Dacia VIN Decoder

Quick answer

To decode a Dacia VIN, enter the 17-character number at Carlytics — the free decoder instantly returns the model, engine, plant of origin, model year and factory build details. What a free decode can't verify is mileage history, theft status, accident records or open recalls; those come with the full Dacia vehicle-history report for EUR 8.90, delivered in about 60 seconds.

All Models

8+ Dacia models

Every Engine

Petrol · Diesel · Hybrid · EV

Mileage History

Cross-border reconciliation

Plant of Origin

Mioveni, Romania · Tangier, Morocco

Common Issues Across the Dacia Range

Before buying a used Dacia, know the failure patterns the range is known for. A VIN check tells you the exact engine and build year against the dashboard mileage — pairing that with the Dacia common-issue profile predicts which repair window is about to open on the car you are looking at.

1.5 dCi (K9K, shared with Renault) injector and turbo issues on Sandero, Duster and Logan — smoky exhaust and uneven idle

1.2/0.9/1.0 TCe petrol timing-chain and oil-consumption concerns on some builds — rattle on cold start, check the dipstick

EDC dual-clutch gearbox (Getrag, shared with Renault) jerky low-speed shifts on some models — hesitation on pull-away

Suspension, bush and wheel-bearing wear from rough-road and high-mileage use — clunks and humming at speed

Corrosion on underbody, subframe and suspension components on older Logan and Sandero in salt-heavy climates

Trim, electrical and interior-quality niggles consistent with the budget price point — check all electrics work

Red Flags Specific to Used Dacia Cars

• 1.5 dCi diesel with smoky exhaust and uneven idle — injector or turbo wear, shared with Renault
• TCe petrol with a cold-start rattle and a dipstick below MIN — timing-chain and oil-consumption symptoms
• EDC-equipped model with hesitant, jerky low-speed shifts — dual-clutch mechatronic or clutch wear
• Older Logan or Sandero with corrosion on the underbody, subframe or suspension components
• Low odometer mileage on a car with heavily worn pedals, seat bolster and steering wheel — classic ex-fleet wear mismatch

Sample Dacia VIN Decoder Output

Below is a real example of what the free Carlytics decoder returns when you enter a Dacia VIN. Fields tagged

Paid

are part of the EUR 8.90 full report and not shown in the free preview.

Example VINUU1XXXXXX5RXX1234Dacia Sandero — example

Field	Decoded value	Tier
VIN	Validated 17-character ISO 3779 string	Free
Make	Dacia	Free
Model	Sandero	Free
Model Year	Decoded from position 10	Free
Engine Code	Decoded from VDS positions	Free
Displacement	Returned where VDS allows	Free
Power (kW / HP)	Returned where VDS allows	Free
Fuel Type	Petrol / Diesel / Hybrid / EV	Free
Transmission	Manual or automatic family	Paid
Body Type	Saloon / Estate / SUV / Hatch	Free
Country of Origin	Mioveni, Romania	Free
Production Date	Returned where factory record is accessible	Paid
Trim / Variant	Returned where factory record is accessible	Paid

Output may vary by build year and market. Newer Dacia VINs return richer factory-spec detail; older pre-2000 VINs may return abbreviated VDS positions.

Ready to check your vehicle?

Enter the VIN number below to get a free instant report.

How the Dacia VIN Is Structured

Every Dacia VIN follows the ISO 3779 standard — 17 characters split into the World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI, positions 1-3), Vehicle Descriptor Section (VDS, positions 4-8), and Vehicle Identifier Section (VIS, positions 9-17). Dacia uses UU1 and UU6 as WMI codes. Position 4 identifies the model (Sandero, Duster, etc.), position 5 the body style, and position 6 the engine type. Being part of the Renault Group, Dacia shares some platform codes with Renault models.

Pos.	Meaning	Dacia example
1-3	WMI — manufacturer + country of registration	UU1 / UU6 = Dacia, Romania
4-8	VDS — model, body, engine, restraint	Dacia-specific model and trim codes
9	Check digit	Mathematical validation against fraud and transcription errors
10	Model year	L = 2020, M = 2021, P = 2023, R = 2024, S = 2025, T = 2026
11	Plant code	Mioveni, Romania · Tangier, Morocco · Casablanca, Morocco
12-17	VIS — production serial number	Unique sequential build number for this car

VIN position 10 encodes the model year — the full code table is in the next section.

Dacia VIN Model-Year Codes (Position 10)

The 10th character of every Dacia VIN encodes the model year. It is a letter or digit from a fixed 30-year cycle that skips the letters I, O, Q, U and Z (too easily confused with 1, 0 and 2) and the digit 0. Because the cycle repeats every 30 years, a single code maps to two possible years — the decade is confirmed from the chassis generation and build record. Find the 10th character of your VIN below.

