To decode a Nissan or Infiniti VIN, start with the first three characters: 1N4 is a US-built Nissan car, 1N6 a US-built truck, 5N1 a US-built SUV or crossover, 3N1 a Mexico-built car, and JN1 and JN8 are Japan-built cars and SUVs. Position 4 often flags the engine, positions 5-8 cover the model line and body, 9 is the check digit, 10 is the model year, and 11 is the plant. Read the engine letter together with the year, because Nissan reuses letters, and then run recalls and a history report on that exact VIN.
It is mid October 2026, and the Altima shows why Nissan VINs reward a careful read: the same sedan came with a four or a V6, and the code letters changed meaning after the redesign. Everything below comes from patterns we ran through NHTSA's free vPIC decoder this week. For the general federal layout, see how to decode a VIN.
Positions 1-3: Nissan's WMI codes
The World Manufacturer Identifier tells you which Nissan company built the vehicle and what type it is. In vPIC, 1N4 is Nissan North America, passenger car, and 1N6 is the same company, truck. 5N1 is Nissan North America, multipurpose vehicle, and 5N3 is listed for Infiniti SUVs. 3N1 and 3N6 are Nissan Mexicana, car and truck. JN1 and JN8 are Nissan Motor Company in Japan, car and SUV, and JNK shows up for Infiniti cars. One that surprises people is KNM, which vPIC lists as Renault Samsung Motors. A 2017 Rogue pattern starting KNM came back built in Busan, South Korea. That is a normal factory build for US buyers.
So the same model can carry three different WMIs. Our 2017 Rogue tests decoded as Smyrna, Tennessee with 5N1, Kyushu, Japan with JN8, and Busan with KNM. If the WMI and the plant letter disagree, slow down; that can mean a mistyped or doctored VIN.
Position 4 often flags the engine, but letters change by model and year
Nissan often puts the engine code early. On 2016 Altima patterns, 1N4AL3AP decoded with the 2.5-liter four, and 1N4BL3AP with the 3.5-liter V6. Then we ran a 2019 Altima starting 1N4BL4BV and the B came back as a 2.5-liter, because the redesigned car uses its own codes. That is why reading position 4 alone from an old chart gets people burned. On the Titan, 1N6AA1E decoded as the 5.6-liter gas V8 and 1N6BA1F as a 5.0-liter diesel, which is a very different truck to own. And A on a 2017 Murano decoded as a 3.5-liter V6, so letters do not carry across models either. Always pair position 4 with position 10, or let vPIC do it.
Positions 5-8 carry the model line, body, and restraint or trim details. What you want is the decoded model, body, engine, and drive matching the listing and the car in front of you.
Position 9: check digit
The ninth character is a calculated check under 49 CFR 565.15. We tested a dummy 2016 Altima, 1N4AL3AP1GC000001, and vPIC said the check digit was correct. Swap only the plant letter from C to N and it fails. That catches fat-finger typos and lazy fakes. Cloners copy a real car's VIN, so the math passes on purpose; read our page on how to spot VIN cloning and match the dash plate, door-jamb label, and title.
Positions 10-11: model year and plant
Position 10 runs G for 2016, H for 2017, J for 2018, K for 2019, L for 2020, M for 2021, N for 2022, P for 2023, R for 2024, S for 2025, and T for 2026. Position 11 is the plant. Our decodes returned C for Smyrna, Tennessee (Altima, Rogue, Pathfinder, Leaf, QX60), N for Canton, Mississippi (Altima, Frontier, Titan, Murano), Y and L for Aguascalientes, Mexico (Sentra and Kicks), W for Kyushu, M for Tochigi (a Q50), and P for Busan. Positions 12-17 are the serial number.
The plant letter can matter for recalls. Nissan's recall 23V-093 for jackknife keys covered 712,458 2014-2020 Rogue and 2017-2022 Rogue Sport vehicles, limited to S grade cars with that key built at the Kyushu, Smyrna, and Renault plants, per the Part 573 report. The VIN still decides it, though. Those ranges are marked not sequential.
The CVT years: what the VIN can and cannot tell you
vPIC lists a continuously variable transmission on many Nissan patterns, including the 2017 Rogue, Murano, and Pathfinder we ran. Nissan has extended CVT coverage more than once. A 2020 owner letter filed with NHTSA extended it to 7 years or 84,000 miles on certain 2012-2017 Versa sedans, 2014-2017 Versa Notes, 2013-2017 Sentras, 2013-2016 Altimas, and 2013-2017 Jukes, and a 2022 bulletin did the same for 2014-2018 Rogue and 2015-2018 Pathfinder, up from 60 months or 60,000 miles. That bulletin also says some owners opted out through the class action, so coverage is per VIN. Honestly, most of these cars have aged past 84 months by now. Ask for CVT service and replacement records, and treat a shudder on the test drive as a real cost.
Recalls and history after the decode
Run the exact VIN on Nissan's recall lookup, or Infiniti's for those cars. Older Nissans need extra care: Nissan's Takata airbag page lists 2001-2003 Maxima, 2002-2004 Pathfinder, 2002-2006 Sentra, 2007-2011 Versa sedans, and 2007-2012 Versa hatchbacks, and our Takata recall check guide explains what to ask. The NHTSA recall check by VIN guide covers the federal lookup.
None of this shows title brands, auction damage, rental use, or odometer readings. That comes from a history report. Pull your own, since a seller's PDF can be trimmed before you ever see it. As of mid October 2026, a CARFAX report through us runs about $5.50 as a guest or about $4.50 as a member, and a CARFAX plus AutoCheck bundle is about $6.75, against roughly $39.99 to $44.99 at retail. Confirm the price at checkout. We are a licensed CARFAX and AutoCheck reseller, not affiliated with CARFAX, AutoCheck, or Experian. Then read it with our how to read a CARFAX report guide.
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