Be ULTRA careful buying Counterfeit Toyota Filters

[KAA]

Hi All, yet another fantastic video from our Toyota Guru The Car Care Nut, this one is about fake Toyota Filters and the havoc they can cause. This one is on a 2GRFE with a loud ticking sound and how it came down to a Counterfeit Oil Filter.

Enjoy viewing this as he talks in depth about what can happen.

Stay Safe All

KAA

 

[ZZT86]

A timely video about counterfeit parts. The oil filter in question is Toyotas new replacement part for the 2GR-FE motor - 04152-YZZA1 (but has 15613-YZZA1 printed on the filter itself - odd), of which I bought a box of 10 the other day from my supplier 😐

I have bought many boxes of 10 over the years from him & he assures me they're 100% genuine but I need to confirm it, just to be sure as I've never seen a Toyota filter crumble like that before. Thanks Rob 👍

Edited October 27, 2022 by ZZT86

[campbeam]

8 hours ago, ZZT86 said:

I've never seen a Toyota filter crumble like that before.

Similarly, I have not seen a non-genuine oil filter cartridge break into pieces like that but I am limited to my own experiences with my vehicles. What I have seen with the OEM filter cartridges that I have used, is that they can eventually compress and have a twist in the middle. Even when handling the used cartridge and pulling apart the ribbed element to check the amount of oil sludge particles, the cartridge has remained intact. However, I have squeezed and deliberately broken apart a used filter cartridge.

Interesting comparison in the video between the used cartridge filter from another Toyota and the one from his customer's vehicle. The intact one looked quite dirty and the broken apart one looked to be relatively clean as if it had recently been fitted in an oil change. That would indicate that that particular counterfeit part was of exceptionally poor quality. The interesting point is that I would have thought that with the filter cartridge breaking apart then it should have only impacted the filtering capability not the oil flow/pressure to the VVTi system.

Now I am wondering whether some unfiltered particles may have partially clogged the small VVTi oil line filter. I also wonder about how well the owner has maintained the vehicle particularly the oil change interval and whether a quality oil with the correct oil viscosity has been used.

Anyway, an oil filter cartridge should not break apart like that one in the video.

[ZZT86]

I replaced the oil & oil filter early today mostly to gauge the new 04152-YZZA1 filters performance & I can report that you all should fear not, for these things are as good as the part it replaced. Filter intact & in perfect order, firm & sturdy, not concertinaed as in the above video. A little fury but maybe because of close up photo shot. Filter has 4,758kms on it in just over 3 months. Fresh oil is a great engine tonic 😉

 

Edited April 6, 2023 by ZZT86
typo

[Tony Prodigy]

I have inadvertently used knock off Toyota oil filters early in the days of my ownership and I have to say that although they weren't Genuine Toyota, they still did the job well enough. I didn't report any defects or break up as shown in the video. To me and to many other unsuspecting people, it was as good as a filter got but my OCD led me to explore this and eventually come to realise that I did in fact buy some counterfeit oil filters. It angers me in the sense that the Chinese have the hide to copy the entire item from Toyota, packaging and all and pass it off as a Genuine product. That's what gets up my nose.
So from that day forward, I did the research and learned how to identify the counterfeits from the original and as you all know, have since stocked up on several cases of Genuine Toyota Filters. So plenty to do many more oil changes.

Some good news to also report is that my Mrs has recently resigned from her current job as she has found employment closer to home. So what does this mean for the Aurion ?

Less kilometers travelled. From 40 kays per day down to 6 kays per day. The only addition to this is travel to Seven Hills to drop our boy off to school in the morning which will add another 3 kays only in the morning run. I pick him up in the arvo with company vehicle.

So all up from say roughly 45 kays per day down to say 9 kays per day.
Less wear and tear, less idle time caught in traffic, Less fuel usage and less maintenance costs overall. So happy days for all.

With the daily commute being shorter trips this will then require me to change the oil more frequently. I am starting to entertain the idea of doing the oil service every 5k after this kicks off. I'll check the oil condition as we progress.
She's not scheduled to begin her new role until 3 weeks from now. I am finally relieved this is happening as the daily grind was taking its toll on the car and I'd like to preserve it as best as possible.

[campbeam]

I use non-genuine OEM oil filter cartridges. 1st photo is a new cartridge after 5 months and approx. 2500kms. 2nd photo is a cleaned used cartridge after being in the engine for 1 day when I was doing the engine flush. You can see how it has distorted when compressed compared to a genuine oil filter cartridge. 

[Tony Prodigy]

I'd be interested to know the exact dimensions of the aftermarket filter cart compared to the Toyota Genuine article.

Is the deformation possibly be due to it being a few millimeters too tall and thus is compressing when fitted ?
I'll dig a genuine Toyota filter out and measure for you if you don't have one and can post back later. 

[campbeam]

Fairly confident that the dimensions are the same as a Toyota genuine one but not 100%. Very handy if you can post the measurements of a genuine Toyota filter cartridge and the part number.

[ZZT86]

Forgot to mention - I did the AMD stress test, actually I tried both sets of fingers & I couldn't get it to buckle, even from the sides it hardly changes shape. She's a tough little critter, couldn't believe how strong they were.

[Tony Prodigy]

22 hours ago, ZZT86 said:

She's a tough little critter, couldn't believe how strong they were.

Haha, yes, they are quite strong. Like a block of wood lol,..

[Tony Prodigy]

 

On 4/10/2023 at 1:32 PM, campbeam said:

Fairly confident that the dimensions are the same as a Toyota genuine one but not 100%. Very handy if you can post the measurements of a genuine Toyota filter cartridge and the part number.

Here are the following dimensions of a Genuine Toyota Oil Filter Cartridge.

A = 66mm (Measured at various points of circumference with caliper just touching substrate)

C = 25mm (Absolute distance between glued section)

H = 64.2mm (Absolute edge to edge from centre glued portions)

 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

These are the dimensions for a counterfeit Toyota Oil Filter. It's the only one I keep for reference from a batch I purchased years ago.

A = 66.8mm (Measured at various points of circumference with caliper just touching substrate)

C = 25mm  (Absolute distance between glued section)

H = 68.44mm  (Absolute edge to edge from centre glued portions)

The main difference between these two is the overall height. 4.2mm difference ! Not that is would cause any issue, but I dare say the counterfeit one will compress slightly as the one shown by Ashley.

Also note how it deforms under light hand pressure.

Also note the colour difference. Original is the pale one on the left. The counterfeit is a more vivid yellow colour.

[ZZT86]

^ ^ Wow !

Counterfeit = Concertinaed after a few thousand kms & potentially a reco motor.