FREE REPAIR MANUALS & LABOR GUIDES 1982-2013 Vehicles
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Vehicle Certification (VC) Label

VEHICLE CERTIFICATION (VC) LABEL


Vehicle Certification (VC) Label Location:











The upper portion of the vehicle certification (VC) label contains the manufacturer name, the month and year of manufacture, the certification statement and the VIN. It also includes gross vehicle weight ratings (GVWR) as well as tire size and pressure ratings. The VC label is located on the left-hand front door edge.


Radio Code:






The radio type codes are:
- B - Luxury electronic AM/FM stereo with cassette and clock (pre-equipment package 1)
- F - Electronic AM/FM stereo
- K - Premium electronic AM/FM stereo with cassette, compact disc (CD) and clock
- X - Electronic AM/FM stereo with 6-disc CD changer
- Y - Radio delete
- Z - Electronic AM/FM stereo with CD player and clock


Axle Ratio Code:






The axle ratios are:
- 58 - 2.73 conventional (non-limited slip) - without Traction Control
- Z5 - 3.27 conventional (non-limited slip)
- C6 - 3.55 limited slip
- X5 - 3.27 limited slip
- C8 - 2.73 conventional (non-limited slip) - with Traction Control


Transmission Code:






The transmission codes are:
- Q - 4-speed automatic overdrive, (4R75E) Livonia
- S - 4-speed automatic overdrive, (4R75E) Sharonville


Spring Code:






The first number/letter listed identifies the front spring codes. The second number/letter listed identifies the rear spring codes.

Front Springs
- Base part number - 5310

Rear Springs
- Base part number - 5560

Rear air suspension codes are:

Rear Air Suspension
- Base part number - 5A891


Powertrain Calibration Information:






Powertrain Calibration Information

NOTE: Powertrain calibration information is limited to a maximum of 5 characters per line on the Vehicle Certification Label. Calibration identification consisting of more than 5 characters will wrap to the second line on the VC label.

Powertrain calibration information is printed in the lower right corner of the Vehicle Certification Label. Only the base calibration information is printed. Revision levels will not appear, however, they can be found in On Line Automotive Service Information System (OASIS). For the current model year, Ford Motor Company is using 3 different protocols which describe powertrain base calibration. These Protocols are designed to provide worldwide standardization for vehicle calibration. If the electronic calibration strategy has been used since 1998 and carried into the current model year, Protocol 1 will be used. Refer to Protocol 1. If the electronic calibration strategy has been used since 1999 and is carried into the current model year, Protocol 2 will be used. Refer to Protocol 2. For electronic calibration strategies introduced since the 2001 model year, Protocol 3 will be used. Refer to Protocol 3.


Protocol 1:






Protocol 1


Protocol 2:






Protocol 2


Protocol 3:






Protocol 3
Powertrain calibration Protocol 3 strategy is explained in more detail in the following:

Model Year
Position 1 indicates the model year in which the calibration was first introduced.
- 1 - 2001
- 2 - 2002
- 3 - 2003
- 4 - 2004
- 5 - 2005
- 6 - 2006
- 7 - 2007

Vehicle Code
Position 2 identifies the vehicle line in code.
- FB - Crown Victoria/Grand Marquis

Transmission Code
Position 3 identifies the transmission type in code.
- 1 - Automatic transmission

Unique Calibration
Position 4 is explained in the following:

The Emissions/CAFE/CO2 Compliance Department is responsible for assigning these calibration codes. Unique calibration identifications are assigned to cover similar vehicles to differentiate between tires, drive configurations, final drive ratios and other calibration-significant factors.

These 2 characters are selected by the analyst to provide identifiable information unique to each calibration. For example, using the number 2 to denote a 2-valve engine versus using the number 4 to denote a 4-valve engine, provides an easily identifiable difference.

Fleet Code
Position 5 - Fleet calibration coding is as follows:
- 0 - Certification (U.S. 4K, final sale in export markets)
- 1 - HGDE/Dyno
- 2 - Fast AMA, U.S.
- 3 - ADP U.S.
- 4 - Not assigned
- 5 - Not assigned
- 6 - Evaporative emissions
- 7 - MACAA
- 8 - On-board diagnostics
- 9 - Not assigned

Certification Regions
Position 6 - Certification region. Lists the lead region where multiple regions are included in one calibration.
- 5 - U.S. 50 states
- A - U.S. Federal (including altitude, may include Canada or Mexico)
- B - U.S. California standard (includes U.S. green states)
- C - Canada
- D - China
- E - European Community (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom)
- F - Extended European Community (Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Yugoslavia)
- G - Gulf Cooperative Council
- H - Hong Kong
- J - Japan
- K - Korea
- L - Malaysia
- M - Mexico
- N - New Zealand
- P - Australia
- Q - South America (Brazil)
- S - Singapore
- T - Taiwan
- U - South America (unleaded fuel)
- V - Vietnam
- X - ROW (rest of world)
- Y - Military
- Z - Israel

Revision Level
The revision level will advance as revisions occur. Not printed on label.