Some of the information in this manual applies only to cars of a particular model year or range of years. For example, "1990 m.y." refers to the 1990 model year. The model year does not necessarily match the calencler year in which the car was manufactured or sold. To be sure of the model year of a particular car, check the vehicle identification number (VIN) on the car. Technical changes made in production within a model year are identified in this manual by listing the VIN for the first car produced with this change. The VIN is a unique sequence of 17 characters assigned by Volkswagen to identify each individual car. WVWFB431XLE005670 is an example. Each of the 17 letters and numbers indicates certain facts about the car and its manufacture. VINs used to distinguish information in this manual may refer only to the last eleven digits-the characters 31 XLE005678 in the example above.

Your Volkswagen’s VIN can be found on a plate mounted on the top of the instrument panel, on the driver’s side where the number can be seen through the windshield, and on an identification label in the luggage compartment. The 1Oth character is the model year code. The letters "1", "0", and "0" are not used for model year designation, for example, "P" for 1993 m.y., "R" for 1994 rn.y., etc. This manual covers Volkswagen Passat for the model years 1990, 1991, 1992, and 1993, with these VINs:

Passat

1990: WVWFB_31_L_000001 to WVWFB_31_L_999999
1991: WVWFB_31_M_000001 to WVWFB_31_M_999999
1992: WVWFB_31_N_000001 to WVWFB_31_N_999999
1993: WVWFB_31_P_000001 to WVWFB_31_P_999999

Passat Wagon

1990: WVWGB_31_L_000001 to WVWGB_31_L_999999
1991: WVWGB_31_M_000001 to WVWGB_31_M_999999
1992: WVWGB_31_N_000001 to WVWGB_31_N_999999
1993: WVWGB_31_P_000001 to WVWGB_31_P_999999