Acura TL VIN Decoder

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

This page is the dedicated Acura TL hub, covering every model year sold: 1996 through 2014. Below you’ll find the real chassis and engine codes the TL carries inside its VIN across all four generations, the two plants that have built one, a position-by-position guide, and where to find the VIN on the car. We decoded real, checksum-valid TL VINs pulled from dealer listings and auction sites (Edmunds, Cars & Bids, BidCars) through NHTSA’s official vPIC database, so every code below is verified, not guessed at.

About the Acura TL

The TL launched for the 1996 model year as Acura’s replacement for the Vigor, built on a stretched version of the Honda Accord/Inspire platform for the first two generations before moving to a bespoke chassis. It ran for four generations and 19 model years before Acura folded it, along with the smaller TSX, into the single TLX nameplate starting with the 2015 model year. If you’re decoding a 2015-or-newer Acura sedan, you want the Acura TLX VIN decoder instead; this page covers 2014-and-older TL VINs only.

Generation	Model years	Notable engines	Type-S / SH-AWD	Built at
1st gen	1996-1998	2.5L G25A4 inline-5, 3.2L V6	Not offered	Sayama, Japan
2nd gen	1999-2003	3.2L V6 (J32A1)	Type-S added for 2002-2003 (3.2L, 260 hp)	Marysville, Ohio
3rd gen	2004-2008	3.2L V6 (J32A3), 3.5L V6 (J35A8)	Type-S returned for 2007-2008 with a larger 3.5L V6	Marysville, Ohio
4th gen	2009-2014	3.5L V6 (J35Z6), 3.7L V6 (J37A4)	SH-AWD offered for the first time on a TL, standard on 3.7L models	Marysville, Ohio

One detail that surprised us while verifying VINs for this page: the TL was not always built in Ohio. The first generation (1996-1998) was assembled at Honda’s Sayama plant in Saitama, Japan, the same plant that built the Honda Vigor/Inspire it was based on. Production moved to Marysville, Ohio with the redesigned 1999 second generation and stayed there through the TL’s final 2014 model year. “Always built in Marysville” only holds from 1999 onward.

The Type-S name also has a more layered history than a lot of summaries suggest. It first appeared for the 2002 model year on the second-generation TL with a 260-horsepower 3.2L V6, went on hiatus for the redesigned 2004-2006 third-generation base cars, then came back for 2007-2008 with a larger, 286-horsepower 3.5L V6 (J35A8), Brembo brakes, and a firmer suspension tune. SH-AWD, Acura’s torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system, didn’t appear on a TL until the fully redesigned fourth generation for 2009, where it was paired with the 3.7L V6.

Acura TL 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. These are the two WMIs we confirmed on real TL VINs, and they map directly onto the plant change described above:

WMI	Country	Manufacturer / plant	TL generations built here
JH4	Japan	Honda Motor Co., Ltd., Sayama plant	1st gen only (1996-1998)
19U	USA	American Honda Motor Co. (Acura), Marysville, Ohio	2nd through 4th gen (1999-2014)

If a VIN presented as a 1999-or-newer US-market TL starts with anything other than 19U, or a VIN presented as a 1996-1998 TL doesn’t start with JH4, treat the listing as suspect and decode the full VIN with the tool at the top of this page before trusting it.

How to decode an Acura TL VIN, position by position

Every TL 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 the plant changed exactly once, from Sayama to Marysville, between the 1st and 2nd generations, this block alone tells you whether you’re looking at an original 1996-1998 TL or a 1999-2014 one, before you even check the model year character.

Positions 4 to 8: Vehicle Descriptor Section (VDS)

This is where the engine and, on later generations, the drivetrain show up. Unlike the TLX, which spells out a clean three-letter chassis code at positions 4-6, the TL’s VDS is looser: positions 4 and 5 read UA consistently, position 6 is the strongest engine/generation signal, and positions 7-8 shift with trim and equipment (navigation, technology package) rather than resolving to one lookup table. Here’s what we confirmed directly against real, checksum-valid VINs decoded through NHTSA’s vPIC database:
1st generation (1996-1998), positions 4-6:

Code	Engine	Confirmed on
UA2	2.5L G25A4 inline-5	1996 and 1997 VINs
UA3	3.2L V6	1996 and 1998 VINs

2nd generation (1999-2003), positions 4-6:

Code	Engine	Confirmed on
UA5	3.2L V6 (J32A1)	1999 and 2001 VINs

We were not able to pull a real, checksum-valid VIN for a 2002-2003 Type-S to confirm its VDS code directly, so we’re not guessing at one here; the decoder above will still return the correct answer for a Type-S VIN even though this page doesn’t table it.
3rd generation (2004-2008), positions 4-6:

Code	Engine	Confirmed on
UA6	3.2L V6 (J32A3), base	2004 and 2006 VINs
UA7	3.5L V6 (J35A8), Type-S	2008 VINs

4th generation (2009-2014), positions 4-6:

Code	Engine	Confirmed on
UA8	3.5L V6 (J35Z6), FWD	2009 and 2014 VINs
UA9	3.7L V6 (J37A4), SH-AWD	2012 and 2014 VINs

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. Every VIN used to build this page passed NHTSA’s check-digit validation except one we deliberately tested and discarded because it failed; mistype a single character anywhere in a TL VIN and the math stops matching, which is why any compliant decoder, state DMV, or the NHTSA recall lookup will reject it.

