diff --git a/app/controllers/vehicles_controller.rb b/app/controllers/vehicles_controller.rb
index fcdbc6c..d184c01 100644
--- a/app/controllers/vehicles_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/vehicles_controller.rb
@@ -76,6 +76,13 @@ class VehiclesController < ApplicationController
     end
   end
 
+  def status
+    vehicle = Vehicle.find(params[:id])
+    render json: {
+      decoded: vehicle.vin_decoded
+    }
+  end
+
   # return an HTML form for editing a vehicle
   def edit
     begin
diff --git a/app/jobs/vehicle_vin_decode_job.rb b/app/jobs/vehicle_vin_decode_job.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b021ce3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/jobs/vehicle_vin_decode_job.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+#The MIT License (MIT)
+#
+#Copyright (c) 2016 - 2026 rick barrette
+#
+#Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+#
+#The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+#
+#THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
+
+class VehicleVinDecodeJob < ApplicationJob
+  queue_as :default
+  retry_on StandardError, wait: 5.minutes, attempts: 5
+
+  def perform(vehicle_id)
+    log "Looking up VIN for vehicle ##{vehicle_id}"
+    vehicle = Vehicle.find_by(id: vehicle_id)
+    return unless vehicle&.vin.present?
+    result = VinDecoder.call(vehicle.vin)
+    
+    unless result.success?
+      log "Failed to decode vin"
+      vehicle.update(vin_decoded: false)
+      return
+    end
+
+    details = result.data
+
+    vehicle.update(
+      year: details.year.presence || vehicle.year,
+      make: details.make.presence || vehicle.make,
+      model: details.model.presence || vehicle.model,
+      doors: details.doors.presence || vehicle.doors,
+      trim: details.trim.presence || vehicle.trim,
+      name: vehicle.to_s,
+      vin_decoded: true
+    )
+  end
+
+  private
+
+  def log(msg)
+    Rails.logger.info "[VehicleVinDecodeJob] #{msg}"
+  end
+end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/app/models/vehicle.rb b/app/models/vehicle.rb
index 698dcb3..507d124 100644
--- a/app/models/vehicle.rb
+++ b/app/models/vehicle.rb
@@ -8,131 +8,80 @@
 #
 #THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
 
-class Vehicle < ActiveRecord::Base
-
+class Vehicle < ApplicationRecord
   include Redmine::Acts::Searchable
   include Redmine::Acts::Event
 
   belongs_to :customer
   has_many :issues
-  validates_presence_of :customer
-  validates :vin, uniqueness: true
-  before_save :decode_vin
-
-  acts_as_searchable columns: %w[vin make model year],
-                     scope: ->(_context) { left_joins(:project) },
-                     date_column: :updated_at
-
+  validates :customer, presence: true
+  validates :vin, presence: true, uniqueness: true
+  before_validation :normalize_vin
+  after_commit :enqueue_vin_decode
+  acts_as_searchable columns: %w[vin make model year], scope: ->(_context) { all }, date_column: :updated_at
   acts_as_event :title => Proc.new {|o| "#{o.to_s}"},
                 :url => Proc.new {|o| { :controller => 'vehicles', :action => 'show', :id => o.id} },
                 :type => :to_s,
                 :description => Proc.new {|o| "#{o.vin} - #{o.customer}"},
                 :datetime => Proc.new {|o| o.updated_at || o.created_at}
 
-  # decodes a vin and updates self
-  def decode_vin
-    get_details
-    if @details
-      begin
-        self.year = @details.year unless @details.year.nil?
-        self.make = @details.make unless @details.make.nil?
-        self.model = @details.model unless @details.model.nil?
-        self.doors = @details.doors unless @details.doors.nil?
-        self.trim = @details.trim unless @details.trim.nil?
-      rescue Exception => e
-        errors.add(:vin, e.message)
-      end
-    end
-    self.name = to_s
-  end
-
-  # returns the raw JSON details from NHTSA
-  def details
-    get_details if @details.nil?
-    return @details
-  end
-
-  # returns all estimates for this vehicle
   def estimates
-    self.issues.flat_map(&:estimate).uniq.compact
+    issues.includes(:estimate).flat_map(&:estimate).uniq.compact
   end
 
