Mitsubishi VIN Decoder Australia
What each character on a Mitsubishi VIN means, and what it doesn't tell you.
- Mitsubishis in our data
- 481,166
- Mitsubishis in our data
- Characters that identify the model
- 7 characters
- identify the model
- Last updated
- Oct 2026
- last updated
How to read a Mitsubishi VIN
Take a 2019 Mitsubishi Triton. Its VIN starts MMAJLKL, and those seven characters are the useful part: characters 6 and 7, KL, are the Triton's model code. Character 10 is the model year, a K for 2019. The rest is unique to one car, so it's painted out here.
Triton (MR) · VIN plate
- Characters 1 to 3: Maker and country
- Characters 4 and 5: Version of the model
- Characters 6 and 7: Model code (KL is a Triton)
- Character 8: More vehicle details
- Character 9: Not a check digit on a Mitsubishi
- Character 10: Model year
- Characters 11 to 17: Plant and serial number
Characters 1 to 7
Maker, country and model. Characters 6 and 7 are the model code: KB or KL on a Triton, GF or GM on an Outlander, GA on an ASX. Characters 4 and 5 vary within a model, so one model has many patterns.
Characters 9 and 10
On a US car, a check digit and the model year. On a Mitsubishi, only the year. Character 9 was a valid check digit on just 3.3% of the 11,447 Mitsubishis we checked, and character 10 was within a year of the build year on 96.8%.
Characters 11 to 17
Plant and serial number. Unique to one car, so never shown.
The VIN gives the model year, not the build date
On a Mitsubishi, the 10th character is the model year, the same as on a US car. In October 2026 we checked 11,447 Mitsubishis against their build dates, and it was within a year of the build year on 96.8% of them. The model year is not the build date, though: that is on the build plate, and in every Carify VIN check.
Triton VIN patterns
Characters 6 and 7 identify the Triton, and characters 4 and 5 change with the version, so it has 95 patterns. These are the most common. Where a pattern ran across a facelift, the generation names both series.
| Pattern | Generation | Built | Cars in our data |
|---|---|---|---|
| ML | 2006 to 2008 | 2,648 | |
| ML / MN | 2008 to 2015 | 4,559 | |
| MN | 2009 to 2015 | 16,377 | |
| MN | 2009 to 2015 | 6,785 | |
| MN | 2009 to 2015 | 4,020 | |
| MQ / MR | 2015 to 2020 | 11,132 | |
| MQ | 2015 to 2018 | 16,300 | |
| MR | 2018 to 2023 | 23,975 |
Plus 87 less common patterns. Built: the middle 90% of build years, from 2,887 decoded cars. Updated Oct 2026.
1 Chassis, above the rear wheelDriver's side. Look up into the rear wheel arch. 
2 Base of the windscreenPassenger side. Read it from outside through the glass.
Locations from Mitsubishi's right-hand-drive UK owner's manuals for the L200, the same Thai-built ute sold here as the Triton (MQ/MR).
Other popular Mitsubishis
The Mitsubishis we see most after the Triton, and the patterns that identify them.
-
Outlander
and 11 more
- ZG / ZH 2006 to 2012
- ZJ to ZL 2012 to 2019
- ZK / ZL 2013 to 2021
- ZM 2021 on
From 2,054 decoded cars
-
Lancer
and 49 more
- CH 2003 to 2007
- CJ / CF 2007 to 2017
- CJ 2007 to 2015
From 2,495 decoded cars
-
ASX
and 9 more
- XB to XD 2011 to 2023
- XA to XC 2011 to 2020
- XB 2013 to 2017
From 1,155 decoded cars
-
Pajero
and 41 more
- NM / NP 2000 to 2006
- NS to NX 2007 to 2019
From 1,019 decoded cars
Other makes
About these numbers: generations and build years come from 11,447 Mitsubishis decoded from factory records, one per VIN. Build years show the middle 90% of each pattern, and patterns with fewer than 30 decoded cars are left out. Updated October 2026.