At a glance
- Pontiac car WMIs
- 1G2, 2G2, 3G2 and 4G2 in GM's 2000 filing
- Montana minivan WMI
- 1GM, using GM's truck layout
- Carline and series
- Positions 4 and 5, such as NE for a Grand Am SE
- Assembly plant
- Position 11, such as M for Lansing, Michigan
On this page
How to read a Pontiac VIN
GM sends NHTSA a VIN code book for every model year, and Pontiac cars share one layout with the other GM car brands of the time. The codes below come from GM's filing for the 2000 model year. Letters in positions 4 to 8 can mean something else in other years, so the decoder above is the final word on your exact VIN.
| Position | What it means | Pontiac codes (2000 model year) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Country of the plant | 1 or 4 = United States, 2 = Canada, 3 = Mexico |
| 2 | Manufacturer | G = General Motors |
| 3 | Make and type | 2 = Pontiac passenger car (M = Pontiac MPV, as in 1GM) |
| 4 | Carline | F = Firebird, H = Bonneville, J = Sunfire, N = Grand Am, W = Grand Prix |
| 5 | Series, read with position 4 | FS Firebird, HZ Bonneville SSEi, JB Sunfire, NE Grand Am SE, NW Grand Am GT, WP Grand Prix GT, WR Grand Prix GTP |
| 6 | Body style | 1 = 2-door coupe, 2 = 2-door hatchback, 3 = convertible, 5 = 4-door sedan |
| 7 | Restraint system | 2 = belts and front airbags, 4 = front and side airbags, 5 = front airbags plus a driver side airbag |
| 8 | Engine | T = 2.4L 4-cylinder (LD9), E = 3.4L V6, J = 3.1L V6, K = 3.8L V6 (L36), 1 = 3.8L V6 (L67), G = 5.7L V8 (LS1) |
| 9 | Check digit | 0 to 9 or X, calculated from the other 16 characters |
| 10 | Model year | Y = 2000, 1 = 2001 and on to 9 = 2009, then A = 2010 |
| 11 | Assembly plant | B, C or M = Lansing, MI; 4 = Orion, MI; 7 = Lordstown, OH; 1 = Oshawa, ON; 2 = Ste. Therese, QC; S = Ramos Arizpe, Mexico |
| 12 to 17 | Sequence number | Six digits in build order at that plant |
From GM's model year 2000 VIN standards filed with NHTSA. The plant codes are GM's car plant list for all of its brands, not a list of Pontiac plants.
Example: a Pontiac VIN decoded
NHTSA crash-tested a 2000 Pontiac Grand Am coupe with the VIN 1G2NE12T5YM709438 (vehicle crash test 3527). Read with GM's codes, it breaks down like this:
| Characters | Code | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | 1G2 | GM Pontiac passenger car from a U.S. plant |
| 4 and 5 | NE | Grand Am SE |
| 6 | 1 | 2-door coupe |
| 7 | 2 | Manual belts with driver and passenger front airbags |
| 8 | T | 2.4-liter 4-cylinder (LD9) |
| 9 | 5 | Check digit, and it matches |
| 10 | Y | 2000 model year |
| 11 | M | Lansing, Michigan |
| 12 to 17 | 709438 | Sequence number |
NHTSA's vPIC returns the same car: a 2000 Pontiac Grand AM, series SE, 2-door coupe with a 2.4-liter DOHC inline 4-cylinder (LD9) and front airbags for both front seats, built at the Lansing North Plant in Michigan.
How to check a Pontiac VIN by hand
Position 9 lets you catch a misread character before you rely on a VIN. With the Grand Am above:
- Swap each letter for its number: G = 7, N = 5, E = 5, T = 3, Y = 8, M = 4. Digits keep their value.
- Multiply each position by its weight: 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 10, 0, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.
- Add the 17 products. For this VIN the total is 390.
- Divide by 11. 390 is 35 times 11 with 5 left over, so the check digit has to be 5, and it is.
If the math or the decoder flags a mismatch, compare the VIN on the dash with the title character by character. Look-alikes such as 0 and D, or 1 and 7, are worth a second look.
Where is the VIN on a Pontiac?
- Dashboard, driver's side: readable from outside through the windshield. Federal rules put it there on cars, minivans and light trucks (49 CFR 565.13(f)).
- Driver's door opening: the certification label on the door edge, latch post or hinge pillar lists the VIN with the month and year the car was built (49 CFR 567.4).
- Paperwork: the title, registration and insurance card. All of them should match the car exactly.
Why doesn't my Pontiac VIN start with 1G2?
Not every Pontiac came from a U.S. GM car plant, and NHTSA's vPIC lists a separate WMI for each source:
- 2G2, 2G7 and 2C2: Pontiac cars from Canada, since GM uses 2 for Canadian plants.
- 3G2: Pontiac cars from Mexico.
- 5Y2: Pontiac cars from New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI).
- 6G2: Pontiac cars from Australia.
- JG2 and KL2: also listed as Pontiac passenger car codes.
- 1GM, 1G5, 2CG, 2CK and 3G7: Pontiac multipurpose vehicles, such as minivans.
The minivans follow GM's truck layout instead of the car table above. On a 2000 Montana (1GM), position 4 is the GVWR and brake system, 5 the line and chassis (U for the regular Montana, X for the extended wheelbase), 6 the series, 7 the body type and 8 the engine. The Oldsmobile Silhouette uses the same truck layout, and GM's car tables cover Buick and Chevrolet too.
Pontiac models NHTSA can decode
vPIC lists 37 Pontiac models under make ID 536: 6000, Acadian, Aztek, Bonneville, Catalina, Fiero, Firebird, Firefly, G3, G5, G6, G8, Grand AM, Grand Lemans, Grand Prix, GTO, J2000, Laurentian, Lemans, Matiz, Montana, Montana SV6, Parisienne, Phoenix, Pursuit, Safari, Solstice, Sunbird, Sunbird 2000, Sunburst, Sunfire, T1000, Tempest, Torrent, Trans Sport, Vibe and Wave.
A model on this list decodes only when its VIN has 17 characters. Pontiacs built before the 1981 model year carry shorter VINs that vPIC can't read; the classic car VIN guide covers those.