VAG Part Numbers Decoded: What 5H0 807 217 Actually Means

Genuine VAG part numbers look cryptic — 5H0 807 217 A, 1K0 998 262 — but they all follow the same structure, shared across Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT, Škoda and (for shared platforms) Porsche. Learn the pattern once and you can sanity-check any part number in seconds: does this even belong to the right area of the car? Could it be the wrong side? Here is the full decode.

The 3+3+3 structure

A core VAG part number is nine characters in three blocks, sometimes followed by letters:

First block — platform. The first two characters identify the vehicle family that first used the part: 1K is the Golf Mk5/6 platform, 5G the Golf Mk7, 5H the Golf Mk8, 3G the Passat B8, 8V the Audi A3, 5E the Škoda Octavia III, 5F the SEAT Leon III. The third character narrows the variant — 0 is universal, 1 and 2 distinguish left- and right-hand-drive parts (dashboards, steering), and other digits mark body styles such as the estate.
Second block — main group. The first digit tells you which system of the car the part belongs to (full list below); the next two narrow it to a subgroup — 807 is bumpers within the body group, 615 is brake discs and calipers within brakes.
Third block — the part itself. A sequential number within the subgroup. On handed parts, adjacent odd/even pairs usually mean left/right — 5H0 941 005 and 5H0 941 006 are the left and right Golf Mk8 headlights. (Not every number is handed, so treat this as a strong hint, not a law.)

The ten main groups

The first digit of the middle block places the part in one of ten systems:

1 — engine (including cooling and engine electrics like 121 water pumps)
2 — fuel system and exhaust
3 — gearbox and transmission
4 — front axle, steering and drive shafts
5 — rear axle
6 — wheels and brakes
7 — levers, pedals and cables
8 — body, interior and air conditioning (807 bumpers, 831 doors, 881 seats)
9 — electrics (941 headlights, 959 window motors, 971 wiring looms, 998 repair kits)
0 — general and accessory items

So before you order, ten seconds of reading catches gross mistakes: a "headlight" listing whose number starts 4 in the middle block deserves a second look.

Suffixes: revisions, colours and exchange parts

Revision letters (A, B, … AA, AB …) mark engineering updates. A newer letter usually supersedes the older number — the factory catalogue records these chains, and oemdiagrams.com shows you the current number for any superseded part, so you always order the one that is actually available.
Colour and finish codes are separate short codes after the number: GRU means primed (paint-it-yourself), 9B9 satin black, and so on. Two listings with the same core number but different trailing codes are the same part in different finishes.
X at the end marks a factory remanufactured exchange unit — common on starters, alternators, mechatronics and turbochargers.

One more family worth knowing: engine and gearbox internals use the engine family as their prefix instead of a car platform — 06K and 04E are EA888/EA211 petrol engine families, 03L a common-rail diesel family, 02E/0AM/09G are gearbox families.

The prefix does not have to match your car

This is the rule that confuses everyone. A part keeps the prefix of the platform that first used it — and VAG shares parts across the whole group. Your Škoda Octavia is full of 1K0 and 5Q0 numbers; your Audi Q2 has parts numbered for the Golf. A "Golf" prefix on a part for your SEAT is not a red flag.

The consequence: never judge fitment by the prefix. Check the actual fitment list — pick your exact car on oemdiagrams.com, or look it up by VIN, and read the vehicles the number is confirmed for. Our guide to reading factory exploded diagrams shows how to find the number on the drawing in the first place.

Put it to work

Every genuine VAG part at WW Spares now shows its factory diagram and full fitment list right on the product page — and the whole factory catalogue is free to browse at oemdiagrams.com. Decode the number, check the drawing, confirm the fitment: three steps, and the right part arrives the first time.