The VIN Scanner is a full-screen camera tool in the SalesThumb mobile app that reads a vehicle's VIN barcode and looks it up against NHTSA's public vPIC vehicle-decode database, so nobody has to type in the year, make, and model by hand. It reads any of the barcode formats used on VIN stickers — Code 39, Code 128, or Data Matrix, depending on the vehicle's year and manufacturer — off the sticker most vehicles carry on the door jamb, dash, or windshield.
Where to find it
- The Go to menu — tap the round thumb button in the center of the bottom bar. VIN Scanner shows up there for anyone with Installer or Sales mobile app access (shop owners always have both, regardless of how their own mobile access is set). If it's missing, that's a mobile-access setting, not a bug — see Why your installer sees a different mobile menu than you do.
- A customer's profile — open a customer record, scroll to Vehicles, and tap Scan a VIN to add a vehicle. This entry point is open to anyone who can view that customer's profile — no extra manage permission is required here.
- A customer's Vehicles tab — tap Scan VIN next to + Add vehicle. This one, along with Add/Edit/Delete on that same tab, only shows up for teammates who can manage that customer's records (owners, admins, and managers typically can; a technician-only role typically can't) — it's a different, narrower permission than the Installer/Sales access that unlocks the Go to menu tile.
Scanning a VIN
1. Open VIN Scanner. The first time, the app asks for camera access. If you decline, you get a "Camera access needed" screen instead of a live camera, with a button to grant access and a link straight to your phone's Settings. 2. Once the camera opens, aim it at the VIN barcode and hold it inside the bracketed guide box on screen — the app itself prompts "Aim at the VIN barcode (door jamb, dash, or windshield)." VIN stickers are read from just a few inches away, so the scanner keeps autofocus running the whole time — getting in close doesn't blur the read. 3. The instant the camera reads a valid 17-character VIN, your phone gives a short vibration and the scan locks — the camera stops reading further codes until you tap Scan again or close the scanner. 4. A result panel slides up from the bottom showing the scanned VIN. While it's decoding you'll see "Looking up NHTSA…"; once that resolves, you get the decoded year, make, and model, the trim if NHTSA has one on file, and the body class. 5. Tap Use this vehicle to carry the VIN and decoded details back to wherever you started the scan from. Scan again clears the result and reopens the camera. The X in the top corner closes the scanner without saving anything.
Entering a VIN manually
If a barcode won't read — a torn sticker, bad lighting, or an older vehicle with no barcode at all — tap Can't scan it? Enter VIN manually near the bottom of the camera screen. Type in the 17-character VIN (it auto-capitalizes as you go) and tap Decode; it runs through the exact same NHTSA lookup as a camera scan.
What happens on a bad scan
Not every failure looks the same:
- A barcode that isn't a valid-looking VIN — wrong length, or containing the letters I, O, or Q, which real VINs never use — is simply ignored. Nothing appears on screen and no error is shown; the camera just keeps looking. If nothing seems to be happening, re-aim, adjust your distance, or switch to manual entry.
- A barcode that scans fine but fails to decode shows the VIN with a green checkmark, followed by "Couldn't decode:" and the reason underneath. The NHTSA lookup is only attempted once per scan — tap Scan again or use manual entry to retry.
- Either way, Use this vehicle stays disabled until a decode actually succeeds, so a scanned-but-undecoded VIN can't be carried forward on its own.
Things to know
- Requires camera permission — declining shows a "Camera access needed" screen with a way to grant it or jump to your phone's Settings, rather than a live camera.
- Needs a working rear camera; no other hardware (NFC, a separate scanner) is involved.
- The NHTSA decode step is a network call, so a scan or a manually typed VIN needs a data or WiFi connection to come back with a year, make, and model.
- Genuine VINs never contain the letters I, O, or Q. Both the camera scanner and the manual-entry form enforce that — a manually typed VIN with one of those letters shows an inline error and won't submit.
- Trim and body class only display if NHTSA's data includes them; body class falls back to reading "Body class unknown" when it's not returned.
- The NHTSA lookup isn't retried automatically on failure — you have to tap Scan again or re-enter the VIN.
- Access depends on how you get to the scanner: Installer/Sales mobile access unlocks it from the Go to menu, but the "manage that customer's records" permission that gates the Vehicles-tab entry point is a separate setting — a teammate can have one without the other.
Frequently asked questions
Who can use the VIN Scanner?
A: It depends on how you get there. From the Go to menu, it's reachable by anyone with Installer or Sales mobile app access (shop owners always have both). From a customer's profile, the "Scan a VIN to add a vehicle" button is open to anyone who can view that customer's record. From a customer's Vehicles tab, "Scan VIN" only shows up for teammates who can manage that customer's records — typically owners, admins, and managers, but not a technician-only role.
What if the barcode won't scan at all?
A: Tap "Can't scan it? Enter VIN manually" at the bottom of the camera screen and type the 17 characters in by hand. It runs the same NHTSA decode as a camera scan.
Why did my scan seem to do nothing?
A: The scanner only reacts to a barcode that reads as a full 17-character VIN with none of the letters I, O, or Q (real VINs never contain those). Anything else — a partial read, a different barcode, a smudge — is silently ignored rather than flagged as an error, which can look like nothing happened. Re-aim, adjust your distance, or switch to manual entry.
The VIN scanned but I don't see a year, make, or model — what happened?
A: That's a decode failure, not a scan failure. You'll see "Couldn't decode:" with a reason under the VIN. The NHTSA lookup is only attempted once per scan, so tap Scan again to retry, or double-check the VIN with manual entry.
Can I finish adding the vehicle without a successful decode?
A: No — "Use this vehicle" stays disabled until the NHTSA lookup returns data. If it keeps failing, try scanning again, use manual entry to re-check the VIN, or add the vehicle's year/make/model through whatever screen you'd normally use.
Does this need an internet connection? A: Yes. Decoding calls NHTSA's public vehicle database over the network, so a scan or a manually typed VIN needs a data or WiFi connection before it can come back with a year, make, and model.
Still stuck? Use the in-app help widget or email info@roffik.com.