Honda Accord VIN Decoder: CV and CY Model Codes Explained

A Honda Accord VIN reads in four chunks. The first three characters are the builder (1HG for a Honda car built by Honda's Ohio operation, JHM for Honda Motor Co. in Japan, 2HG for Honda of Canada), positions 4 through 8 are Honda's model code, position 10 is the year and position 11 is the plant, where A means Marysville, Ohio. The model code is the part people get wrong. CV means the 2018-era Accord and CY means the current one, the digit after it splits gas from hybrid, and the last digit is the trim. Honda reuses those trim digits, so a 3 meant Sport in 2019 and EX in 2024.

We pulled Honda's own Accord VIN filings from NHTSA's vPIC library on November 8, 2026: the 2019 model year sheet, plus the June 2023 letter covering the 2024 Accord and the June 2024 letter covering 2025. Those three are what this guide is built on. We did not have a 2026 filing in hand, so if you are decoding a T-year car, verify the trim on the window sticker.

Positions 1 to 3: who built it

Honda's filings list a long table of manufacturer codes. For Accord shoppers the useful ones are 1HG for Honda passenger cars from the U.S. operation (listed as Honda of America Mfg. in the 2019 sheet and as Honda Development and Manufacturing of America, LLC in the 2024 one), JHM for Honda Motor Co. in Japan and 2HG for Honda of Canada Mfg. Every model code row in the three filings we read is a four-door sedan, and the plant table lists A as Marysville, Ohio.

2019 Accord: the CV codes

The 2019 sheet is the busiest one because that Accord had two turbo engines and a manual. CV1 is the 1.5-liter turbo (Honda's L15BE, listed at 192 hp) and CV2 is the 2.0-liter turbo (K20C4, listed at 252 hp). The last two characters give transmission and trim:

• CV1F1 is LX with the CVT, CV1F3 is Sport CVT, CV1F4 is EX and CV1F5 is EX-L.
• CV1E3 and CV2E3 are the Sport with the six-speed manual. In that table an E in position 7 only shows up on the manual cars.
• CV2F3 is the 2.0T Sport with the 10-speed automatic, CV2F5 is the 2.0T EX-L and CV2F9 is the 2.0T Touring.
• CV3 is the Accord Hybrid with the LFB2 engine: CV3F1 base, CV3F4 EX, CV3F5 EX-L and CV3F9 Touring.

The hybrid row lists the engine at 143 hp and the motor at 181 hp separately, so do not let a listing quote one number as "total". And if a 2019 "Sport 2.0T manual" shows CV1E3 in the VIN, it is the 1.5-liter car. That is a real price difference.

2024 and 2025 Accord: the CY codes

The current Accord dropped the manual and the 2.0T. In the 2024 filing, CY1 is the gas car with the L15BE (still 192 hp) and a CVT, and CY2 is the hybrid with the LFC5 engine and an E-CVT. CY1F2 is LX and CY1F3 is EX. On the hybrid side CY2F5 is Sport Hybrid, CY2F6 is EX-L Hybrid, CY2F7 is Sport-L Hybrid and CY2F8 is Touring Hybrid. The hybrid engine is listed at 146 hp with the motor at 135 kW.

The annoying bit is in the 2024 filing, which lists most of those codes twice, once normally and once "w/Out BSI", meaning without Honda's blind spot information system, and both share the same code. So the VIN cannot confirm blind spot monitoring on a 2024. Then in the 2025 filing, CY1F3 disappears and CY1F4 shows up as SE. Same Accord body, new trim name, new digit.

Put together, a VIN that starts 1HGCY2F6 and has R in position 10 and A in position 11 reads as a U.S.-built Honda car, Accord Hybrid EX-L, 2024 model year, built in Marysville. Swap the 6 for a 5 and it is a Sport Hybrid instead, which is a different trim and usually a different price, even though the two ads can look almost identical. Every Accord row in all three filings also lists GVWR class C, 4,001 to 5,000 lb, so that column will not help you separate anything.

Year, plant and check digit

Position 10 follows the federal year table: K is 2019, P is 2023, R is 2024, S is 2025, T is 2026. Under 49 CFR 565.15, when position 7 is a letter (and on these Accords it is always F or E), that year letter is read in the 2010 to 2039 cycle, so nobody can pass off a K as 1989. Position 9 is a check digit computed from the rest of the VIN. Our check digit explainer walks through it, and if a VIN in a photo fails the math, ask for a clearer photo before anything else.

For the broader Honda lineup, including CR-V and Civic layouts, see our Honda VIN decoder. NHTSA's free vPIC decoder reads the same filings and is a good second opinion.

What the VIN will not tell you about an Accord

A decoded VIN confirms engine and trim as built. It says nothing about the life the car has had. Honda's 1.5-liter turbo is the engine size behind the oil dilution complaints on 2017 and 2018 CR-Vs that we covered in our 1.5T oil dilution check. We have not found a matching Accord warranty extension, but pulling the dipstick and asking for oil change records costs you nothing on a CV1 or CY1 car. Run the VIN through Honda's recall lookup as well, and read the generation notes in our used Accord buying guide before the test drive.

A CARFAX bought directly from CARFAX usually costs around $39.99 to $44.99. CarVins sells both CARFAX and AutoCheck under a reseller license and has no connection to CARFAX, AutoCheck or Experian otherwise. Recently a guest report has run about $5.50 here, a member report about $4.50 and the two-report bundle about $6.75, though that can change, so confirm at checkout before you pay. Skip any seller who says "I already ran the CARFAX, here is the PDF". It takes two minutes to run your own.

Sources

• Honda 2019 Accord Part 565 VIN report (NHTSA vPIC)
• Honda VIN filing for the 2024 Accord and Accord Hybrid, June 16, 2023 (NHTSA vPIC)
• Honda VIN filing for the 2025 Accord and Accord Hybrid, June 6, 2024 (NHTSA vPIC)
• Federal VIN rule, 49 CFR 565.15 (year table and position 7 note)
• Free NHTSA decoder (vPIC)