Anyone out there willing to look up a part number for me please, I'm interested in the description of the following part:

380 419 091 (or is it 3B0 419 091)

Thanks.

I'll have a look later, not got ETKA on the works laptop

It's a steering wheel.

...for a Fabia.

Hmmm, thanks fellas, I thought the Octavia leather 4 spoke wheel looked differently. The 'hole' looks about the right size for my airbag, I wonder whether it'll fit?!

...for a Fabia.

How do you know that btw Denis?

How do you know that btw Denis?

That part number is listed in the Fabia section of ETKA but is not listed for the Octavia.

The plot thickens! I found this, it suggests its a Passat part:

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!

Just looked and it is in fact listed as a Passat part, as well as the Fabia.

Well, I'm a little happier now, the chances of a Passat part fitting are better than that of a Fabia in my mind (rightly or wrongly). It was sold to me as an Octavia part though, naughty!

An excellent guide, Dave!

An excellent guide, Dave!

Its not my work Denis, I found it here:

http://www.vagparts.com/pages/partno.htm

but i'd agree its good info.

It certainly isn't listed for the Octy, I checked that before I checked Fabia mate.

Your current airbag might well fit that particular Fabia steering wheel. The PN of the airbag for the Fabia 380MM steering wheel is 1U0 880 201A. That same PN fits the Octavia 4 spoke 370MM steering wheel which, I believe, is fitted to the 4X4. How do the 2 steering wheels differ and why change it?

Denis - its a leather one, thats all. I've been looking to get a leather steering wheel for sometime now but without the expense of changing to a 3 spoke airbag. Thanks for your help, it bears out what i've 'measured' i.e. that the wheel is slightly bigger overall but the airbag seems the same. I've e-mailed the company involved (who sold it as coming from an 03 Octavia) and asked for written confirmation that both the spline and airbag are the correct size for a swap before getting it fitted. I was a bit suspicious when it arrived as it has patterned leather as opposed to the smooth leather I was expecting.

Thanks to you too VRStu for helping me out in this thread.