This is the question behind almost every call we take, and it is worth two minutes of your time before you pick up the phone. Getting it right first time saves you a return freight charge and a week without your vehicle.
The year on the badge is not the year that matters
A model does not change on the first of January. Manufacturers change a part part way through a production run, and the vehicle that rolled out in November can be different from the one that rolled out the following March, even though both are sold as the same year.
What matters is the build date, which is on a sticker or plate in the door opening, under the bonnet, or in the glovebox. It reads as a month and a year, for example 11/1994. That is the number to give us.
The four things worth writing down
Before you ring, have these in front of you:
- The build date off the door sticker, as above.
- The plate number. It lets us look the vehicle up and confirm the rest.
- The engine code. It is stamped or stickered on the engine itself, and it is what actually decides whether an engine part fits. A 1994 Hilux Surf came with three completely different engines.
- What the vehicle is, in the seller's words: two door or four, wagon or ute, automatic or manual.
A generation is the line that matters
Parts swap freely within a generation, which is one shape of one model over a run of years. They almost never swap across one, even between two years that look identical from the outside.
So a door off a 1991 Hilux Surf fits a 1994 one, because both are the N130 shape. The 1996 is the N185 and nothing much swaps. When we ask which generation you have, this is why.
When in doubt, send a photo
A photo of the part still on your vehicle settles most questions in seconds. Take it square on, in daylight, with the connector or the mounting face visible. If there is a number cast or printed on the part, photograph that too.
If we get it wrong
If we send you a part that does not fit and the details you gave us were right, that is on us. Send it back and we will refund it, freight included. See the warranty page for how that works.