How To Tell If A Toyota Was Built In Japan

Chances are if you're at all familiar with cars, you've heard of the Toyota Motor Company. It has been around since the 1930s, delivering cars, trucks, and SUVs of varying quality and price to drivers. Toyota has grown to become a global juggernaut as well, manufacturing its vehicles in multiple different countries. While there are some used Toyota models you should steer clear of at all costs, there are also loads of new and used ones worth buying. Of course, it finds its roots in and is currently headquartered in Japan, so it's no surprise that many of its models are built there.

If you're curious about whether or not your Toyota was created in Japan, the easiest way to do it is simply by looking at the Vehicle Identification Number, or VIN. The number is assigned to your vehicle as soon as it's completed. If your VIN starts with a "J," then it was manufactured in Japan. You can quickly find your VIN in several places, too, including on a metal plate on the lower-right corner of the dashboard, on the certification label inside the driver's-side doorjamb, and, on some models, stamped underneath the passenger seat.

But what if you want to know if your Toyota was manufactured in a country other than Japan? The VIN has you covered there as well.

You can access all kinds of information about your specific Toyota vehicle by looking at the VIN. Digits four through eight are called the Vehicle Description Section, where the body style, engine type, seat belt/airbag types, vehicle series, and model line are all chronicled. Digit nine is used internally, digit 10 is for the model year, digit 11 is the plant code, and the remaining six digits are the vehicle's unique serial number. This is all handy information, but how does one make sense of the various World Manufacturer Identifiers?

Aside from "J" meaning the vehicle was created in Japan, there are a few other main WMI codes you can look for on your Toyota. Those that begin with  "1," "4," or "5" mean that your Toyota model is one of those manufactured in the United States, while those with "2" were created in Canada and those with "3" were assembled in Mexico. There's also a chance that you come across VINs that begin with "6," "8," "9," "S," "M," "K," and "V," which stand for Australia, Argentina, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Thailand, Korea, and France, respectively.

Toyota has global manufacturing reach, with some of its models that are likely future classics being made all around the world. All you have to do is look at your all-knowing VIN to determine if your car came from Toyota's hub in Japan or elsewhere on the map.