Volkswagen Up Headlight Replacement Parts

The Volkswagen Up has been sold in a single generation running from 2011 onwards, but received a facelift in 2016 that updated the front end, including the headlights, grille, and bumper. Pre-facelift cars (2011–2016) and post-facelift cars (2016 onwards) are therefore likely to use different headlight units, so always match the donor car's facelift period to your own. When getting a quote from a breaker, give them your registration so they can confirm the exact unit required.

This is a pre-facelift to post-facelift swap: the 2014 car sits in the pre-facelift period (2011–2016) and the 2018 car in the post-facelift period (2016 onwards), meaning the front-end styling changed between them. Whether the headlight physically interchanges across that 2016 facelift boundary is something you should confirm directly with the breaker against your registration, as we cannot guarantee cross-facelift fitment. Stick to a donor car from the same facelift period wherever possible.

No — the headlights are part of the front end, which is shared across the body regardless of door count, so a three-door and a five-door Up from the same facelift period use the same headlight. What matters is whether the donor car is pre-facelift (2011–2016) or post-facelift (2016 onwards), not how many doors it has. Confirm the year and facelift period with the breaker and you should be fine.

Trim level does not affect headlight fitment on the Up, so a unit from a Take Up, Move Up, High Up, or any other trim from the same facelift period should correspond to the same mounting and shape. Bear in mind, however, that some trims may have been specified with different light sources (for example, LED daytime running lights on higher trims), so the cosmetic appearance of the unit can differ even if the basic fitting is the same. Check with the breaker that the specific unit from the donor car matches what you have, particularly around any DRL or indicator styling you want to retain.

Let the breaker know you need the nearside (NS) headlight for a pre-facelift Volkswagen Up (2011–2016), and give them your full registration to cross-reference the exact part. Specifying NS (passenger side, left-hand side on a UK car) clearly avoids any confusion with the offside (OS) driver's side unit. Your engine size and trim level won't affect which headlight shell you need, so the year and facelift period are the key details.

2016 is right at the facelift boundary for the Volkswagen Up, so a 2016 donor car could be either a late pre-facelift or an early post-facelift example — and your 2015 car is pre-facelift. Because of this ambiguity, you should ask the breaker to confirm the exact facelift status of the donor vehicle against both registrations before purchasing. If the donor turns out to be a post-facelift 2016 car, fitment to your pre-facelift 2015 Up cannot be guaranteed without that confirmation.