decoding R8 VIN's and the new v10

[willyjp]

It's probably no secret that SBFV10 and I are interested in 2010 production information and the "new nav.", since he and I both have 2010 cars (his a v10, mine a v8) coming around Sept. (his early Sept., mine later per latest info)

I have been throwing out a lot of stuff about decoding and reporting VIN's in various posts (and if you're bored with this topic, forgive me and move on), but I thought I'd put this all out there in a new thread, so we might get some more reporting as these 2010's are showing up, and especially for those of you shopping for v10's and wondering, "where does the new nav show up?"

THAT is what I'd like to find out by this "research" (if you will)
into VIN's. Also, it's kind of interesting to know what the VIN tells you.

For those who hesitate, a word about the "privacy" issue. The VIN of a car is very public if it's physically present. You can walk up and read it. In SOME jurisdictions perhaps, a private party can learn name and address of the registered owner by knowing a VIN. That's not true in my state, but it could be an issue some places. But dealers typically report VIN's in ads, and it's not something anyone can't learn if they see your car.

IF you wish to keep a VIN confidential, there's only ONE digit you need to conceal (or change) and that's digit 9, which is a "checksum" digit that must add up, along with the serial number (last 6 digits) and some other digits (formula is "secret", known to motor vehicle authorities, but not discoverable, by me at least).

If digit 9, the checksum validator, does not "add up" with the other digits (the letters have "values") in the VIN, the VIN is signaled to be "INVALID". So, if you want to share your VIN, but keep it from being "usable" for any purpose, disguise digit 9 (with an "X", since "X" does not occur in a VIN or a false value). Since digit 9 doesn't "mean" anything, changing it is no loss as far as info about the CAR (but if you gave it to the DMV, they'd reject it!)

Anyway, now that we're over our squeamishness about sharing VINs, take a look at what follows and then, when you see a 2010, let us know on the forum what its VIN told you and whether or not it has "new nav." Thanks for your interest!

Another note: SOME of what I say below is TENTATIVE. I THINK the descriptors I give for v8 & v10 engines and emissions systems apply to all, but I don't know for sure, since conventional Audi VIN references out there typically don't have R8 info! The same applies to the digits for restraint systems and the 2 digit "model" descriptor. I know what I've got here is correct for at least SOME R8's.

Altogether, the uncertainty about what I say is limited to digits 4,5,6,7 &8. The rest is pretty cut and dried and published lots of places. Of course, we don't know for SURE that the serial production #'s START with "1". Some low production car series, historically, have NOT always started with 1. If a lot of people report and/or critique what I say here, maybe we'll learn something we don't know yet!! Feedback and correction is welcome

Digits 1,2,3: "WUA"=Europe,Germany,Audi
Digits 4,5: emissions group and specific engine code;v8="DU", v10="AN"
Digits 6: restraint system code, seems to be "A" for all R8's
Digits 7,8: body/chassis "model" code, seems to be "FG" for all R8's(coupe?)
Digit 9: the checksum validator,differs for every serial #
Digit 10: the model year code; "9"=2009, "A"=2010
Digit 11: place of final assembly, "N"=Neckarsulm for all R8's
Digits 12-17: serial production number for year & place;
Last 9 digits referred to as the "unique identifier" for a given car.
Evidence suggests to me that engine group can change without beginning a new series, since v8's and v10's SEEM to be numbered in the same sequence this year. That is an assumption, and I could be incorrect!!

So, v8 should be WUADUAFGxAN00xxxx (since they build <10,000)
and a V10 WUAANAFGxAN00xxxx

I'd love it if people would put up some 2010 VIN's they've seen, and if any of this is wrong or doesn't compute, we'll learn something about the VIN's of the R8.

[Davey_Dee]

WUAANAFG3AN000307 is the VIN of the V10 on Ebay situated in Naples.

[SBFV10]

Davey_Dee.....this car "should" be a 2010 early production car. If it isn't a "demo or pre-regular customer production car", and if it is US bound, then it should have the newer nav. system. These earlier cars, and cars not going to the US market may NOT follow the "new nav. rule" that "all 2010 US customer production cars" will have the new nav. system.

Steve

P.S. They Naples car, if Naples Fl., shows in it's pictures a button labeled "media" which is a good sign, but it also shows a button labeled Fm/Am. Some of the newest cars seem to say "Radio" there instead. So.....who know exactly if that car is the latest nav. system or not......but it does mention real time traffic which is on the newer system, so that is a good sign! Steve

[Herbert]

IF you wish to keep a VIN confidential, there's only ONE digit you need to conceal (or change) and that's digit 9, which is a "checksum" digit that must add up, along with the serial number (last 6 digits) and some other digits (formula is "secret", known to motor vehicle authorities, but not discoverable, by me at least).

If digit 9, the checksum validator, does not "add up" with the other digits (the letters have "values") in the VIN, the VIN is signaled to be "INVALID". So, if you want to share your VIN, but keep it from being "usable" for any purpose, disguise digit 9 (with an "X", since "X" does not occur in a VIN or a false value). Since digit 9 doesn't "mean" anything, changing it is no loss as far as info about the CAR (but if you gave it to the DMV, they'd reject it!)

The formula for the check digit is here. Note that X can indeed be present in a VIN, and in particular in the ninth position. A calculator for the check digit is here.

[willyjp]

The formula for the check digit is here. Note that X can indeed be present in a VIN, and in particular in the ninth position. A calculator for the check digit is here.

Yes! After I wrote that, I realized, that IS an error. The letters that are EXCLUDED from VIN's are I, O & Q. U and Z are additionally excluded from the (VAG) model year sequence. If you want to "neuter" your VIN, put "I, O or Q" in digit 9. Or, just change digit 9 so it won't equal the value calculation of the othr digits (ref. given in post above)

[HovyR8]

Willy & SBFV10,

What would you decipher from the following VIN?

WUAANAFGXAN000319

I can see the A for 2010 and N for city of assembly, anything else?

[SBFV10]

I'll defer to Willy and Herbert!
Steve

[desperado]

Here's the official word on VIN numbers. (click on the image for a larger version):

[HovyR8]

Thanks Desperado, this is great!

[SBFV10]

HovyR8...I tried the calculator Herbert points to above and this is what it shows:
http://www.alton-moore.net/vin_calculation.php
A Valid VIN!
Steve