Code	Model year	Code	Model year
G	1986 / 2016	1	2001 / 2031
H	1987 / 2017	2	2002 / 2032
J	1988 / 2018	3	2003 / 2033
K	1989 / 2019	4	2004 / 2034
L	1990 / 2020	5	2005 / 2035
M	1991 / 2021	6	2006
N	1992 / 2022	7	2007
P	1993 / 2023	8	2008
R	1994 / 2024	9	2009
S	1995 / 2025	A	2010
T	1996 / 2026	B	2011
V	1997 / 2027	C	2012
W	1998 / 2028	D	2013
X	1999 / 2029	E	2014
Y	2000 / 2030	F	2015

Note: a few manufacturers shift the model-year letter for cars built in the late summer of the previous calendar year, so build date and model year can differ by a few months. The Carlytics decoder resolves the exact year from the VIN plus the Dacia build record.

How to Find Your Dacia Production Date

The production date matters for warranty, recall eligibility, and confirming a car was actually built when the seller claims. Registration date and build date can differ by months on Dacia stock that sat on dealer lots before first registration.

Dacia prints the production date on the manufacturer plate inside the engine bay, on the driver-side door-jamb sticker (build month and year), and in the factory build record kept on file by the manufacturer. On modern cars the plate is usually a metal rivet plate; on older cars it may be a foil sticker.

VIN position 10 carries the model year as a single letter (P = 2023, R = 2024, S = 2025, T = 2026). Model year and production date can differ — cars built in the late summer of one calendar year are often registered as the following model year.

The Carlytics decoder returns the production year from the VIN itself; the EUR 8.90 paid report adds the exact build month and plant where the Dacia factory record is accessible.

Dacia Factory option codes

Dacia factories tag every option fitted to a car with an in-house option-code system. The codes appear on the build sheet (often glued inside the boot well, the spare-wheel tray, or the inside of the service book) and itemise every factory-fitted extra — gearbox, climate, audio, trim, drive assist, paint and interior colour.

Example codes — These codes are how the dealer parts desk orders replacement panels and trim in the right colour and texture. Photographing the option sticker before purchase is the single most useful piece of due diligence on any used car.

Carlytics decodes the factory-fitted equipment from the VIN where the manufacturer's build record is accessible, and flags discrepancies between the decoded spec and what the seller claims.

Dacia VIN Decoder vs Dacia VIN Check — What's the Difference?

The two terms get used interchangeably, but they answer different questions. A decoder reads what is baked into the VIN; a check pulls the records the VIN can never contain.

VIN decoder — what the car IS

Reads the 17 characters and returns the static factory identity: make, model, model year, engine family, body type and plant of origin. This is encoded in the VIN itself, so it is the same on day one and at 200,000 km. This is what the free decoder above returns.

VIN check — what HAPPENED to the car

Looks the VIN up against history records: cross-border mileage readings, accident and write-off markers, open safety recalls, theft-database status and ownership count. None of this lives in the VIN — it is recorded over the car's life. This is the EUR 8.90 Dacia report.

Free Dacia VIN Decoder vs EUR 8.90 Full Report

The free decoder confirms the factory specification of the car in front of you. The paid report adds the cross-border history layer — the part that exposes mileage roll-backs and undisclosed accidents on imported Dacia stock.

What you get free

Make, model and model year
Engine family and basic displacement
Country and plant of origin (where VIN positions allow)
Body type and number of doors
VIN validity check (ISO 3779 check digit)

What is in the EUR 8.90 report

Cross-border mileage history reconciliation
Open safety recalls and recall completion status
Theft-database lookup across European registries
Ownership-history record count and country path
Accident-flag and write-off indicator where available
Common-complaint summary for this engine + year + chassis combination
Market value estimate for the destination country
Full ECU, transmission, and factory option codes where the build record is accessible

Cross-Border Risk Profile for Dacia

Dacia is Europe's leading budget brand and a Renault subsidiary, built in Romania (Mioveni) and Morocco (Tangier, Casablanca). Romanian- and Moroccan-built Sandero, Duster and Logan circulate throughout the EU, with the Sandero among Europe's best-selling cars. Because absolute prices are low, even a modest odometer rollback returns proportionally large profit, and high-mileage ex-fleet and ex-rental Dacias are common. The Duster carries the most cross-border value. A VIN report closes the mileage- and service-history gap between the origin-market record and the destination registration on a brand bought specifically for value.

