CarFlow AIMercedes-Benz VIN Decoder
Enter a Mercedes-Benz VIN to see the model, model year, engine and plant. Works for cars, SUVs built in the US and Sprinter vans.
No VIN at hand? Try an example:
- 1-31-3 · Manufacturer
- 4-84-8 · Description
- 99 · Check
- 1010 · Year
- 1111 · Plant
- 12-1712-17 · Serial number
Data from the public NHTSA vPIC database. CarFlow is not affiliated with any vehicle manufacturer; make and model names belong to their owners.
How to read a Mercedes-Benz VIN
German-built Mercedes cars start with WDB or WDD and SUVs with WDC. Newer vehicles use W1K for cars and W1N for SUVs. SUVs from the Alabama plant start with 4JG and US-built sedans with 55S.
Vans and trucks have their own codes: WD3 and W1Y for Sprinter cargo vans, WD4 and W1W for passenger versions, and 8B codes for Sprinters assembled in Argentina.
Position 11 is the plant. In the sample VIN 4JGDA5HB5GA100001, a 2016 GLE350, the letter A stands for Vance, Alabama. Mercedes also builds the same model in more than one country: a 2013 C300 with R in that position came from East London, South Africa.
Mercedes-Benz manufacturer codes
The first three characters of a VIN are the World Manufacturer Identifier. These are the codes registered with NHTSA for vehicles sold as Mercedes-Benz.
| Code | Registered to | Vehicle type | Assigned to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1MB | Mercedes-Benz Truck Company Inc | Truck | United States |
| 4JG | Mercedes-Benz of North America, Inc. | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle | United States |
| 55S | Mercedes-Benz Cars | Passenger Car | United States |
| 8BN | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (Sprinter) | Incomplete Vehicle | Argentina |
| 8BR | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (Sprinter) | Bus | Argentina |
| 8BT | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (Sprinter) | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle | Argentina |
| 8BU | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (Sprinter) | Truck | Argentina |
| 9DB | Mercedes-Benz Truck Company Inc | Truck | Brazil |
| W1K | Mercedes-Benz Cars | Passenger Car | Germany |
| W1N | Mercedes-Benz Cars | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle | Germany |
| W1W | Mercedes-Benz, AG | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle | Germany |
| W1X | Mercedes-Benz, AG | Incomplete Vehicle | Germany |
| W1Y | Mercedes-Benz, AG | Truck | Germany |
| W1Z | Mercedes-Benz, AG | Bus | Germany |
| WD3 | Mercedes-Benz, AG | Truck | Germany |
| WD4 | Mercedes-Benz, AG | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle | Germany |
| WDA | Mercedes-Benz, AG | Incomplete Vehicle | Germany |
| WDB | Mercedes-Benz Cars | Passenger Car | Germany |
| WDC | Mercedes-Benz Cars | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle | Germany |
| WDD | Mercedes-Benz Cars | Passenger Car | Germany |
| WDZ | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (Sprinter) | Bus | Germany |
The country comes from the first two characters of the code, following the international allocation.
Where to find the VIN on a Mercedes-Benz
Windshield
Driver side of the dashboard, visible from outside.
Driver door jamb
On the label in the door opening or on the B-pillar.
Body stamp
Stamped into the body, on many models under a flap in the carpet in front of the right front seat or on the firewall.
Paperwork
On the title, registration and the service booklet.
Mercedes-Benz models you can decode
The decoder covers every Mercedes-Benz sold in the United States. Among the most common:
- Mercedes-Benz C-Class
- Mercedes-Benz E-Class
- Mercedes-Benz S-Class
- Mercedes-Benz GLA
- Mercedes-Benz GLC
- Mercedes-Benz GLE
- Mercedes-Benz GLS
- Mercedes-Benz G-Class
- Mercedes-Benz CLA
- Mercedes-Benz Sprinter
Mercedes-Benz VIN questions
WDB, WDD and W1K for cars built in Germany, WDC and W1N for SUVs, 4JG for SUVs built in Alabama and 55S for US-built sedans. Sprinter vans use WD3, WD4, W1W and W1Y.
The company registered new identifiers for its car division, so newer vehicles carry W1K and W1N where earlier ones had WDD and WDC. Both sets are in the database.
You will get the manufacturer, country and the breakdown by position. European Mercedes VINs do not carry a check digit and are often missing from the US database, so the model may not be shown.
No. Options are stored in the manufacturer's own data card, not in the VIN. The VIN gives the model, body, engine, year and plant.