-  # reurns all invoices for this vehicle
   def invoices
-    self.issues.flat_map(&:invoices).uniq.compact
+    issues.includes(:invoices).flat_map(&:invoices).uniq.compact
   end
-  
-  # Force Upper Case for make numbers
+
   def make=(val)
-    # The to_s is in case you get nil/non-string
-    write_attribute(:make, val.to_s.titleize)
+    super(val.to_s.strip)
   end
-  
-  # Force Upper Case for model numbers
+
   def model=(val)
-    # The to_s is in case you get nil/non-string
-    write_attribute(:model, val.to_s.titleize)
+    super(val.to_s.strip)
   end
-  
-  # needed for redmine's search and event system, but we don't want to tie vehicles to projects
+
+  # Redmine compatibility shim
   def project
     nil
   end
 
-  # search for a vehicle by vin, make, model, or year
   def self.search(query)
-    q = sanitize_sql_like(query)
-    where("vin LIKE ? OR make LIKE ? OR model LIKE ? OR year LIKE ?", "%#{q}%", "%#{q}%", "%#{q}%", "%#{q}%") 
+    return none if query.blank?
+    q = "%#{sanitize_sql_like(query)}%"
+    where( "vin LIKE :q OR make LIKE :q OR model LIKE :q OR year LIKE :q", q: q)
   end
 
   # Override the defult redmine seach method to rank results by id
   def self.search_result_ranks_and_ids(tokens, user, project = nil, options = {})
     return {} if tokens.blank?
-
     scope = self.all
-
     tokens.each do |token|
       scope = scope.search(token)
     end
-
     ids = scope.distinct.limit(options[:limit] || 100).pluck(:id)
     ids.index_with { |id| id }
   end
 
-  # returns a human readable string
   def to_s
-    if year.nil? or make.nil? or model.nil?
-      return "#{vin}"
-    else
-      split_vin = vin.scan(/.{1,9}/)
-      return "#{year} #{make} #{model} - #{split_vin[1]}"
-    end
+    return vin if year.blank? || make.blank? || model.blank?
+    suffix = vin.to_s[9..] || vin
+    "#{year} #{make} #{model} - #{suffix}"
   end
 
-  # Force Upper Case & strip VIN of all illegal chars (for barcode scanner)
-  def vin=(val)
-    val = val.to_s.upcase.gsub(/[^A-HJ-NPR-Za-hj-npr-z\d]+/,"")
-    write_attribute(:vin, val)
-  end
-  
   private
-  
-  # init method to pull JSON details from NHTSA
-  def get_details
-    if self.vin?
-      #validate the vin before calling a remote server
-      validation = NhtsaVin.validate(self.vin)
-      begin
-        #if the vin validation failed, raise an exception and exit
-        raise RuntimeError, validation.error unless validation.valid?
-        # query NHTSA for details on the vin
-        query = NhtsaVin.get(self.vin)
-        raise RuntimeError, query.error unless query.valid?
-        @details = query.response
-      rescue Exception => e
-        errors.add(:vin, e.message)
-      end
-    end
+
+  def enqueue_vin_decode
+    VehicleVinDecodeJob.perform_later(id)
   end
-  
-end
+
+  def normalize_vin
+    return if vin.blank?
+    cleaned = vin.to_s.upcase.gsub(/[^A-HJ-NPR-Z\d]/, "")
+    self.vin = cleaned
+  end
+
+  def log(msg)
+    Rails.logger.info "[Vehicle] #{msg}"
+  end
+end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/app/services/vin_decoder.rb b/app/services/vin_decoder.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7587d75
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/services/vin_decoder.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+#The MIT License (MIT)
+#
+#Copyright (c) 2016 - 2026 rick barrette
+#
+#Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+#
+#The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+#
+#THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
+
+class VinDecoder
+  Result = Struct.new(:success?, :data, :error)
+
+  def self.call(vin)
+    new(vin).call
+  end
+
+  def initialize(vin)
+    @vin = vin
+  end
+
+  def call
+    log "Decoding VIN"
+    validation = NhtsaVin.validate(@vin)
+    return failure(validation.error) unless validation.valid?
+
+    query = NhtsaVin.get(@vin)
+    return failure(query.error) unless query.valid?
+
+    success(query.response)
+  rescue StandardError => e
+    failure(e.message)
+  end
+
+  private
+
+  def success(data)
+    Result.new(true, data, nil)
+  end
+
+  def failure(error)
+    log "VIN decode failed for #{@vin}: #{error}"
+    Result.new(false, nil, error)
+  end
+
+  def log(msg)
+    Rails.logger.info "[VinDecoder] #{msg}"
+  end
+end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/app/views/vehicles/show.html.erb b/app/views/vehicles/show.html.erb
index 9e4963b..ea7b0b8 100644
--- a/app/views/vehicles/show.html.erb
+++ b/app/views/vehicles/show.html.erb
@@ -1,5 +1,11 @@
 <h2><%=t(:field_vehicle)%> #<%=@vehicle.id%></h2>
 
