What vehicle does this part fit? Reverse lookup from a part number

Find the right number on the part

Most parts carry a number on a label, a stamping or a casting mark. Electronic modules have a sticker, plastic parts often have the number moulded in, and castings carry it raised on the metal. Copy it exactly, including any letters at the end, because the suffix is often the revision.

Many parts carry two numbers. One belongs to the carmaker and the other to the supplier that made the part, such as Bosch, Denso or Valeo. The carmaker’s number is the one that leads to a vehicle. The supplier’s number leads to that supplier’s own catalog.

Identify the brand from the number’s shape

Each carmaker group numbers parts in its own house style. A Volkswagen Group number such as 1K0 615 301 AB follows a three, three, three and index pattern. Toyota uses five digits, a hyphen and five more, and Honda uses a five, three, three layout such as 45022-TVA-A00.

Paste the number into the free OEM number lookup and it lists the manufacturer groups that use that shape. Some shapes are shared: eight plain digits are used by General Motors, Fiat, Volvo and SAIC, so the tool shows every candidate instead of guessing.

What vehicle does this part fit: checking it in the catalog

Once you know the brand, open its official catalog. Searching the part number there shows the number’s description and its supersession, and in many catalogs the model ranges it belongs to. That gives you the family of cars.

For a yes or no on one car, decode that car’s VIN in the catalog and open the diagram for the part. If the number beside it matches yours, or supersedes to it, the part fits that build. ETKA, for example, uses the VIN to highlight the components specific to that vehicle within the wider model range.

One number, many models

A single reference often fits several models, and a single model takes several variants of the same part. Brands inside one group share many parts across models, while two cars of the same model built a few months apart can need different ones because of an option code or a running change.

That is why a list of models is a starting point. The same model name covers different engines, markets and trim, and the catalog separates them by build date, engine code and equipment. Our post on variant traps shows how parts that look the same differ underneath.

Supersession: the number on the part may be old

A number stamped on a ten-year-old part may no longer exist as an orderable reference. The carmaker may have replaced it with a new number, merged it into a kit or restricted it to a market. The catalog carries the chain forward, so search the old number and follow it to the current one.

A replacement number sometimes covers more vehicles than the original did. Check the current number against the VIN too. Our guide to parts supersession explains how to read the chain.

A part with no readable number

A worn, painted or cleaned part can lose its label. Work from the car instead. Decode the VIN, find the part in the diagram and read the number from there. The free VIN decoder gives you the make, model year and plant, and the catalog adds the exact build.