Vehicle Certification (VC) Label

VEHICLE CERTIFICATION (VC) LABEL

Vehicle Certification (VC) Label Locator:

Vehicle Certification Label:

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).

Paint Codes - Ford Five Hundred, Mercury Montego:

Vehicle paint codes may be listed as a 2-part code. The first set of paint code numbers/letters listed, indicate the vehicle primary body color. The second set of numbers/letters listed (if applicable) indicate a 2-tone or accent body color. All colors are base coat/clear coat.
- CX - Dark Shadow Gray (Ford Five Hundred/Mercury Montego)
- DV - Light Tundra/Titanium Green (Ford Five Hundred/Mercury Montego)
- DX - Dark Blue Pearl (Ford Five Hundred)
- FX - Merlot (Ford Five Hundred/Mercury Montego)
- G2 - Redfire (Ford Five Hundred)
- G3 - Pueblo Gold (Ford Five Hundred/Mercury Montego)
- JP - Silver Birch (Ford Five Hundred/Mercury Montego)
- T3 - Satellite Silver Pearl (Ford Five Hundred)
- UA - Ebony (Ford Five Hundred/Mercury Montego)
- YZ - Oxford White (Ford Five Hundred/Mercury Montego)

Brake Codes:

- 2 - 4-wheel anti-lock brake system (ABS)
- 5 - 4-wheel ABS and traction control

Interior Trim Codes - Ford Five Hundred, Mercury Montego:

The interior trim codes are listed below. The first digit listed indicates the seat and fabric style. The second digit listed indicates the interior trim color.

Trim Codes
- C - Stamps cloth seating - Ford Five Hundred
- H - Milled Pebble leather seating - Ford Five Hundred/Mercury Montego
- M - Alexis cloth seating - Mercury Montego

Interior Trim Color Code
- 7 - Pebble Tan
- T - Shale Gray
- W - Charcoal Black

Tape/Paint Pinstripe Codes - Ford Five Hundred, Mercury Montego:

Tape and paint pinstripe codes do not apply.

Radio Codes:

- 2 - Premium electronic AM/FM stereo with compact disc (CD) player and clock
- 6 - Premium electronic AM/FM stereo with 6-disc CD changer (MP3 capable) and clock
- N - AM/FM stereo with CD player, clock and navigation system

Axle Codes:

The following lists the axle ratios.
- 1 - 3.46 - Ford Five Hundred/Mercury Montego
- 2 - 4.98 - Ford Five Hundred/Mercury Montego
- 3 - 5.19 - Ford Five Hundred/Mercury Montego

Transmission Code:

- A - 6-speed automatic (Aisin F21) - Ford Five Hundred, Mercury Montego
- C - CVT (continuous variable transmission) - Ford Five Hundred, Mercury Montego

Spring Codes:

Spring codes list both front and rear spring codes. The first set of characters identify the front springs. The second set of characters identify the rear springs.
- Front spring base part number - 5B420
- Rear spring base part number - 5B564

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. Because of this, 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 in 2000 or later model years, Protocol 3 will be used. Refer to Protocol 3.

Protocol 1:

Protocol 1

Protocol 2:

Protocol 2

Protocol 3:

Protocol 3
The following offers a more detailed explanation of the coding strategy used for Protocol 3.

Model Year
Model year code indicates the year in which the calibration code was introduced.
- 0 - 2000
- 1 - 2001
- 2 - 2002
- 3 - 2003
- 4 - 2004
- 5 - 2005
- 6 - 2006

Vehicle Code
The vehicle code indicates the vehicle line to which the code applies.
- PB - Ford Five Hundred
- PG - Ford Freestyle/Mercury Montego

Transmission Code
The transmission code identifies the type of transmission used.
- 1 - Automatic transmission

Unique Calibration
The Emissions/CAFE/CO2 Compliance Department is responsible for assigning these calibration numbers. Unique 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 chosen 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 identify a 4-valve engine provides an easily identifiable difference.

Fleet Coding
Identifies the fleet to which the vehicle belongs.
- 0 - Certification (U.S. 4K, final sale in export markets)
- 1 - HDGE/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 (OBD)
- 9 - Not assigned

Certification Region
When instances where multiple regions are included in one calibration, the lead region will be listed.
- 5 - U.S. 50 states
- A - U.S. federal, including altitude, may include Canada and/or Mexico
- B - U.S. California standard, includes U.S. green states
- C - Canada
- D - China
- E - European Community (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom)
- F - European Extended Community (E plus Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland and Yugoslavia)
- G - Gulf Cooperative Council (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE)
- 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 regions)
- V - Vietnam
- X - Rest of World (ROW)
- Y - Military
- Z - Israel

Revision Level (not printed on label)
- 91-99 - Hardware and certification levels
- 01-04 - Preliminary levels
- 00 - Job 1 production (initial certification)
- 05-09 - Pre-job 1 revisions to calibrations
- 10-89 - Post-job 1 revisions to calibrations
- 0B - Durability test level
- BD - On-board diagnostics (OBD) intermediate level (pre-05)