Renault VIN Decoder

Decode any Renault VIN free in seconds. Enter the 17-character vehicle identification number from your Renault into the decoder above and get the model, year, engine family, trim, factory options, plant of origin, and recall status instantly, with no sign-up and no credit card.

Renault has not sold new cars in the United States since 1987, so nearly everyone searching for a Renault VIN decoder today is looking up a car registered somewhere in Europe, or a surviving American Motors-era Renault built decades ago in Wisconsin. This page covers both: the modern French WMI codes on a current Clio, Megane, or Captur, and the older US-built Renault Alliance and Encore that briefly put the brand on American driveways.

This page is the Renault VIN hub, with Renault-specific WMI codes, the brand’s main assembly plants, a position-by-position guide to reading a Renault VIN, where to find the VIN on your car, and links to VIN decoders for individual models.

About Renault

Renault was founded in 1899 in Boulogne-Billancourt, on the western edge of Paris, by Louis Renault and his brothers Marcel and Fernand. Louis, then 21, had built a small car in his family’s garden and taken orders for a dozen more after friends saw it climb a steep Montmartre street; that handful of orders became Societe Renault Freres, and the company grew into one of the world’s oldest and largest carmakers. It remains headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt today.

Renault’s only sustained run in the US market came through a partnership with American Motors Corporation. Renault took a minority stake in AMC in 1979 and increased it over the following years, and from 1983 to 1987 AMC’s Kenosha, Wisconsin plant built the Renault Alliance and its hatchback sibling, the Renault Encore, both adaptations of the European Renault 9 and 11. Roughly 623,000 Alliance and Encore units were built before Renault sold its AMC stake to Chrysler in 1987 and exited the US market entirely; Chrysler absorbed AMC and Jeep outright. No Renault-badged car has been sold new in the US since.

Renault’s manufacturing today is centered in France and Spain, with the Flins and Douai plants building electric models, plus volume from Turkey, South America, and Eastern Europe. Renault is also a founding member of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, a cross-shareholding partnership formed in 1999; a Renault built on a shared platform still carries its own WMI codes, distinct from Nissan and Mitsubishi, which each have their own VIN decoder hub on this site.

Renault 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. Per NHTSA’s vPIC database, these WMI codes are currently registered to Renault entities:

The leading character follows the standard ISO 3780 country-code assignment: V denotes France and K denotes South Korea. Renault Samsung Motors, rebranded Renault Korea Motors in 2022, is majority-owned by Renault Group but operates as its own manufacturer of record, hence the distinct WMI. Older Renault Trucks products, a separate commercial-vehicle business sold to Volvo Group in 2001, aren’t covered here. If your Renault VIN begins with a code not listed, decode it with the tool above; it may be a rebadge, a regional variant, or a data-entry error.

A note on older, US-built Renaults

If you own a Renault Alliance or Encore built at AMC’s Kenosha plant between 1983 and 1987, your VIN was assigned under American Motors’ own manufacturer identity, not one of the France-registered WMIs above, since these cars were built and certified in the United States. A search of NHTSA’s manufacturer registry for “Renault” today returns only the current France- and South Korea-based codes, with no distinct AMC-era WMI. NHTSA’s recall database, though, still carries historical campaigns filed under the Renault Alliance and Encore nameplates from the 1980s, searchable by make and model even though the WMI lookup won’t return a match.

How to read a Renault VIN: position by position

Every Renault VIN built to the modern standard uses the ISO 3779 17-character format, the same international standard used worldwide, including in the US. The 17 characters split into three blocks:

Here is what each position means specifically on a Renault:

Positions 1-3: World Manufacturer Identifier

See the WMI table above. The country code tells you where Renault’s manufacturer of record is registered, not necessarily where your car was assembled; Renault builds for European sale at plants well outside France.

Positions 4-8: Vehicle Descriptor Section (VDS)

This block encodes the model line, body style, restraint system, and often the engine family. On current-generation Renault VINs, this section distinguishes newer platforms, such as the CMF-B architecture under the Clio and the electric CMF-B EV platform under the new Renault 5, from older Renault-Nissan Alliance platforms.

Position 9: Check digit

The check digit is the most important single character in any VIN, calculated from the other 16 characters using a fixed weighting table and modulo-11 math. It’s mandatory on US-market VINs; European-market VINs built to ISO 3779 don’t always apply it the same way, so its presence can vary by where the vehicle was certified.

