Nissan Rogue VIN Decoder: Engine, Grade and Drive Codes

To decode a 2021-or-newer Nissan Rogue VIN, start at position 4, which on a Rogue is the engine: B is the 1.5-liter gas engine, and on the 2021 chart A was the 2.5-liter. Position 5 is T for Rogue, position 7 is the grade (A S, B SV, C SL, D Platinum on the gas charts we read), and position 8 mixes drive and airbags, where A is 2WD and B or D is 4WD. Position 11 tells you where it was built: W is Nissan's Kyushu plant in Japan, C is Smyrna, Tennessee. The new 2027 Rogue Hybrid reuses some of those letters with different meanings, which is where people get burned.

We read Nissan's own Part 565 VIN coding filings for the 2021, 2022, 2026 and 2027 model years in NHTSA's vPIC library on November 8, 2026. That covers the third-generation Rogue that launched for 2021 plus the hybrid Nissan filed in September 2026. It does not cover the Rogue Sport, which is a different, smaller vehicle with its own chart, so if your listing says Rogue Sport, read our Rogue Sport buying guide and the general Nissan VIN decoder instead.

Positions 1 to 3: Japan or Tennessee

Every Rogue chart we read lists two manufacturer codes. JN8 means Nissan, multipurpose passenger vehicle, and it pairs with plant code W, the Kyushu Plant. 5N1 also reads Nissan MPV, but the asterisk in the filing notes it is manufactured by Nissan North America, and it pairs with plant code C, the USA Smyrna Plant. The 2027 Rogue Hybrid chart lists only JN8 and Kyushu.

Honestly, the plant does not make one Rogue better than the other, and we would not pay more for either. It is still worth a glance, because a VIN where position 1 says Japan and position 11 says Smyrna is internally inconsistent, and that is the kind of thing a sloppy cloned VIN gets wrong.

Position 4: the engine letter

This is the one to check first. Nissan's February 2021 chart for the 2021 Rogue lists two engine codes: A for a 2.5-liter gasoline engine and B for a 1.5-liter gasoline engine. The 2022 chart, and the 2026 and 2027 gas charts after it, list only B for the 1.5-liter.

That 1.5-liter matters because it is the engine covered by Nissan's VC-Turbo bearing recall. We wrote that recall up in detail in our VC-Turbo engine recall guide, and the short version is that you want paperwork showing the oil pan inspection or engine work was done. That recall lists 2021 to 2024 Rogues with the 1.5-liter, so a B at position 4 on one of those years is your cue to go ask for it.

Now the trap. On the 2027 Rogue Hybrid chart, position 4 is A, and A there means a 1.5-liter gasoline engine paired with front and rear motors rated 151 kW and 100 kW. So an A on a 2021 gas Rogue and an A on a 2027 hybrid point to completely different powertrains. Check the year letter at position 10 before you read anything into position 4.

Positions 5 to 8: model, generation, grade and drive

Position 5 is T for Rogue on every chart we read, gas or hybrid. Position 6 is Nissan's model change number: 3 on the gas Rogue charts and 4 on the 2027 hybrid.

Position 7 is the grade. On the 2021, 2022 and 2026 gas charts it runs A for S, B for SV, C for SL and D for Platinum. The 2027 gas chart we read lists only A (S), B (SV) and D (Platinum), with no SL code at all. The hybrid is different again: A is SV, B is Platinum and C is SR. Yes, that means an A at position 7 is a base S on a gas Rogue and an SV on the hybrid. Annoying, and exactly why one generic decoder table online will hand you the wrong trim.

Position 8 is a combined drive and restraint code. On the 2021 and 2022 gas charts, A is 2WD and B is 4WD for the airbag setup without a far-side airbag, then C is 2WD and D is 4WD for the setup that adds a far-side airbag. The 2026 chart drops C and keeps A (2WD), B (4WD) and D (4WD with the far-side bag). The 2027 hybrid is 4WD only, with A and B separating the two airbag layouts. So if a seller calls a 2026 Rogue AWD and position 8 is A, ask why. If it says Platinum and position 7 is A, that is also a question, and our guide to decoders that show the wrong trim covers how to settle it.

Positions 9 to 17

Position 9 is the check digit, calculated under 49 CFR Part 565, and it catches most single-character typos, which our check digit explainer shows how to verify by hand. Position 10 is the model year: M for 2021, N for 2022, T for 2026 and V for 2027 in these filings, and the 10th digit guide has the full table. Position 11 is the plant, covered above. Positions 12 to 17 are the serial number, which Nissan lists as numeric characters from 000001 to 999999.

A worked example, and what a decode cannot tell you

Say a 2022 Rogue VIN starts 5N1BT3BB, then a check digit, then NC. Reading it: Nissan MPV built by Nissan North America, 1.5-liter, Rogue, third generation, SV grade, 4WD, 2022, Smyrna. That is a consistent SV AWD. If the listing calls it a Platinum, position 7 should be D, so you have a mismatch to sort out before you talk price.

Then paste the full VIN into NHTSA's free vPIC decoder and see if it agrees. A clean decode describes how the Rogue left the factory and nothing else. It will not show the VC-Turbo work, open recalls (use our Nissan recall lookup by VIN), CVT history, crashes, title brands or odometer problems. Our used Rogue buying guide covers the mechanical side, and if CVT coverage comes up, read our Nissan CVT extended warranty guide.

For the history itself, expect to pay something like $39.99 to $44.99 if you buy a single report on CARFAX's own site. We resell CARFAX and AutoCheck under license at CarVins, and we have no ownership tie or affiliation with CARFAX, AutoCheck or Experian. In recent weeks our guest price has hovered near $5.50, member pricing near $4.50, and the two-report bundle near $6.75. Those figures do shift, so confirm at checkout. And skip the PDF the seller texts you, since you have no way to know if it was edited. Pull the report yourself from the VIN you just decoded.

Sources

• Nissan 2021 model year VIN coding system, including 2021 Rogue (NHTSA vPIC)
• Nissan 2022 model year VIN coding system, including 2022 Rogue (NHTSA vPIC)
• Nissan 2026 model year VIN coding system, including 2026 Rogue (NHTSA vPIC)
• Nissan 2027 model year VIN coding update, including Rogue and Rogue Hybrid (NHTSA vPIC)
• 49 CFR 565.15: VIN content, check digit and year codes
• NHTSA vPIC VIN decoder