How to Identify Hot Wheels Cases

Hot Wheels are organized by assortment and shipped in cases of various sizes. To identify the vehicles inside, codes are printed and stamped on the boxes.

While the placement of these codes may vary, all Hot Wheels cases share a similar code structure, making them easy to identify.

Assortment

The first code to look for on a Hot Wheels case is the assortment code, which is printed on the box and ends with a dash.

For example, the code C4982, shown above, indicates Hot Wheels mainlines on international blister cards. If the code were FPY86, the case would contain Car Culture vehicles. For Monster Trucks, the code would be FYJ44.

For a list of case codes visit Hot Wheels Assortment Codes.

Made In & Quantity

Below the assortment code displays where the Hot Wheels were made and how many are in the case.

Mix

Next to the assortment code, there will be a stamped code on the box that indicates the case mix. Pictured above is the code "99LJ." The last letter identifies the mix, so this case is Mix "J."

Fifteen different mixes of Hot Wheels mainline cases are released each year - A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, and Q. The letters "I" and "O" are never used for case codes due to their similarity to "1" and "0."

Version

After "99LJ" is "QR" which is the version. Hot Wheels mainline cases do not have a precise mix of vehicles. What vehicles are inside may vary depending on when the case was packed.

How far along in the alphabet determines the version. A case with for example "AA" or "CD" is an early case, "HZ" is a mid-case, and "QR" is a later case.

Non-mainline Hot Wheels cases don't usually have a version code.

Date

Somewhere on the box, you will find another code indicating the date the case was packaged. In the example above, "0724N1" is the date code for the Hot Wheels case.

• The first three numbers (072) represent the Julian date, indicating the month and day.
• The fourth number (4) is the last digit of the year.
• "N1" refers to the factory shift.

Thus, the code "0724N1" means the case was packed on March 12, 2024, by the first shift.

Hot Wheels are manufactured months in advance, so the initial mixes of a Hot Wheels assortment, particularly mainlines, may have a packaging date from the previous year.

More Examples

FPY86 is the assortment and the last letter in the stamped code is "G" which means this is a Car Culture case with mix "G" vehicles inside.

GJT86 is the assortment code, and the "U" at the end of the stamped code signifies that this is a Hot Wheels Boulevard case containing mix "U" vehicles.

L2593 indicates the assortment, which means Hot Wheels mainlines on U.S. blister cards, and the "E" in "975E" represents the mix.

Based on the date code "3353N2," the case was packed on December 1, 2023. Given that Hot Wheels are shipped months in advance and there are 15 mixes per year for mainlines, it is unlikely that 2023 Hot Wheels mainlines from mix "E" (the fifth mix) were packed in December. Therefore, this case must contain 2024 mainlines.

In summary, we have determined that this case has 2024 Hot Wheels mainlines from mix "E" on U.S. blister cards.