Audi VW part numbers explained

The VW part numbering system is a very logical sequence of numbers and letters, almost a language in itself. Once you understand how a part number is made, you could almost guess what a part number would be!

A part number looks like: 3B0821106C

This can be broken down into three 'lots' of three numbers, i.e.:
3B0 821 106C each group of three numbers has a specific meaning:

3B0 means the car or engine/gearbox this part fits. In this case, 3B0 is a Passat. Sometimes when is part is different for left hand drive cars or right hand drive cars, the last digit will denote either LHD or RHD. A 1 would indicate LHD and a 2 would indicate RHD. So:

3B1 = a LHD specific Passat part
3B2 = a RHD specific Passat part
8D1 = a LHD specific A4 part
8D2 = a RHD specific A4 part

Another way the first three numbers are used, is when the part is different for various body versions of the same car. i.e.

1H0 is MK3 Golf
1H9 is MK3 Golf estate
3B5 is Passat saloon
3B9 is Passat estate
8N8 is TT Coupe
8N7 is TT Roadster
8D5 is A4 Saloon, or sedan
8D9 is A4 Avant
8E0 is the new A4,

The next group of three numbers 821 has two meanings. The 8 means bodywork and we refer to this number as the 'main group'. The 21 is the 'subgroup' of (8) bodywork, and the subgroup 21, is always wings, or fenders as they are known in the USA. The part number so far would then be 8D0 821, and all we need now is the last three digits. The last three digits are the 'real' part number of every part.

The last three digits in the example part number above are 106C. The number 106C has two meanings. 106 is the part number for a wing (or fender), also when a part is sided, i.e. left or right, the very last digit (6 in this case) denotes the side. An even number means right hand side, an odd number means left hand side. So in the example part number, 106 is a wing and the side it fits is the right hand side (being an even number). This is normally always the case with only a few exceptions.

The last bit of the example part number, the letter C, refers to either the version of this wing, or if a part has been modified, this letter will increase along the alphabet to indicate that a modification has taken place.

That's virtually all there is too a part number!

Try this one:

A 1999 Passat bonnet, what's the part number likely to be?

3B0 = Passat
8 is bodywork
23 is bonnet
and bonnets are normally 023 or 029.

So you can almost correctly guess the part number of a Passat bonnet!

3B0 823 029, the only thing missing is the letter C at the end of the part number, but that's the bit you couldn't guess!! Easy huh??

The only other 'main' part of a part number is the colour code. These codes go at the very end of a part number i.e. 4A0 837 239E 01C. 01C is one of the colour codes for black, another code for black is B41, or 3FZ even.

Simple when you know how! now you can impress your local dealer and tell them the part number in future!