Position 10: Model year

The 10th character maps to a model year on a 30-year cycle. This is a universal ISO convention used worldwide, not a country-specific rule. Skim the chart below to translate yours:

The letters I, O, and Q are never used in any VIN, including Renault, 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. Because Renault’s production spans France, Spain, Turkey, and other countries, and plant codes have shifted over the decades, decode the full VIN above for a precise plant read rather than relying on a fixed letter chart.

Positions 12-17: Serial number

The final six characters are the production sequence number stamped on your specific Renault as it rolled off the line. Combined with the previous 11 characters, this makes every Renault VIN globally unique.

Where to find the VIN on a Renault

You can find your Renault VIN in several places. The windscreen and door pillar are the easiest to read; the others are useful when one of those labels has been damaged or replaced.

• Lower corner of the windscreen, visible from outside the car
• VIN plate on the driver’s side door frame or door pillar
• Stamped into the engine bay, typically near the suspension turret or bulkhead
• Your national vehicle registration document (carte grise in France, or the equivalent elsewhere)
• Renault’s own vehicle records via a franchised dealer

If your Renault was built before 1981, the chassis number is shorter than 17 characters and follows an older, pre-ISO format, which applies to a fair number of Renault’s own pre-VIN-era models given the brand’s 1899 founding. For pre-1981 vehicles, use our classic car VIN decoder guide.

Check Renault recalls and safety information

Renault is a French-registered manufacturer, so vehicle safety recalls are tracked through France’s national recall system. RappelConso, run by the French economy ministry’s consumer protection directorate (DGCCRF), publishes recall notices for cars sold in France, searchable by brand and model. Type-approval testing runs through UTAC, the technical service designated by the French state to certify vehicles before they reach the road; approvals granted there are recognized EU-wide under the bloc’s common type-approval framework, and each country typically mirrors safety recalls through its own national authority.

If you own a surviving US-market Alliance or Encore, check NHTSA’s database instead, since those cars were built and sold new in the United States. The fastest way to check a specific Renault:

1. Decode the VIN with the tool above to confirm the model and model year
2. For a European-market Renault, cross-reference your vehicle against RappelConso, France’s official product and vehicle recall database
3. For a US-market Alliance or Encore, check NHTSA’s recall database by make and model
4. Review any open safety actions and contact your nearest Renault dealer or authorised repairer for a free repair

Recalls are repaired free of charge by the manufacturer regardless of the vehicle’s age or ownership history.

Frequently asked questions

How do I decode my Renault VIN?

Type the 17-character VIN from your Renault’s windscreen, door pillar plate, or registration document into the decoder at the top of this page. Results return in seconds and include make, model, model year, body style, engine family, transmission, plant of origin, and available recall status. No registration is required.

Where is the VIN on my Renault?

The two easiest spots are the lower corner of the windscreen (visible from outside the car) and the VIN plate on the driver’s side door pillar. You’ll also find it printed on your vehicle’s registration document if either physical label has worn away or been replaced.

Why doesn’t Renault sell cars in the US anymore?

Renault sold cars in the US through its partnership with American Motors Corporation, badged as the Renault Alliance and Encore, from 1983 to 1987. When Renault sold its AMC stake to Chrysler in 1987, its US retail presence ended, and Renault hasn’t sold new vehicles in the US since. It remains a major manufacturer across Europe and other international markets, and is a founding member of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance.

Is the Renault VIN decoder free?

Yes. VinDecoderPlus decodes every Renault VIN free of charge with no sign-up or credit card. Full vehicle history reports, including ownership records, accident history, and mileage history, are available as an optional paid upgrade, though history coverage for European-market vehicles can be more limited than for US-market brands.

What does the VIN tell me about my Renault?

A VIN decode confirms the original factory configuration of your Renault: model, year, body style, engine, transmission, trim level, factory options, and country of origin. It does not record current mileage, inspection history, or ownership chain. For a full ownership and accident history report, use a paid vehicle history check.

Can a Renault VIN be faked or cloned?

The 17 characters can be retyped, but the check digit at position 9, where applied, makes silent tampering hard to hide: any single-character change breaks the math. If you suspect a cloned VIN on a used Renault you’re considering, our guide how to check if a car is stolen by VIN walks through the next steps.

Decode any Renault VIN free

Type your 17-character Renault 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:

• How to read a VIN number
• What every character in a VIN means
• Classic car VIN decoder (pre-1981)
• VIN decoder vs. vehicle history report