Acura RSX VIN Decoder

Decode any Acura RSX VIN free in under three seconds. Type the 17-character vehicle identification number into the decoder above and pull the model year, trim, engine, transmission, plant of origin, and open NHTSA recalls. No account, no credit card, no email gate.

This page is the dedicated Acura RSX hub. Below you’ll find the real chassis and engine codes the RSX carries inside its own VIN, the two Japanese plants that built it, a position-by-position guide, and where to physically find the VIN on the car. Every code below was checked against real, checksum-valid RSX VINs decoded through NHTSA’s vPIC database, not guessed from a spec sheet.

About the Acura RSX

The RSX replaced the Integra as Acura’s compact sporty coupe, launching for the 2002 model year and running for exactly five model years before Acura discontinued it after 2006. In Japan the same car was sold as the Honda Integra (chassis code DC5), which is why “DC5” shows up constantly in enthusiast threads even though the VIN itself never spells that out directly. Acura didn’t replace the RSX with a direct successor right away; the compact sport-coupe slot sat empty until other Acura products eventually covered parts of that ground, and the Integra name itself only came back in 2023 on an unrelated new model. The RSX Type S, with its high-revving 2.0-liter four, is the version enthusiasts still chase today.

The lineup was simple: a base trim and the performance-oriented Type S, each carrying its own engine.

Trim	Model years	Engine	Power (NHTSA-listed)	Transmission
Base	2002-2006	2.0L K20A3 inline-4	160 hp	5-speed manual or 5-speed automatic
Type S	2002-2004	2.0L K20A2 inline-4 (i-VTEC)	200 hp	6-speed manual only
Type S	2005-2006	2.0L K20Z1 inline-4 (i-VTEC)	210 hp	6-speed manual only

The Type S power bump for 2005 was a real engine change, not a marketing relabel: Honda swapped the K20A2 for the updated K20Z1, and every 2005-2006 Type S VIN we decoded came back with K20Z1 and 210 hp, while every 2002-2004 Type S VIN came back K20A2 and 200 hp. The base K20A3 stayed 160 hp on every base-trim VIN we checked across the model run, from 2002 through 2006.

Acura RSX WMI codes (positions 1 to 3)

The first three characters of a VIN form the World Manufacturer Identifier, assigned by SAE on behalf of ISO. Every RSX VIN we decoded, base and Type S, every model year, carried the same WMI:

WMI	Country	Manufacturer	Notes
JH4	Japan	Honda Motor Co., Ltd.	Every US-market RSX, base and Type S alike

Acura has no separate manufacturer code from Honda in the VIN system; Acura-badged Honda products carry Honda’s own WMI. If a VIN presented as an RSX doesn’t start with JH4, decode it with the tool at the top of this page before trusting the listing.

How to decode an Acura RSX VIN, position by position

Every RSX VIN uses the 17-character ISO 3779 standard, split into a World Manufacturer Identifier, a Vehicle Descriptor Section, a check digit, and a Vehicle Identifier Section.

Positions 1 to 3: World Manufacturer Identifier

See the WMI table above. Because every US-market RSX carries JH4, this block doesn’t discriminate the way it does on nameplates built at multiple manufacturers or countries.

Positions 4 to 8: Vehicle Descriptor Section (VDS)

Positions 4 to 6 read DC5 on every RSX VIN we decoded, the same chassis code the car carries as the Japanese-market Integra. Position 7 and position 8 are where trim, engine, and transmission actually separate:

Positions 4-8	Position 7 (transmission)	Position 8 (engine/trim)	What it means
DC530	3 (manual)	0	Type S, 6-speed manual, K20A2 or K20Z1 depending on year
DC538	3 (manual)	8	Base trim, 5-speed manual, K20A3
DC548	4 (automatic)	8	Base trim, 5-speed automatic, K20A3

We didn’t find, and don’t expect to find, a DC540 or any other automatic Type S code: Acura only ever sold the Type S with the 6-speed manual, so no automatic version exists to encode. Position 8 is the character that separates the Type S engine family (0) from the base K20A3 (8); position 7 separates manual (3) from automatic (4) within whichever engine family position 8 already selected.

Position 9: Check digit

The check digit catches typos. It’s calculated from the other 16 characters using a fixed weighting table and modulo-11 math, and the result is either a digit 0 through 9 or the letter X. We saw both forms on real RSX VINs, including one 2003 Type S ending in X3C019500 where position 9 itself is X. Mistype a single character anywhere in an RSX VIN and the check digit stops matching, which is why NHTSA’s recall lookup and any compliant decoder will reject a bad entry.

Position 10: Model year

The RSX only ran for five model years, so only five characters on the standard 30-year cycle apply. Here’s the complete table for the years the RSX actually used:

Char	Model year
2	2002
3	2003
4	2004
5	2005
6	2006

We confirmed all five characters directly against real RSX VINs decoding cleanly to each of 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006 through NHTSA’s vPIC system. As with every VIN-compliant vehicle, the letters I, O, and Q are never used anywhere in a VIN because they can be misread as 1 and 0; that’s a standard-wide rule, not something specific to the RSX.

Position 11: Assembly plant

Here’s a detail the marketing materials tend to gloss over: the RSX wasn’t built at a single plant its entire run. Every 2002 and 2003 model-year VIN we decoded came back from Sayama; every 2004, 2005, and 2006 model-year VIN we decoded came back from Suzuka.

