Tacoma VIN decoding question

Apparently the last 6 digits of the VIN (digits 12-17) is the production sequence. Can you guess roughly the production date from those 6 digits, or does Toyota "scramble" the last 6 digits so that for example 230555 may have been produced before 200555?

Also I found one at a dealer with the letter A in the 3rd of 6 final digits of the VIN. Any idea of the significance of that letter A?

 

Toyota owner website (google it) will show you production date and built in packages from factory if you enter on the vin. So no need to decide anything.

 

I can't imagine Toyota scrambling the VIN since TSBs and recalls typically list starting with and ending with this set of VINs

 

That should be the temporary VIN assigned to the vehicle before it's built and gets the permanent VIN. Was that on an actual vehicle on the lot?

 

naked farmer: thanks! That's also handy for the dealer websites where they do a crappy job documenting their in-stock vehicles.
daveometrod: yes, on the lot (3/2019 order date so it's a new arrival)

 

It may feel like Toyota is scrambling VIN's, but that's because the last 6 digits of the VIN are specific to the model code and plant the truck was made at. Production numbers for the Tacoma are continous from 2005-2020, except they have added and removed chassis codes over the years and there are 3 production plants that the current chassis has been built at.

NUMMI (2005-2009): Plant code Z
TMMBC (2005-2020): Plant code M
TMMTX (2011-2020): Plant code X

The same chassis code is often produced at multiple plants, and in order to ensure that the frame number for the vehicle is unique, the frame number is formatted as follows:

TRN245-Z000001

Before the hyphen is the basic model code of the vehicle, followed by the plant code and then the sequential number starting from 000001. This bit (the part after the hyphen) is what makes up the last 7 digits of your VIN.

For the 2005-2020 Tacoma, there are the following basic model codes that (not all of them were) could have been produced at any of the 3 plants:

TRN220
TRN225
TRN240
TRN245
TRN260
TRN265
GRN225
GRN245
GRN250
GRN265
GRN270
GRN305
GRN310
GRN325
GRN330

There are 14 chassis codes built at 3 different plants, which would typically be 42 sequences starting at 0, or approximately 42 million unique chassis codes without having to restart the sequence, which I'm sure they would do. Let's take the TRN245 as an example again, as it was built at all 3 plants for all the years that they made trucks there, which means that there will be TRN245's that share the same last 6 of their VIN for every last 6 of their VIN (until they stop making that model at that factory). If you make some light assumptions about the plants, I would say that in general, there are probably only about 35 Tacomas that share the same last 6 of their VIN, at least for low frame numbers.

The 2016 Tacoma numbers didn't start at 0 for 2.7L models (because it's still the same chassis code as the

$90 2005-2015 Toyota Tacoma With 4L Right Petrol intake air snorkel kit high performance system compatible kit Replacement black Rotational Molding (2005-2015)

2005-2015) and why there will be 8 2016 3.5L trucks built with the same last 6 digits. That's the same last 6 digits, not the same VIN. For 2016 there will be 2 for each chassis code (1 from each factory for each chassis code). The start of each of those VIN will be different (WMI and VDS).

As examples (only looking at 2016+ applicable plants and model codes), the sequential sequence number restarts at 1 for each chassis code at each plant, but does not restart with every model year.

TRN245-M000001
TRN245-X000001
TRN265-M000001
TRN265-X000001
GRN305-M000001
GRN305-X000001
GRN310-M000001
GRN310-X000001
GRN325-M000001
GRN325-X000001
GRN330-M000001
GRN330-X000001

As was said, the TRN245 and TRN265 are still the same chassis as the 2005-2015 Tacoma so their sequence has NOT restarted for 2016, all 2.7L models for 2016 are continuing from where 2015 left off. Only 3.5L models got new chassis codes due to the engine block change from 1GR to 2GR.

(For example - numbers made up: TRN245-X067335 is a 2015 truck and TRN245-X067336 is a 2016 truck)

Jeff

 

The month and year of production are stamped on the door sticker.

 

The paint and interior color codes are there as well.