A Honda CRF250L VIN is 17 characters. Positions 1–3 say who built it and where, 4–8 describe the body and engine, 9 is a check digit, 10 is the model year, 11 is the plant, and 12–17 are the serial number. Decode a CRF250L VIN here and you also get its 3 recall campaigns and 5 owner complaints filed with NHTSA — free.
Got a VIN from another make? The free VIN decoder reads any 17-character VIN, whatever built it.
How to read a Honda CRF250L VIN
Here is a real 2017 Honda CRF250L VIN from our database, split into its parts:
VIN MLHMD4416H5001083 — decoded free on its own report page.
| Position | Section | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| 1–3 | WMI | World Manufacturer Identifier — country, manufacturer and vehicle type. |
| 4–8 | VDS | Vehicle Descriptor Section — body style, engine, restraint system, series. |
| 9 | Check digit | A calculated digit that validates the whole VIN. Wrong digit = wrong VIN. |
| 10 | Model year | One character for the model year. Letters skip I, O, Q, U and Z. |
| 11 | Plant | The assembly plant that built the car. |
| 12–17 | Serial | Sequential production number of this exact vehicle. |
Honda CRF250L VIN prefixes, and when each one was used
Characters 1–3 are the World Manufacturer Identifier. Every Honda CRF250L we have on record, from 2014 to 2016, carries the same one — MLH, which makes it a quick way to confirm you are looking at a real CRF250L:
| VIN starts with | Years seen | Built in | Vehicle type | VINs on record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLH | 2014–2016 | Thailand | Motorcycle |
Counted from the 5 dated Honda CRF250L VINs attached to NHTSA complaints — the largest such set for this model — with every code checked against the NHTSA manufacturer registry, so mistyped entries are dropped; the figures say how many records carry each code, not how many CRF250Ls left the line.
Model-year codes for the Honda CRF250L
Position 10 carries the model year, skipping I, O, Q, U and Z. The alphabet comes round every 30 years, which the Honda CRF250L has not yet outlived — its 11 years still map one-to-one. All 11 model years of the Honda CRF250L, 2013 to 2024, with the character each one carries:
| Model year | VIN character (position 10) | Same character as |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | — |
| 2023 | P | — |
| 2022 | N | — |
| 2021 | M | — |
| 2020 | L | — |
| 2019 | K | — |
| 2017 | H | — |
| 2016 | G | — |
| 2015 | F | — |
| 2014 | E | — |
| 2013 | D | — |
When two years share a character, the check digit and serial range tell them apart — that is what the decoder does automatically.
Body and engine characters we see on Honda CRF250L VINs
Positions 4 through 8 describe the build, and manufacturers assign them themselves — the same letter means different things on different marques. Across 3 VINs the Honda CRF250L uses 3 different characters in these three slots alone — the ones below, ordered by how much of the Honda fleet each covers:
| Position | Characters seen on real VINs | Variety |
|---|---|---|
| 4 — body | M (100%) | 1 distinct |
| 5 — series | D (100%) | 1 distinct |
| 8 — engine | 1 (100%) | 1 distinct |
A character that dominates the column usually marks the body style the model was mostly sold in; a spread across several means multiple bodies or engines shared the same platform.
What a decoded Honda CRF250L VIN gets you
Reading the characters is the easy part — the reason to decode a VIN is what sits behind it. For the Honda CRF250L that is 5 owner complaints and every recall campaign NHTSA has on record, keyed to the same VIN you just read:
| Data | For this model | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Recall campaigns | 3 campaigns | NHTSA |
| Owner complaints | 5 filed | NHTSA |
| Model years covered | 11 years | ForCar catalog |
Where to find the VIN on a Honda CRF250L
A Honda CRF250L VIN normally opens with MLH. Four places on the car carry the full number, and all four must agree — on a Honda CRF250L, a plate that disagrees is where fraud shows itself first.
| Where | How to see it | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Dashboard, driver side | Through the windshield, bottom corner | Easiest to check before you touch anything |
| Driver door jamb | Open the door, sticker on the pillar | Also lists tyre pressures and build date |
| Under the hood | Firewall or strut tower plate | Survives a windshield replacement |
| Title and insurance | Paper documents | Must match the car — a mismatch means fraud or a swapped panel |
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Frequently asked questions
Is this Honda CRF250L VIN decoder free?
Yes — decoding a Honda CRF250L VIN costs nothing and needs no account. Beyond the year, plant and build characters you also get what NHTSA holds on the Honda CRF250L — 3 recall campaigns and 5 owner complaints — at no charge.
How many characters is a Honda CRF250L VIN?
Seventeen, on every Honda CRF250L built from 1981 onwards, when the 17-character format became mandatory in the US. The oldest Honda CRF250L VIN on file here is a 2014, so everything in our Honda data already uses the modern layout.
Why do two Honda CRF250L model years share the same VIN character?
Position 10 cycles through the alphabet every 30 years, skipping I, O, Q, U and Z. A 1995 and a 2025 car can carry the same letter. The check digit and serial range separate them.
Can a Honda CRF250L VIN tell me if the car was in an accident?
Not from the characters themselves — they describe how the Honda CRF250L left the factory, not what happened to it afterwards. Crash and title records sit in separate databases keyed to the same number. What is public are the 5 complaints Honda CRF250L owners filed with NHTSA, and those we do show. Run the number through our VIN check to see what is on the record for it.
Do the body and engine characters mean the same thing on every Honda?
No, and that is the usual mistake — positions 4–8 are assigned per model, not per brand. A letter that means one body on the Honda CRF250L can mean a different one on another Honda, and something else again on another marque. On Honda CRF250L VINs the character that dominates position 4 is M — read it against the table above, not against a generic chart.
What if the VIN on the dashboard doesn't match the door jamb?
Treat it as a red flag on any car, and on a Honda CRF250L check the prefix first: for the model year in question it should open with MLH, depending on when the car was built — anything outside that set did not come off a Honda CRF250L. Beyond that, mismatched plates mean either a replaced panel or a tampered identity — ask for documents and verify before any money changes hands.
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