Position 10: Model year

The 10th character maps to model year on the standard 30-year cycle every VIN-compliant vehicle uses. Because the TL was only built from 1996 through 2014, here is the complete, gap-free range that actually applies to this model, with no skipped years:

Char	Year	Char	Year	Char	Year
T	1996	3	2003	A	2010
V	1997	4	2004	B	2011
W	1998	5	2005	C	2012
X	1999	6	2006	D	2013
Y	2000	7	2007	E	2014
1	2001	8	2008
2	2002	9	2009

We confirmed T, V, W, X, 1, 4, 6, 8, 9, C, and E directly against real TL VINs decoding to 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012, and 2014 respectively, spanning all four generations. The letters I, O, and Q are always skipped because they resemble 1 and 0, which is why you won’t see them in this table or anywhere else in a VIN.

Position 11: Assembly plant

A single character identifies the specific factory, and it lines up exactly with the WMI split described above:

Char	Plant	Generations
C	Sayama, Saitama, Japan	1st gen (1996-1998)
A	Marysville Auto Plant, Marysville, Ohio	2nd through 4th gen (1999-2014)

Positions 12 to 17: Serial number

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

Where to find the VIN on an Acura TL

• Lower-left corner of the windshield, visible from outside the car
• Driver’s side door jamb sticker
• Stamped on the engine bay firewall or shock tower
• 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. On the earliest 1996-1998 cars, now approaching 30 years old, double-check that the windshield and door jamb numbers actually match, since glass and door hardware are more likely to have been swapped at some point.

Check Acura TL recalls and safety information

The TL has been the subject of several notable NHTSA campaigns, pulled directly from NHTSA’s recall API rather than a summary site. A 2008 recall (08V091000) covered 273,000 model year 2004-2008 TL vehicles whose power steering hose could deteriorate under prolonged high underhood temperatures, crack, and leak fluid onto a hot catalytic converter, a fire risk; a 2012 recall (12V222000) expanded that fix to remaining 2007-2008 TL vehicles. Separately, the TL has been swept into three distinct Takata driver-airbag-inflator campaigns: a 2016 recall (16V061000) covering 2009-2014 TL models with a dual-stage inflator susceptible to moisture intrusion, and two 2019 recalls (19V182000 and 19V500000) covering 2002-2003, 2004-2006, and 2009-2014 TL models whose replacement inflators could themselves degrade and rupture.

To check your specific TL:

1. Decode the VIN with the tool above to confirm the exact model year and generation
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, which matters on a car this old: even a 1996 TL with an open Takata campaign qualifies for a free fix today.

Frequently asked questions

How do I decode an Acura TL 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 generation, model year, engine, drivetrain, trim, plant of origin, and any open NHTSA recalls. No sign-up.

Is the Acura TL the same as the TLX?

No, but the TLX is its direct successor. Acura discontinued the TL (and the smaller TSX) after the 2014 model year and replaced both with the single TLX nameplate starting in 2015. If your VIN is from a 2015-or-newer Acura sedan, it will decode as a TLX, not a TL; use the Acura TLX VIN decoder for those. A 2014-or-older TL VIN will never decode as a TLX.

Where is the VIN on an Acura TL?

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.

Was every Acura TL built in Marysville, Ohio?

No. The first generation (1996-1998) was built at Honda’s Sayama plant in Japan and carries the JH4 WMI. Every TL from the redesigned 1999 second generation through 2014 was built at Marysville, Ohio and carries the 19U WMI. We verified this against multiple decoded VINs from both eras.

How do I tell which TL generation I have from the VIN?

Start with the WMI: JH4 means a 1996-1998 first-generation car, 19U means 1999-2014. From there, position 6 of the VIN narrows the engine: 2 or 3 on a JH4 VIN means the 2.5L five-cylinder or 3.2L V6 respectively; on a 19U VIN, 5 points to the 1999-2003 3.2L, 6 to the 2004-2008 base 3.2L or 3.5L, 7 to the 2007-2008 Type-S 3.5L, 8 to the 2009-2014 FWD 3.5L, and 9 to the 2009-2014 SH-AWD 3.7L. Position 10 then confirms the exact model year.

Is the Acura TL VIN decoder really free?

Yes. VinDecoderPlus decodes every TL 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 TL 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 TL VIN free

Type your 17-character TL 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
• How to check if a car is stolen by VIN for verifying a used TL before you buy