Kia VIN Decoder & Lookup Tool

A Kia VIN decoder reveals the model year, model name, trim level, engine type and displacement, transmission, drive type, body style, and assembly plant of any Kia vehicle. It uses NHTSA vPIC, the public VIN-decoding platform built from manufacturer-submitted data (model year 1981-forward); decode fields vary by model year and manufacturer submission. It does not show accident or ownership history.

Kia VINs typically start with KNA, KND, 5XX, 5XY, or 5XU. KN-prefixed VINs identify Kia vehicles built in Korea. 5XX, 5XY, and 5XU identify Kia Georgia (West Point) — the Telluride, Sorento, K5, and certain Sportage trims built there.

The easiest place to find the VIN on a Kia is the lower corner of the windshield on the driver's side dashboard, visible from outside the vehicle. It's also printed on the driver's door jamb sticker, the vehicle title, the registration card, and the insurance card. On older models the VIN may be stamped on the engine block or firewall.

Every Kia VIN from model year 1981 onward is exactly 17 characters — the ISO 3779 standard — and never contains the letters I, O, or Q to avoid confusion with the digits 1, 0, and 9. Vehicles built before 1981 used shorter, manufacturer-specific serial formats, so a shorter number on a pre-1981 Kia can be legitimate. On a 1981-or-newer Kia, anything other than 17 characters is a partial reference or a transcription error.

Yes. CarWhere's Kia VIN decoder is completely free with no signup, account, or credit card required. We use the NHTSA vPIC API — the official U.S. government VIN database that every U.S.-market Kia is filed against. We additionally cross-reference the decoded year, make, and model against verified buyer transactions in our deal database.

Kia operates manufacturing facilities in West Point, Georgia (KMMG), Hwaseong, South Korea, Gwangju, South Korea, Žilina, Slovakia, plus additional facilities globally. Note that not every facility does final vehicle assembly — some build engines or components that ship to an assembly plant. The 11th character of a Kia VIN identifies the final-assembly plant, while the first three characters (the World Manufacturer Identifier) identify the manufacturer and country.

Yes, in two steps. Decoding a Kia VIN here surfaces the recall campaigns filed against that year, make, and model — which tells you what campaigns affect the model, not whether this specific vehicle's repair is still outstanding. To confirm whether a specific VIN has an unrepaired open recall, enter the full VIN at the official NHTSA recall lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls; Kia also operates an owner portal where owners can view recall status and schedule free repairs at any authorized Kia dealer.

No. A VIN decode reveals factory specifications only — make, model, trim, engine, plant. To check accident history, salvage titles, or odometer rollback on a Kia, you need a vehicle history report from Carfax or AutoCheck, both of which use the VIN as the lookup key but pull from insurance and DMV records.

A 5XY (or 5XX) prefix identifies Kia Georgia — the West Point, Georgia plant that builds the Telluride, Sorento, Sportage, EV6, and EV9 for the U.S. market (plus the K5 sedan in its production years). Korea-built Kias carry KNA or KND prefixes instead. Both routes go through identical U.S. federal certification.

Every Kia Telluride is built at Kia Georgia in West Point, Georgia — it is one of the few Kia models never assembled in Korea. Telluride VINs start with 5XY, and the 10th character gives the model year.