Counterfeit Parts

Not directly related to 4Runner, but good insight regarding counterfeit parts.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ-ma1w8r6Q

 

They're everywhere. I don't buy parts off Ebay or Amazon - seen way too many posts on other forums showing the fakes.

 

So, I have a question. Say you buy a car that was built IN China. Then you have to buy parts for it in like, 10yrs. Are you buying OEM or fake aftermarket?

 

Do pro style grills count?

 

Plenty of good aftermarket parts that aren't pretending to be OEM. Most of the parts I've been installing on my 4Runner aren't OEM, but are from good aftermarket brands - Bando belt, Continental pulleys, Denso oil filter, SMP PCV valve, Moog ball joints, Advics brake pads, Aisin thermostat...

That CT200 waterpump is available on the aftermarket under Aisin branding: https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=5241066&cc=1502572&pt=2208&jsn=380 So you can get a good part and still undercut OEM prices.

What the Car Care Nut doesn't mention is the 300% markup Toyota puts on the part when selling it to the dealer.

 

Two different things. Fake-replicating OEM brand. Aftermarket-not replicating OEM brand.

 

If you have already bought a Made in Chine car you were clearly okay with the car and the parts to start with. Why have doubts over their parts when time comes for replacement.

But even in China, there are grades. You have the real cheap ones you get on Temu and then there are genuine manufacturers producing quality parts that cost almost as much as the Japs or the Koreans.

 

Make me think the stuff I buy at Amazon is fake too? Should I only buy at Toyota Dealership? I don't like the Toyota dealership search. Its not easy as Amazon.

 

Identify the part number on eBay or Amazon and then find it on Toyota website. Even on Amazon, if the seller is a Toyota dealer, you should be fine

 

Thats a good philosophical question.

I think the point of the video is to caution vehicle owners about the risks of buying parts advertised as OEM from non vetted supplier’s.

He’s not attacking the aftermarket suppliers that sell you all the must have goodies like, suspension, lifts, tires and skid’s.

 

Honestly, I'm not picky on where it comes from or what country actually manufactured it, I just want it to be inexpensive. I've seen quality (and still cheap) stuff come from Taiwan, Vietnam & China. I've also seen cheap shit (but higher in price) come from America.

We're really rolling the dice on the quality. It really boils down to who assembled it. Do they know what they're doing and were they having a bad day when they put it together or built it.

 

Sorry I have no clue how to find if the seller is a Toyota dealership.
Also on tip it says its from Canada and in detail sections it says from China.

Wish the search would be easy as 1) Enter the vehicle -> 2) search the par like "air filter".
Currently its showing 36 results. And they does not seems to have good pics to see if they are correct or not. The rough pic they have does not look like a 4Runner Air filter

 

All you have to do is ask the Google!

 

Agreed with the "Car Care Nut". The finish gives it away it's been sandblasted. It's a rebuilt part masquerading as an OEM. But it is priced accordingly. Old saying "If it seems to good to be true it usually is". Trying to save a few bucks tends to come back and bite you in the *ss. Most reputable shops are loath to install customer supplied parts and for good reason as mentioned. Buying name brand high quality aftermarket parts is fine for like brakes,front end and suspension components. These aftermarket companies will stand behind and warranty their parts. Especially if manufactured in North America. But you are rolling the dice with high tech or mission critical parts that pretend to be what they are not while not offering any sort of warranty. I would gladly pay more for an OEM part than have to do the same job twice like gas tank removal or engine teardown.

 

The listing shown is a Denso aftermarket filter with Denso P/N 143-3025. It is not OEM. You wouldn't expect the seller to be a Toyota dealership.

 

If I properly understand the Car Care Nut in the OP's video, if you're buying it on Amazon, the seller can not be a Toyota dealership. I've bought parts in person at dealerships or online through Toyota.

 

I guess going forward I would have to buy directly from Toyota Dealership.

 

This sounds like my shower thoughts. This will take us into some type of temporal displacement.

 

A lot of people here don't seem to understand the difference between OE, OEM, and aftermarket.

OE parts come from Toyota in Toyota packaging and often a Toyota marking on the part along side the manufacturer of the part. OEM is the manufacturer of the part for Toyota and contains the manufacturers markings without the Toyota marking. Example: Denso making a MAF for Toyota while also selling its own MAF outside of Toyota. Aftermarket is everyone else.

 

Spot on. And this thread isn't about Chinese parts. It's about *counterfeit* parts, which some people don't seem to understand.

 

China can build premium stuff if that’s the goal of the manufacturer. Unless it’s from a sweat shop where one person is manufacturing the entire part, it quality won’t depend on how one persons day has gone.


For example, the Off-Road wheels that were original equipment on my 4runner are marked “China” on the back of them. Toyota will only accept parts from suppliers that meet their specs. I’d have to imagine any original equipment manufacturers for Toyota, whether in china, malaysia, japan etc, will have shown to toyota that they can make the required part consistently to the same quality/specs toyota desires. Toyota may even directly supervise foreign suppliers to ensure things are made how they want.

China is good at setting up factories that manufacture exactly what the customer wants, whether it be blatant low quality counterfeits for Temu and the like, or premium products that meet or exceed the a foreign customer’s needs (for example, Toyota). They also are increasingly producing premium products for their own domestic markets, as their economy has improved.

Quality stuff that comes from china is not usually much cheaper than stuff made in jalan, us, europe. If china’s middle class keeps growing, eventually it won’t be worth for other countries to manufacture there, unless you want counterfeit or low quality stuff (since the gov there doesn’t restrict that).

 

This is basically the OEM supplier Denso bypassing Toyota and selling parts directly to the aftermarket without the Toyota name.

 

In the CCN video it is stated that Toyota only sells parts to Toyota dealers (in the US). But there also are online sites that only sell parts, not ebay or Amazon, (won't mention any by name) that claim to sell Toyota OEM parts. I've bought from one such site before. I do think I received an actual Toyota part, but the counterfeiting is so good I'm not 100% certain. How does that jive with what CCN says?