Buick VIN Decoder
Decode any Buick VIN free in seconds. Enter the 17-character vehicle identification number from your Buick into the decoder above and get the model, year, engine, trim, plant of origin, and recall status instantly, with no sign-up and no credit card.
This page is the Buick VIN hub. Below you’ll find Buick-specific WMI codes, the brand’s plant codes, a position-by-position guide to reading a Buick VIN, where to find the VIN on your Buick, and direct links to the Buick VIN decoders for individual models.
About Buick
Scottish-born inventor David Dunbar Buick founded the Buick Auto-Vim and Power Company in Detroit in 1899 and incorporated it as the Buick Motor Company in 1903. The company’s valve-in-head engine and William C. Durant’s manufacturing muscle turned it into an industry powerhouse in Flint, Michigan, and in 1908 Durant used Buick’s profits to found General Motors. Buick is the founding brand of GM and one of the oldest surviving automobile nameplates in the world.
Today Buick sits above Chevrolet and below Cadillac in GM’s lineup, marketed as the corporation’s accessible near-luxury brand. Its US-market showroom is small but focused: the Enclave three-row SUV, the Envision compact SUV, the Envista subcompact SUV, and the Encore GX. Since the mid-2000s, China has been Buick’s largest market by volume, sold through the SAIC-GM joint venture. In August 2026, GM and SAIC extended that joint venture through 2047, with GM committing to grow Cadillac and Buick in China while phasing out Chevrolet there, underlining just how central the brand is to GM’s China strategy.
Assembly is similarly split across continents. The Enclave is built in the United States at GM’s Lansing Delta Township plant in Michigan, the only current Buick assembled domestically. The Envision is built in China by SAIC-GM at the Dong Yue plant and imported to the US (GM has announced plans to shift its successor to the Fairfax Assembly plant in Kansas around 2028). The Envista and Encore GX are sourced from GM Korea’s Bupyeong plant.
Buick WMI codes (positions 1-3)
The first three characters of your VIN, the World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI), tell you who built the vehicle and where. The WMI is assigned by SAE International on behalf of ISO, and NHTSA’s public vPIC database confirms which WMIs decode to Buick. Here are the WMIs you’ll encounter on Buick vehicles:
| WMI | Country of build | Vehicle type |
|---|---|---|
| 1G4 | USA | Buick passenger cars (LaCrosse, Regal, Verano; discontinued sedan lines) |
| 5GA | USA | Buick Enclave, built at Lansing Delta Township, Michigan (current) |
| KL4 | South Korea | Buick Encore, Encore GX, and Envista, built by GM Korea at Bupyeong (current) |
| LRB | China | Buick Envision, built by SAIC-GM at the Dong Yue plant (current, imported to the US) |
| 3G4 | Mexico | Buick passenger cars (older Verano-era production) |
| 2G4 | Canada | Buick passenger cars, built at GM’s Oshawa plant (historical) |
If your Buick VIN begins with any of the codes above, it’s a genuine Buick. A Buick VIN starting with an unlisted WMI may indicate a rebadge, a regional partner build, or a counterfeit. Decode the full VIN with the tool above to confirm.
How to read a Buick VIN: position by position
Every Buick VIN built since 1981 uses the ISO 3779 17-character standard. The 17 characters split into three blocks:
| Block | Positions | What it encodes |
|---|---|---|
| World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI) | 1 – 3 | Country and manufacturer |
| Vehicle Descriptor Section (VDS) | 4 – 8 | Model, body, engine, restraints |
| Check digit | 9 | Math-validated control character |
| Vehicle Identifier Section (VIS) | 10 – 17 | Model year, plant, serial |
Here is what each position means specifically on a Buick:
Positions 1-3: World Manufacturer Identifier
See the WMI table above. The country code at position 1 tells you where the vehicle was assembled, not where GM or Buick is headquartered. A Buick assembled outside the United States (South Korea, China, historically Canada or Mexico) carries the country code of that assembly plant.
Positions 4-8: Vehicle Descriptor Section (VDS)
Like most GM brands, Buick uses this block to encode the model line, body style, restraint system, and, on later characters, the engine. Position 8 in particular commonly identifies the engine code on modern Buicks (for example, the turbocharged 2.0-liter four fitted to the Envision and Encore GX).
