How to Identify Your Golf Cart's Make, Model & Year

Almost every part on your golf cart is fitment-specific. The same brake cable, lift kit, or battery bracket that bolts right onto a 2016 Club Car Precedent won't fit a 2003 Club Car DS — even though both are Club Cars. Before you order anything, you need three pieces of information: your cart's make (the manufacturer), its model, and its year. This guide walks you through finding all three, even if there's no obvious badge left on the cart.

Start with the make: who built it?

The make is the manufacturer — Club Car, E-Z-GO, Yamaha, ICON, and so on. Usually the easiest of the three to spot:

Look for badges or molded logos on the body, nose, or rear panel. Club Car and E-Z-GO often mold their name into the plastic.
Check the steering wheel hub, dash, or pedals — manufacturer names frequently appear there.
Body shape is a strong clue. Club Car DS models have a distinctive rounded front; E-Z-GO TXT carts have a squarer, upright nose; Yamaha Drive models have a smoother, more contoured body.

If the cart has been re-bodied with an aftermarket kit, the body won't tell you the make — you'll need the serial number (below), which is stamped on the frame and doesn't change with a body swap.

Find the serial number — the key to model and year

The serial number (sometimes called the VIN or manufacturer's number) is the single most useful thing on your cart. It encodes the model and, in most cases, the year. Here's where each major brand hides it:

Club Car

On most Club Car models, look under the passenger-side seat, on the frame or body support. On Precedent and Onward models, it's often on a bar code sticker under the glove box or beneath the seat. Club Car serial numbers are especially useful because the year is encoded right into the number (more on that below).

E-Z-GO

E-Z-GO typically places the serial number and manufacturer's plate under the glove box on the driver's side, or on the body below the seat. Older TXT and Medalist models may have it stamped on a plate near the front of the cart.

Yamaha

Yamaha stamps a "J" number on the frame — commonly found under the seat on the driver's side, on the frame rail, or near the front of the cart under the body. Yamaha's model codes (the "G" series like G19, G22, and the Drive/Drive2 series) tell you both the model and the general production era.

ICON, Evolution, and newer LSV brands

Newer street-legal-style carts usually carry a proper 17-character VIN, often on a plate near the driver's footwell or on the frame, plus a compliance sticker. These brands are recent enough that the model name on the cart is usually accurate and easy to read.

Decoding the year

Here's how to actually read the year out of each brand's number. This is where the systems differ the most, so follow the one that matches your cart.

Club Car — the year is in the serial number

Club Car uses one of the most logical formats in the industry. Since 1981, the serial number reads as a prefix + a four-digit date block + a hyphen + a sequence number. Break it down like this:

The prefix (the first letter or two) tells you the model. For example: A = DS, PH = Precedent i2 Excel, PQ = Precedent IQ, and a leading G generally indicates a gas model.
The next two digits are the model year.
The two digits after that are the production week.

Worked example: PH0901-123456 decodes as a Precedent i2 Excel (PH), built in 2009 (09), the 1st week (01), unit 123456. Another: a serial starting A00… is a 2000 DS. Club Car publishes an official serial-prefix directory that lists every model prefix, so if your prefix isn't one of the common ones above, match it there.

E-Z-GO — the year is in the manufacturer's CODE, not the serial number

This is the number-one point of confusion on E-Z-GO carts. The plate under the passenger-side glove box has two numbers: a serial number (six or seven digits) and a separate manufacturer's code (one letter followed by three or four digits). The serial number does not tell you the year — the manufacturer's code does.

For 1979-and-newer carts: the last two digits of the manufacturer's code are the model year. A code ending in "99" is a 1999; ending in "12" is a 2012.
For 1976–1978 carts: it's reversed — the first two digits are the year.
The letter at the start of the code refers to the production month or model line, not the year, so don't read the year off the letter.

Example: a manufacturer's code of F0301 reads as a 2001 cart (last two digits, "01"). Note that some newer TXT models (roughly 2001 onward) also began putting the year as the first two digits of the serial number itself — e.g. "04…" for a 2004 — but the manufacturer's code remains the reliable source.

Yamaha — the model code tells you the generation, then match to a year

Every Yamaha golf cart serial starts with J, followed by a model-code prefix that identifies both the model and whether it's gas or electric. Yamaha doesn't put a clean two-digit year in the number the way Club Car does — instead you identify the model code, which corresponds to a production range, then confirm the exact year against a Yamaha model-year chart. Common prefixes:

JN6 = G16 gas · JN8 = G16 electric (roughly 1996–2002)
JR1 = G19 · JR6 / JR8 = G20 / G21
JW1 / JW8 = Drive (G29) gas · JW9 = Drive (G29) electric (2007–2016)

The rough generation timeline: G1 (1979–1986), G2/G9 (1985–1995), G8/G14 (1990–1996), G11/G16 (1996–2002), G22 (2003–2006), Drive/G29 (2007–2016), and Drive2 (2017–present). So a serial beginning JW9 is a Drive (G29) electric from that 2007–2016 window — a Yamaha dealer or serial chart can pin the exact year within it.

A note on all three: these formats cover the vast majority of carts, but there are always special-edition, fleet, and international variants that don't follow the standard pattern. If your number doesn't match any of the above, write it down exactly as it appears — every letter and digit — and send it to us. We'll help you confirm the model and year before you order anything.

Watch for the fitment "breaks"

Some models changed mid-production in ways that matter for parts. A few of the big ones worth knowing:

Club Car DS: there's a well-known fitment change around mid-2004. DS carts built before and after that point can need different suspension and lift components even though they're all called "DS."
E-Z-GO TXT: the electrical and steering setup changed around 2001–2002, so "TXT" alone isn't enough — the year matters.
Gas vs. electric: even within the same model and year, gas and electric carts often use different rear brackets, mounts, and electrical parts. Always note which one you have.

Once you know your make, model, and year

With all three in hand, ordering the right parts gets simple. On our site you can shop straight to your platform:

On each make page, use the Cart Model filter to narrow down to your exact model, so you only see parts that fit. And if you're upgrading to a lithium battery, our Lithium Larry battery finder walks you through a few quick questions and recommends an exact-fit, in-stock kit for your cart.

Still not sure what you're looking at? Send us a photo of your cart and its serial number and we'll help you identify it. Getting the make, model, and year right the first time saves you the hassle of returns — and gets the right parts on your cart faster.