Identify · runs in your browser
This reader covers the standardized 17-character US VIN (model year 1981 onward) — Subaru's WMI codes (JF1/JF2/JF3 for Japan-built, 4S3/4S4 for Subaru of Indiana Automotive-built), the check digit, and the model-year cycle. Pre-1981 Subaru serials and JDM/kei-car identification conventions aren't researched yet — the reader says so honestly rather than guessing.
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The reference
Pre-1981 · not yet researched
Leone-era and earlier Subarus used manufacturer-specific serial conventions distinct from the modern VIN. This project hasn't researched that structure yet — flagged as an open thread rather than guessed at.
JDM / kei cars · not yet researched
The 360, Sambar, R-2, Rex, Vivio, and Pleo — and any JDM-only vehicle generally — use market-specific identification conventions this project hasn't researched. Don't apply the US 17-digit rules to a kei car.
1981–present · standardized
The ISO 3779 / NHTSA standard: a 3-character World Manufacturer Identifier, a descriptor section, a calculated check digit in position 9, a model-year letter in position 10 that repeats every 30 years, a plant code, and a sequence. This reader calculates and validates the check digit and resolves the year using position 7.
Subaru's WMI codes, confirmed directly against the NHTSA vPIC API: JF1 (Subaru Corporation, Japan-built passenger car), JF2 (Japan-built MPV), JF3 (still registered under the pre-2017 "Fuji Heavy Industries" name), 4S3 (Subaru of Indiana Automotive-built passenger car), 4S4 (Indiana-built MPV). Which specific nameplates were built at which plant has changed over time as Subaru of Indiana Automotive's role expanded — don't assume a fixed model-to-plant mapping. Deeper detail lives in the identification reference and the methodology page.