Nissan VIN Decoder & VIN Check — Models, Recalls, Specs, MPG & Safety
“Innovation That Excites”
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa. Founded as Nihon Sangyo Co. in 1933 by Yoshisuke Aikawa, the company adopted the Nissan name in 1934 and exported its first Datsun-branded vehicles to the United States in 1958. Nissan rebadged its US lineup from Datsun to Nissan in 1981.
Nissan launched the LEAF in December 2010 — the first mass-market battery-electric car — and remained the world's best-selling EV nameplate until being overtaken by the Tesla Model 3 in 2020. The Altima, Sentra and Rogue anchor mainstream US passenger sales, while the GT-R supercar and Z sports coupe carry the brand's performance heritage. The Frontier and Titan represent Nissan's pickup-truck offerings.
Nissan trades on the OTC market under NSANY (ADR) and on the Tokyo Stock Exchange as 7201. The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, restructured in 2023, remains the world's third-largest automotive partnership by combined volume. Recall data for every Nissan VIN is reported to NHTSA, and EPA fuel-economy ratings, IIHS crash-test scores and J.D. Power studies provide independent benchmarks. ForCar.org decodes any Nissan VIN to surface trim, factory options, open recalls and original window-sticker MSRP.
Nissan at a glance
- Founded
- 1933
- Founder
- Yoshisuke Aikawa
- Headquarters
- Yokohama, Japan
- Stock ticker
- OTC: NSANY / Tokyo: 7201
- Alliance
- Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi (3rd-largest globally)
- EV pioneer
- LEAF (first mass-market EV, 2010)
- Performance icon
- GT-R / Skyline (since 1969)
- Luxury division
- Infiniti (since 1989)
- Basic warranty
- 3 years / 36,000 miles
- Powertrain warranty
- 5 years / 60,000 miles
Decode any Nissan VIN
Enter a 17-character VIN below to retrieve the trim, factory options, original window-sticker MSRP and any open NHTSA recall affecting that specific vehicle. ForCar.org pulls the same dataset that Nissan dealers use to notify owners of safety recalls.
VIN Decoder
Signature Nissan technology
Nissan heritage
Yoshisuke Aikawa founded Nihon Sangyo (Japan Industries) in 1928 as a holding company; the abbreviation Ni-San yielded the brand name when the firm acquired DAT Motors in 1933. The Datsun 510 (1968) and 240Z (1969) established Nissan as a credible Japanese alternative in the US market. The 1989 GT-R Skyline R32 introduced the ATTESA E-TS torque-vectoring AWD system that defined Nissan's performance image for the next 30 years.
Market position
Nissan competes in mass-market passenger and light-commercial segments against Toyota, Honda, Hyundai-Kia and Ford, with stronger US share in mid-size and compact SUVs than in pickups. Infiniti, Nissan's luxury division, has operated as a separate brand in North America since 1989. The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance shares platforms across the three brands but maintains separate dealership networks in most markets.
New-vehicle warranty
NISSAN VIN Decoder — Free VIN Check Video Guide
Watch our quick NISSAN VIN decoder walkthrough. Learn how to decode any NISSAN VIN number to get full vehicle history, recall alerts, specifications, fuel economy (MPG), safety ratings, and known problems — completely free on ForCar.org.
All Nissan models (43)
Frequently asked questions
When was Nissan founded and by whom?
Nissan was founded in 1933 by Yoshisuke Aikawa and is headquartered in Yokohama, Japan.
Where is the VIN on a Nissan vehicle?
The 17-character VIN appears in four standard locations: dashboard at the windshield base (driver side), driver-side door jamb sticker, the engine bay (firewall or engine block stamping), and the vehicle's title, registration and insurance documents.
How many Nissan models can ForCar.org decode?
ForCar.org indexes 43 Nissan nameplates. Any 17-character Nissan VIN is decoded against the NHTSA dataset to return trim, factory options, open recalls and original window-sticker MSRP.
What is the Nissan warranty?
Basic: 3 years / 36,000 miles. Powertrain: 5 years / 60,000 miles.
How to check Nissan recalls by VIN?
Enter your VIN in the decoder above. ForCar.org queries NHTSA's open-recall dataset for that specific VIN and returns any safety recalls or Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs) that affect your vehicle.
Disambiguation: This page covers Nissan Motor Co., the Japanese automaker — not Datsun (Nissan's entry-level sub-brand discontinued in most markets) or any unrelated Nissan-branded products.
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