Position 9: Check digit
The check digit is the most important single character in any VIN. It is calculated from the other 16 characters using a fixed weighting table and modulo-11 math. If even one character of a Buick VIN is mistyped, the check digit will not match, and any compliant decoder, DMV, or insurance system will flag the VIN as invalid.
Position 10: Model year
The 10th character maps to a model year on a 30-year cycle. Skim the chart below to translate yours:
| Char | Year | Char | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| R | 2024 | F | 2015 |
| S | 2025 | E | 2014 |
| T | 2026 | D | 2013 |
| V | 2027 | C | 2012 |
| W | 2028 | B | 2011 |
| X | 2029 | A | 2010 |
| Y | 2030 | 9 | 2009 |
| 1 | 2031 | 8 | 2008 |
| 2 | 2032 | 7 | 2007 |
| 3 | 2033 | 6 | 2006 |
The letters I, O, and Q are never used in any VIN, including Buick, because they look too similar to the digits 1 and 0.
Position 11: Assembly plant
The single character at position 11 identifies the specific factory. Confirmed current Buick plant codes: J (Lansing Delta Township, Michigan, Enclave), D (Dong Yue, China, Envision), B (Bupyeong, South Korea, Envista and Encore GX). Older Buicks carry other plant codes tied to now-closed or repurposed GM factories.
Positions 12-17: Serial number
The final six characters are the production sequence number stamped on your specific Buick as it rolled off the line. Combined with the previous 11 characters, this makes every Buick VIN globally unique.
Where to find the VIN on a Buick
You can find your Buick VIN in several places. The lower-left windshield and the door jamb are the easiest to read; the others are useful when one of those labels has been damaged or replaced.
- Lower-left corner of the windshield, visible from outside
- Driver’s side door jamb sticker (VIN, trim, paint, and options codes)
- Stamped on the engine block or front frame rail under the hood
- Vehicle title, registration, and Buick Owner Center account
If your Buick is older and built before 1981, the chassis number is shorter than 17 characters and follows an older GM-specific format. For pre-1981 vehicles, use our classic car VIN decoder guide.
Check Buick recalls and safety information
Open and historic recalls on Buick vehicles are tracked by national transport authorities. The fastest way to check a specific Buick:
- Decode the VIN with the tool above to confirm the model and model year
- Cross-reference the 17-character VIN with the Buick Owner Center recall lookup and NHTSA’s recall database
- Review any open safety actions and contact your nearest Buick dealer for free repair
Recalls are repaired free of charge by the manufacturer regardless of vehicle age or ownership history.
Frequently asked questions
How do I decode my Buick VIN?
Type the 17-character VIN from your Buick’s windshield, driver-side door jamb, or vehicle title into the decoder at the top of this page. Results return in seconds and include make, model, model year, body style, engine, transmission, plant of origin, and open NHTSA recalls. No registration is required.
Where is the VIN on my Buick?
The two easiest spots are the lower-left corner of the windshield (visible from outside the car) and the driver-side door jamb sticker. Both locations are required by federal labelling regulation on every road-going Buick sold in North America.
Is the Buick VIN decoder free?
Yes. VinDecoderPlus decodes every Buick VIN free of charge with no sign-up or credit card. Full vehicle history reports, including ownership records, accident history, and odometer history, are available as an optional paid upgrade.
What does the VIN tell me about my Buick?
A VIN decode confirms the original factory configuration of your Buick: model, year, body style, engine, transmission, trim level, country and plant of origin, and any recall actions issued against that VIN. It does not record exterior color (which is on the build sheet), current mileage, accident history, or ownership chain. For those, you need a paid vehicle history report.
Can a Buick VIN be faked?
The 17 characters themselves can be retyped, but the check digit at position 9 makes silent tampering nearly impossible: any single-character change breaks the math. Buick VIN plates are tamper-resistant by federal standard. If you suspect a cloned VIN, our guide how to check if a car is stolen by VIN walks through the next steps.
Decode any Buick VIN free
Type your 17-character Buick VIN into the decoder at the top of this page and get a full breakdown instantly. To learn more about VIN structure in general, see our guides:
