Figuring Out the Year of Your Hyster or Yale Forklift

Figuring Out the Year of a Hyster or Yale Forklift

Trying to figure out exactly how old your Hyster or Yale forklift is? You're definitely not the only one. Whether you're hunting down replacement parts, scheduling a service check, or trying to put a price tag on a machine you want to sell, knowing the manufacturing year is a must.

The good news is it doesn't take a detective to figure it out. All you really need is the serial number.

Breaking Down the Serial Number

Grab your serial number off the lift's data plate. The secret here is the very last character, which is always a letter. That single letter acts as your year code. Just match it up using the cheat sheet below.

But before you skip straight to the list, keep these two quick quirks in mind:

• They recycle the alphabet. Yale and Hyster run through the exact same sequence of letters every 23 years. Because of this, a letter like "S" might mean the lift was built in 1995, but it could just as easily mean 2018. You'll need at least a rough guess of the decade your forklift was built in to nail down the exact year.
• They skip a few letters. You are never going to see an "I," an "O," or a "Q" at the end of a serial number. They skip those entirely so nobody accidentally mixes them up with a 1 or a 0. Makes sense, right?

Still scratching your head?

Sometimes these data plates are worn out, scratched up, or just plain confusing. If you can't quite figure it out, or you want to double-check the original specs, just reach out to our parts and service team. Send over your full model and serial number, and we'll decode it for you.

(If you happen to be outside of our normal service area, just hit up the dealer locator on the Hyster or Yale websites to find a local rep who can help out).