Positions 1-2-3 are the Manufacturer ID code.1: country code. J is Japan (1 or 4 is USA, 2 is Canada, 3 Mexico, K Korea, S England, W Germany, Z Italy etc)
2. manufacturer. F is Fugi Heavy Industries (A is Audi, B BMW, C Chrysler, F Ord, G GM, H Honda, S Subaru, V VW etc)
3. Vehicle type or manufacturing division
JF1 is FHI Fugi Heavy Industry passenger vehicle, made in Japan
4S3 is a SIA Subaru-Isuzu factory passenger vehicle
4S4 is a SIA Subaru-Isuzu factory MPV multi purpose vehicle such as the 2005 Outback, but not the 04 which was a 4S3 because it was still considered a car.
Position 4 is Line type, ie. what product line. B is Legacy, G is Impreza, S is Forester,
Position 5- tells what kind of body, ie Impreza sedan, Legacy wagon, Baja, Impreza or Forester wagon, Legacy wagon etc.
D- Impreza sedan; L- Legacy sedan; G Impreza Sport wgn and Forester; P- Legacy wagon; T- Baja
This code can change yearly.
Position 6 - Engine types, varies by year. This can change yearly
2 is 2.0L turbo 4cyl; 6 is either 2.2L or 2.5L 4 cyl; 7 is a 2.5L turbo STi motor; 8 is a 3.0L 6 cyl.
Position 7 - model type and trim. First, you have to know the model, then you can decipher the correct trim.
Position 8 is the Restraint. 5- manual seat belts with dual front airbags, 6- manual seat belts with dual front and dual side airbags.
C: Class C (4001-5000lbs) MPV
Position 9: check digit. A mathamatical formula that takes all the other characters in the VIN and comes up with a value of 0-9 or X, thus ensuring accuracy. I have no idea how this works. It's a mystery.
Position 10: Model year: J is 1988, K is 1989, L 1990, M 1991, N 1992, P 1993, R 1994, S 1995, T 1996, V 1997, W 1998, X 1999, Y 2000, 1 2001, 2 2002, 3 2003,
4 2004, 5 2005, 6 2006, 7 2007, 8 2008...
Position 11- Manufacturing plant and Transmission: can vary by year
SIA (US Built)- 4: SIA, 5spd SportShift automatic, 5: SIA, 4spd SportShift automatic, 6: 5spd manual awd, 7: automatic awd, '-' can be 6spd manual, postal car depending on the year
FHI (Japan built)- G: manual awd, H: automatic awd, L 6spd manual
Position 12-17- sequential production numbers. Changes yearly, based on the line
100001 Baja; 200001 Legacy and Outback sedan; 300001 Legacy and Outback wagon; 500001 Impreza sedan; 600001 Legacy and Outback wagon;
700001 Forester; 800001 Impreza Sport wagon
EDIT: Aici se pot gasi codurile de transmisie cu detalii despre fiecare:
http://www.gearhack.com/myink/ViewPage.php?file=docs/Subaru+Transmission+Chart