Char	Plant	Model years we confirmed it on
C	Sayama Plant, Sayama, Saitama, Japan	2002-2003
S	Suzuka Plant, Suzuka, Mie, Japan	2004-2006

Some general histories describe the RSX’s production move to Suzuka as happening later, but every 2004 model-year VIN we actually decoded through NHTSA, base and Type S alike, already shows the Suzuka plant code. We’re reporting what the VINs themselves say rather than repeating an unverified date.

Positions 12 to 17: Serial number

The final six characters are the production sequence stamped on your specific RSX as it left the line. Combined with the previous 11 characters, this makes every RSX VIN globally unique; two Type S cars from the same model year and plant still differ here.

RSX trim levels and how they appear in the VIN

A decoded RSX VIN won’t spell out “Type S” or “Base” as a text string; it’s reconstructed from the VDS codes above (specifically position 8, then position 7 for transmission). Beyond the engine and transmission split, Acura offered a leather seating package on the base trim and standard leather with the Bose premium audio system on the Type S, but neither of those option packages is independently encoded in the VIN. When you decode an RSX VIN with the tool above, the result reconstructs trim, engine, and transmission from the full VDS rather than from a single character read in isolation.

Where to find the VIN on an Acura RSX

• Lower-left corner of the windshield, visible from outside the car
• Driver’s side door jamb sticker
• Stamped on the engine bay firewall
• Vehicle title, registration, insurance card

The windshield and door jamb are the fastest to check on a used-car lot. The firewall stamp is the one to check if you suspect a cloned or re-titled car; it’s physically tied to the vehicle and far harder to alter than an adhesive label, which matters on a car this old with two decades of ownership changes behind it.

Acura RSX recalls and safety

The RSX’s recall history is short. NHTSA’s database shows two Acura-issued campaigns tied specifically to the RSX, both limited to the final 2006 model year. The first, campaign 06V270000 from mid-2006, was a paperwork correction: certain owner’s manuals listed the wrong contact information for NHTSA’s own safety hotline, and Honda mailed a corrective insert card. The second, campaign 13V246000 from 2013, is the one worth checking if you own a 2006 RSX: it covers vehicles built between January 18 and August 12, 2006, whose brake booster could lose vacuum assist when the pedal was depressed, lengthening stopping distance. Honda replaced the booster assembly free of charge under that campaign; the related recall also covered 2006-2007 Honda S2000 models built in the same window. Outside of those two, most other RSX-tagged entries in NHTSA’s records are aftermarket headlamp recalls from third-party lighting manufacturers, unrelated to how Acura built the car.

To check your specific RSX:

1. Decode the VIN with the tool above to confirm the exact model year and plant
2. Cross-reference the 17-character VIN with NHTSA’s recall database
3. Contact your nearest Acura dealer for any open campaign repair

Recall repairs are free regardless of vehicle age, mileage, or ownership history, even on a car this far past its original warranty.

Frequently asked questions

How do I decode an Acura RSX VIN?

Type the 17-character VIN from the windshield, door jamb, or title into the decoder at the top of this page. Results return in seconds and include model year, trim, engine, transmission, plant of origin, and any open NHTSA recalls. No sign-up.

What replaced the Acura RSX?

Nothing directly. Acura discontinued the RSX after the 2006 model year and didn’t launch a like-for-like replacement in that size and price class right away. If you’re cross-shopping, the closest Acura ended up offering later was smaller and positioned differently; the RSX’s specific formula, a Honda Integra-based sport compact with an available high-revving Type S, was never really repeated until the Integra name itself returned in 2023 on a separate, unrelated model.

How can I tell an RSX Type S from a base model using just the VIN?

Look at position 8. A 0 means Type S; an 8 means base trim. Position 7 then tells you the transmission: 3 for manual, 4 for automatic. Since the Type S was manual-only, you’ll only ever see DC530 on a Type S, never a DC540.

Where is the VIN on an Acura RSX?

The two easiest spots are the lower-left corner of the windshield, readable from outside the car, and the driver-side door jamb sticker. Both are required by federal labeling regulation. The firewall stamp in the engine bay carries the same number and is harder to tamper with, which matters more on a 20-plus-year-old car than it would on something newer.

Were all RSX models built in the same factory?

No. Every 2002-2003 RSX VIN we decoded traces to the Sayama plant in Saitama, Japan, while every 2004-2006 VIN we decoded traces to the Suzuka plant in Mie, Japan. Position 11 of the VIN is the character that tells you which one, C for Sayama or S for Suzuka.

Is the Acura RSX VIN decoder really free?

Yes. VinDecoderPlus decodes every RSX VIN free of charge with no sign-up. The basic decode covers everything the factory stamped into the VIN. A full vehicle history report (accident records, odometer history, prior ownership, salvage status) is available as a paid upgrade if you need it, which is worth considering on a car this old.

Can an Acura RSX VIN be faked?

The 17 characters can be retyped on a counterfeit plate, but the check digit at position 9 catches most single-character changes through math, and the firewall stamp is physically tied to the original car. If the windshield and door-jamb VINs match but the firewall stamp doesn’t, treat the car as potentially cloned. The guide how to check if a car is stolen by VIN walks through the verification steps.

Decode any Acura RSX VIN free

Type your 17-character RSX VIN into the decoder at the top of this page for an instant breakdown. To go deeper into VIN structure or check other Acura models:

• Acura VIN decoder hub for the brand-wide guide
• How to read a VIN number for the general standard
• What every character in a VIN means for a position-by-position reference
• Classic car VIN decoder for pre-1981 vehicles
• VIN decoder vs. vehicle history report for what a decode covers vs. what it doesn’t