Sonata. vPIC fills in the rest:
| Field | vPIC value |
|---|---|
| Model year | 2012 |
| Model | Sonata |
| Trim | Middle level |
| Body | Sedan, 4 doors |
| Engine | 2.4L, gasoline, MPI DOHC |
| Electrification | Strong HEV (hybrid) |
| Plant | Hyundai Motor Company, Asan, South Korea |
| GVWR | Class 1: 6,000 lb or less |
| Air bags | Front and side: 1st row. Curtain: 1st and 2nd rows |
| Check digit | 1, correct |
U.S.-built Hyundais: the Alabama and Georgia codes
A Hyundai that starts with 5 or 7 was built in the United States. These patterns come from Hyundai's filings; ? is the check digit and # the serial, so they aren't real cars:
- 5NTJDDDF?VH######: 2027 Santa Cruz XRT, double cab, 4x4, 2.5L turbo, built at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama in Montgomery (H).
- 7YAMYFS5?TY######: 2026 Ioniq 9 Calligraphy, 4x4, dual motors at 157.3 kW each, built at the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant in Georgia (Y).
- KM8T74D7?VU######: 2027 Nexo fuel cell SUV from Ulsan, Korea (U), for comparison.
Some Hyundais carry codes vPIC also lists for Kia, such as 5XY (Kia Georgia), 3KM and 3KP (Kia Mexico) and U5Y. The decoder reads the whole VIN, so it still names the right make. For a Kia, use the Kia VIN decoder.
Hyundai models in NHTSA's vPIC
vPIC has 16 Hyundai models for 2026: Elantra, Elantra N, Ioniq 5, Ioniq 5 N, Ioniq 6, Ioniq 6 N, Ioniq 9, Kona, Nexo, Palisade, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, Sonata, Tucson, Venue and the Xcient truck. Its all-years list of 38 reaches back to the Excel, Pony, Scoupe and Stellar and includes the Accent, Azera, Entourage, Equus, Genesis sedan and Genesis Coupe, Tiburon, Veloster, Veracruz and XG350.
Where is the VIN on a Hyundai?
- Through the windshield at the lower left corner of the dash, as required for cars and SUVs (49 CFR 565.13).
- On the certification label in the driver's door opening (49 CFR 567.4).
- On the title, registration and insurance card.
For the original window sticker, the Hyundai window sticker page explains how to get one by VIN. Selling the car? CarShots turns phone photos into clean listing shots in about 20 seconds each.