The most common wrong part is the correct part for the wrong side. The rule that prevents it is short.
The rule
Sides are named from the driver’s seat, facing forward. Sit in the car, look out through the windshield, and your left hand is on the left side of the vehicle.
- Left, also written LH: the driver’s side on U.S. vehicles.
- Right, also written RH: the passenger’s side on U.S. vehicles.
It does not matter where you are standing when you look at the damage. Face the front of the car from outside and everything appears reversed: the headlamp on your right is the car’s left headlamp.
Why catalogs say left and right
“Driver side” changes meaning between countries. In the United Kingdom, Japan and Australia the driver sits on the right. “Left” and “right” never change, so manufacturers, distributors and the Partslink system all use them. When you see driver and passenger in a U.S. listing, read them as left and right.
In part numbers
Most paired parts sit on neighboring Partslink part types with the left side first. A left headlamp is type 2502 and the right is 2503. A left door mirror is 1320 and the right is 1321. On those pairs, the even number is the left side and the odd number after it is the right. A few small parts keep both sides under one type, so read the description too.
Other position words
- Front and rear mean the ends of the vehicle, as you would expect.
- Inner and outer matter for tail lamps. The outer lamp sits on the body and the inner lamp on the trunk lid or liftgate. They are separate parts.
- Upper and lower matter for grilles and bumper trim.
A ten-second check before you order
Stand behind the car, facing the same way it drives. Left is on your left. If the broken part is on that side, order left.
When you request a part, pick the side from the list and we repeat it back on the quote in both forms: left, driver side.