Enter the 17-character VIN of your ZIL to see the factory basics. Free, with no registration.
Look on the dashboard, the driver's door frame or in the registration document.
Type all 17 characters. The letters I, O and Q are never used in a VIN.
See the factory basics for free, and order a full report for the history behind the VIN.
Enter a 17-character VIN and the ZIL decoder reads what the number itself carries: the manufacturer, the model year and the country of manufacture. Our data for the brand lists three models, 114, 117 and 4104, with version data running from 1967 to 2002 and the Sedan as the body style.
The decoder does not show accidents, mileage, theft records or previous owners, because none of that is stored in a VIN. That information comes from a paid vehicle history report, while the decoder itself is free and needs no registration.
A modern VIN has 17 characters and never uses the letters I, O or Q. Characters 1 to 3 are the WMI, which identifies the manufacturer. Characters 4 to 8 describe the vehicle, character 9 is a check digit, character 10 gives the model year, character 11 the plant, and characters 12 to 17 are the serial number. The check digit is required in North America, while many European VINs fill that position in a different way.
At the moment we have no WMI codes mapped to ZIL, so there is no list of first-three-character codes or countries to show here. Our list is not complete, and a VIN that starts with other characters is not wrong because of that. The decoder simply works with the codes it recognises.
The tenth character is the easiest part to check yourself. L stands for 1990, S for 1995 and 2 for 2002, all inside the 1967 to 2002 range of our ZIL version data. Keep in mind that the 17-character format applies to cars built since 1981, so an earlier car may carry a number in another format that this decoder cannot read.
Every VIN has six parts. This is what each of them means.
| Part | Characters | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| WMI | 1 to 3 | World manufacturer identifier: who built the vehicle and where |
| VDS | 4 to 8 | Vehicle descriptor: model, body type and engine, as set by the manufacturer |
| Check digit | 9 | Control value that helps confirm the VIN is valid |
| Model year | 10 | Code for the model year |
| Plant | 11 | Code for the assembly plant |
| Serial | 12 to 17 | Production sequence number of this vehicle |
On the driver's side, visible through the windshield.
On a sticker on the door frame or the edge of the door.
Printed in the vehicle registration or title.
Stamped on the firewall or the frame on many models.
A VIN is built from six parts, and each one says something about the vehicle. Our guides explain how to read it and what it can and cannot tell you.
Enter the 17-character VIN and see the factory basics in seconds.
Look at the vehicle registration document first, then at the identification plate or stamped number on the car itself. The exact position differs from vehicle to vehicle, so compare the number on the car with the one on the papers.
The first three characters are the WMI, which points to the manufacturer. We currently have no WMI codes mapped to ZIL, so we cannot name specific codes for this brand.
Read the tenth character. For example, L means 1990, S means 1995 and 2 means 2002. This only works for 17-character VINs, which apply to cars built since 1981.
It cannot show accidents, mileage, theft or the number of owners, since a VIN does not contain them. It reads only the VIN and returns the manufacturer, model year and country of manufacture.
Make sure the VIN on the car matches the one in the documents, and that it has 17 characters if the car was built in 1981 or later. Then compare the model year the decoder gives with what the seller says, and ask to see service records.