+<% unless @vehicle.vin_decoded? %>
+  <div id="vin-status" class="flash notice">
+    <%= t :notice_decoding_vin %>
+  </div>
+<% end %>
+
 <%= render partial: 'vehicles/details', locals: {vehicle: @vehicle} %>
 
 <div class="splitcontent">
@@ -21,3 +27,40 @@
 <h3><%=@closed_issues.count%> <%=t(:label_closed_issues)%></h3>
 
 <%= render partial: 'issues/list_simple', locals: {issues: (@closed_issues)} %>
+
+<script>
+  (function() {
+    const vehicleId = <%= @vehicle.id %>;
+    const alreadyDecoded = <%= @vehicle.vin_decoded? ? 'true' : 'false' %>;
+
+    if (alreadyDecoded) return;
+
+    const interval = 3000; // 3 seconds
+    let attempts = 0;
+    const maxAttempts = 40; // ~2 minutes
+
+    const checkStatus = () => {
+      fetch(`/vehicles/${vehicleId}/status`, {
+        headers: { 'Accept': 'application/json' }
+      })
+        .then(res => res.json())
+        .then(data => {
+          if (data.decoded) {
+            window.location.reload();
+          } else {
+            attempts++;
+            if (attempts >= maxAttempts) {
+              clearInterval(timer);
+              console.warn("VIN decode polling timed out");
+            }
+          }
+        })
+        .catch(err => {
+          console.error("Polling error:", err);
+          clearInterval(timer);
+        });
+    };
+
+    const timer = setInterval(checkStatus, interval);
+  })();
+</script>
diff --git a/config/locales/en.yml b/config/locales/en.yml
index ff116ae..87832ab 100644
--- a/config/locales/en.yml
+++ b/config/locales/en.yml
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ en:
   label_search_vehicles: "Search Vehicles"
   label_year: "Year"
   no_customer: "Customer no longer exists"
+  notice_decoding_vin: "Decoding VIN… this page will update automatically."
   notice_vehicle_created: "Vehicle was successfully created."
   notice_vehicle_deleted: "Vehicle was successfully deleted."
   notice_vehicle_updated: "Vehicle was successfully updated."
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/config/routes.rb b/config/routes.rb
index bd428b2..d30753f 100644
--- a/config/routes.rb
+++ b/config/routes.rb
@@ -15,4 +15,8 @@ resources :customers do
 end
 
 #allow for just vehicles too
-resources :vehicles
+resources :vehicles do
+  member do
+    get :status
+  end
+end
diff --git a/db/migrate/004_add_indexes.rb b/db/migrate/004_add_indexes.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..37fb7c6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/db/migrate/004_add_indexes.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+#The MIT License (MIT)
+#
+#Copyright (c) 2016 - 2026 rick barrette
+#
+#Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+#
+#The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+#
+#THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
+
+class AddIndexes < ActiveRecord::Migration[7.0]
+  
+  def change
+    add_column :vehicles, :vin_decoded, :boolean, default: false, null: false
+    add_index :vehicles, :vin_decoded
+    add_index :vehicles, :vin, unique: true
+    add_index :vehicles, :make
+    add_index :vehicles, :model
+    add_index :vehicles, :year
+  end
+
+end