Ford Focus RDS 5000 VIN Number Storage

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Mon 16 Jan 2006 00:30
Ford Focus RDS 5000 VIN Number Storage - psi
Hi,

I have a '99/"V" Ford Focus with a Ford RDS 5000 Radio. All units with RDS capability have the facility to store the vehicle VIN in the audio unit memory.

After following the instructions in the Ford Audio Guide supplied with the car, I have discovered that the VIN on my V5C & VIN Plate is 17 characters in length, and the RDS 5000 only has a 16 character memory, 16 also being the max. length stated in the Audio Guide.

Am I missing something simple, or is there no way to store the full VIN on the radio, making this useful security feature a waste of time?

Thanks in advance.
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Mon 16 Jan 2006 08:11
Ford Focus RDS 5000 VIN Number Storage - jc
The last two letters and five numbers are all you actually need to store-they are unique to your car.Most of the others are body codes,build codes and a couple of meaningless letters to make the full 17.(not quite true-the two letters will repeat about every 20 years.)A lot of people store the reg. number.
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Mon 16 Jan 2006 08:16
Ford Focus RDS 5000 VIN Number Storage - Altea Ego
The useful security feature is a waste of time. All Ford radios of that vintage are easily reset to manufacturing default and every scroat knows it.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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