Origin

Romania — Mioveni, Romania, Tangier, Morocco. Largest off-lease and ex-fleet supply enters the used market here first.

Cross-border flow

Dacia stock crosses EU borders into Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, the Baltics and the Balkans. Mileage records rarely transfer with the registration document.

Buyer leverage

A Dacia VIN report reconciles the origin-country service touch points with the destination registration. The gap that exporters exploit becomes visible to the buyer.

Dacia Plants & WMI Codes

Dacia operates 4 assembly plants across 3 countries. The first three VIN characters identify the corporate-registered origin; the 11th character identifies the specific plant. Knowing the production plant matters because market-specific equipment, climate prep, and regulatory homologation differ by build location.

WMI codes

UU1	Dacia — Romania
UU6	Dacia — Romania

Assembly plants

Mioveni, Romania

Tangier, Morocco

Casablanca, Morocco

Envigado, Colombia

Where to find the VIN on your Dacia: On Dacia vehicles, the VIN is located on the dashboard near the windshield (driver's side), on a plate inside the driver's door frame, and stamped on the engine compartment structure. The VIN is also listed on the Romanian homologation certificate.

Popular Dacia Models — Dedicated VIN Check Pages

Each Dacia model below has its own decoder page with model-specific common issues, generation chassis codes, and mileage-band analysis. Click through for the deep page or decode any VIN from the form at the top.

Dacia Sandero Dacia Duster Dacia Jogger Dacia Spring Dacia Logan Dacia Lodgy Dacia Dokker Dacia Sandero Stepway

Dacia VIN Decoder FAQ

Common questions about decoding Dacia vehicle identification numbers, plus model-specific buyer guidance.

What does a UU1 or UU6 VIN prefix mean on a Dacia?

UU1 and UU6 are Dacia WMI codes assigned to Romania. The 4th character then narrows the model (Sandero, Duster, Logan and so on) and the 10th gives the model year. Moroccan-built Dacias (Tangier, Casablanca) may carry a different plant identifier; as part of the Renault Group, Dacia shares some platform codes with Renault models.

Is a used Dacia worth a VIN check given the low purchase price?

Yes — precisely because the prices are low, odometer rollback returns proportionally large profit to a dishonest seller, and high-mileage ex-fleet and ex-rental Dacias are common in the used market. A VIN report that cross-checks the registry mileage trail against the dashboard, and flags accident and write-off markers, costs a small fraction of the car's value and protects against the most common ways a budget car is misrepresented.

Does the Dacia VIN tell me whether the car is petrol, diesel, LPG or electric?

Partially — the VIN encodes the engine family, but the exact variant (1.0 TCe petrol, the TCe LPG bi-fuel, 1.5 dCi diesel, or the Spring electric) is confirmed in the build-record, which the Carlytics paid report returns where available. This matters because the diesel needs DPF-aware ownership, the bi-fuel LPG system has its own maintenance, and the Spring needs battery verification.

How can I tell whether a used Dacia was an ex-fleet or ex-rental car?

The original registration record marks fleet and rental cars in the Renault/Dacia dealer-network database, and the Carlytics paid report surfaces this where the data is available. Ex-rental Dacias are very common because the brand's low running costs make it a rental-fleet favourite. The tell-tale signs are low calendar age with high mileage and heavily worn driver-side controls; cross-check the dashboard reading against the registry mileage trail.

Where exactly is the VIN on a Dacia?

Four locations: (1) at the base of the windscreen on the driver's side, visible from outside; (2) on a plate inside the driver's door frame; (3) stamped on the engine-compartment structure; (4) on the registration document. The door-frame plate and engine-bay stamping are the most reliable on high-mileage cars where the windscreen label may have faded.

How do I check whether a used Dacia has an open recall?

Dacia has issued recalls — shared in part with Renault — covering fuel-system, electrical and safety items across model years. Open recalls are tied to the VIN and remain with the car through every owner change. The Carlytics paid report flags any recall still showing open against this VIN so you can have it corrected free at a Dacia or Renault dealer.

Can I decode a Dacia VIN for free, and what does the paid report add?

Yes — the decoder on this page returns the model, body, engine family, model year and plant from any Dacia VIN at no cost, and validates the check digit to expose a fabricated VIN. The paid Carlytics report adds the layers a free decode cannot reach: mileage-history cross-check, accident and write-off markers, theft status and open-recall flags from registry and workshop data.

Get the Full Dacia Vehicle History Report — EUR 8.90

Cross-border mileage history, accident records, theft database, safety recalls, market value, and Dacia-specific common-issue analysis. Delivered in under 60 seconds. 14-day no-questions refund on every report.

Free Dacia VIN Decoder