Parts identification, done right
Practical articles on vehicle variants, factory equipment and OEM references. Check the conditions that decide whether a part fits before you send the order.
Articles 73–96 of 156. Search by model, catalog or part.
WMI code list: the first three VIN characters by brand
A WMI code, or world manufacturer identifier, is the first three characters of a VIN, and it names the manufacturer, the country and often the vehicle type. WVW is a Volkswagen car from Germany, 1G1 a Chevrolet car from…
Vehicle identificationVIN country of origin: what the first character tells you
The VIN country of origin is in the first character, read together with the second for most of Europe and Asia: 1, 4 and 5 mean the United States, 2 Canada, 3 Mexico, J Japan and W Germany. It points to where the…
Vehicle identificationVIN 10th digit: the model year chart and how to read it
The VIN 10th digit gives the model year on vehicles built for North America: A means 2010, L means 2020, S means 2025 and T means 2026. The code repeats every 30 years, so on a passenger car you also read position 7 to…
Diagnostics & repairECU part number by VIN: hardware, software and what the catalog shows
The ECU part number by VIN comes from the official parts catalog, which lists the control unit the carmaker supplies for that exact build. That number identifies the hardware. The software on the unit and its coding to…
Parts sourcingCar parts by VIN for free: what the free tools give you and where they stop
You can find car parts by VIN for free through dealer online parts stores, which filter their catalog to your VIN, and through free VIN decoders, which tell you the make, model year, engine and plant. Neither gives you…
Parts sourcingHow to order parts by VIN number: what to send and what to check
To order parts by VIN number, send the seller the full 17-character VIN with a plain description of the part and ask for the carmaker’s part number back before you pay. The VIN lets the parts desk open the exact build of…
Parts dataWhat vehicle does this part fit? Reverse lookup from a part number
To find what vehicle a part fits, read the carmaker’s part number off the part or its label, identify the brand that issued it, then check the number against a VIN in that brand’s official catalog. The number tells you…
Parts terminologyOEM vs genuine parts: what genuine, OEM, OES and aftermarket mean
In the OEM vs genuine parts question, a genuine part is the one the carmaker sells in its own packaging under its own part number, and an OEM part is made by the company that supplies the carmaker, sold in that…
Parts sourcingOpel and Vauxhall parts: is the car GM or PSA underneath?
PSA completed its purchase of Opel and Vauxhall from General Motors in 2017, and both brands passed to Stellantis in 2021. The model names carried on through all of it. A Corsa, an Astra or a Mokka can sit on General…
Parts dataMazda part numbers explained: reading PE01-14-302A before you order
A Mazda part number such as PE01-14-302A reads in four pieces. Mazda’s own guide for suppliers sets out the pattern: four characters for the application Mazda first designed the part for, two for the section of the…
Parts sourcingGeely parts by VIN, and what the Volvo connection means at the counter
Zhejiang Geely Holding owns Volvo Cars, and the two companies developed a vehicle architecture together. If you have worked on a Volvo XC40, a Geely Monjaro will feel familiar underneath. The shared engineering is real,…
Parts sourcingBYD parts by VIN: export names, Blade batteries and a floor that is a battery
BYD often sells a car under one name in China and another abroad. The Atto 3 you see in Europe is the Yuan Plus at home, the Seal U is the Song Plus, and the Dolphin Surf is the Seagull. Start a BYD lookup from the VIN.…
Parts sourcingHaval, Tank, Ora and Wey: one Great Wall catalog behind the badges
Great Wall Motor sells cars under several names: Haval for SUVs, Tank for off-roaders, Ora for small electric cars, Wey for its upmarket range, and GWM on its pickups. They all start their VINs with the same manufacturer…
Parts sourcingOmoda and Jaecoo are Chery brands: finding their parts by VIN
Omoda and Jaecoo are new names at most workshops, and their owners expect the same service as for any other car. Both brands belong to Chery, and their parts sit in Chery’s catalog alongside Exeed and Jetour. Look up an…
Parts dataVW PR codes: the three characters that pick the right brake disc
Two Golfs from the same year with the same engine can take different front brake discs, and the 17 characters of the VIN do not say which. Volkswagen Group handles that with PR codes, three-character codes for the…
Vehicle identificationWindow stickers, build sheets and data cards: finding a car’s original spec
You go looking for a window sticker or a build sheet when you want to know how a car left the factory. Makers and markets keep that record in different places, and the records differ a lot in how much they help a parts…
Vehicle identificationEngine code by VIN: where it sits, and when the VIN leaves it out
You need the engine code before you order a timing kit or a gasket set, and the VIN is the first place you look. On a car built for North America, the VIN identifies the engine by law. On a car built for Europe it often…
Vehicle identificationReading a Hyundai or Kia VIN: the plant code, the engine and the parts
A Hyundai or Kia VIN gives you the plant before anything else, and for parts that is often the most useful fact in it. The group builds cars in Korea, the United States, Mexico, Europe, Turkey and India, and each plant…
Workshop how-toThe five-minute check before you order
Most wrong parts are not caused by bad catalogs or careless people. They are caused by skipping a check that would have taken a minute, on a job that felt obvious. Four questions catch the large majority, and none of…
Diagnostics & repairWhen the catalog and the car disagree
The catalog is confident, the car is in front of you, and they do not match. This happens often enough that treating it as a catalog error wastes time. Six ordinary explanations cover almost every case, and working…
Parts counterReading a parts invoice somebody else wrote
A customer puts an invoice on the counter and asks whether they were charged fairly, or whether the part fitted last year is the reason the car is back. You have a list of numbers and descriptions written by somebody…
Parts sourcingCars built in Turkey, and why the plant shows up in the parts list
Turkey is one of Europe’s larger vehicle producers, and a great many cars driving around the continent were built there: Ford commercials, Toyota hatchbacks, Renault saloons, Fiat vans, Hyundai small cars. The plant is…
Parts sourcingKorean home-market cars: what changes when the car never left Korea
Hyundai and Kia sell models at home that never reached export markets, and export models at home under different names. A Grandeur is an Azera, a K5 was an Optima, and a good deal of the equipment on a domestic car has…
Parts dataWhy the same physical part carries different numbers in different countries
You find the part, the picture matches, and the number your supplier quotes is not the number in the catalog. Before assuming somebody is wrong, check where each number came from. Manufacturers issue different numbers…