CBP pops Detroit Axle

The_Jeff · 2026-07-02T11:52:41-0400

Whoops!

I've bought Detroit Axle stuff on ebay and gotten good service, for probably half the price of stuff from a "real" parts store. Wheel bearings, brake kits, frond end seem to be their thing. Never knew they had a shady underbelly!

(And honestly, I hope this is a one-off offense and they stay in business, LOL.)

https://www.wavy.com/news/local-new...arts-shipment-from-china-over-fraudulent-ids/

On May 27, CBP officers initially inspected a shipping container and found 1,602 front strut and coil spring assemblies and 20 shock absorbers. Before the container’s arrival from Hong Kong, CBP received documents reporting varying commodity values and buyer information, inaccurate and insufficient invoice data, mismatched importer signatures and an invalid driver’s license.

Based on the misleading and conflicting information on the import documents, CBP officers concluded that the shipment violated 18 USC § 542, entry of goods by means of false statements.

bdc101 · 2026-07-02T11:54:44-0400

I'm shocked, shocked I say, to find chinese manufacturing breaking the law!

The_Jeff · 2026-07-02T11:56:13-0400

bdc101 said:
I'm shocked, shocked I say, to find chinese manufacturing breaking the law!

Well, it's more the importer, or maybe a disposable middleman set up to take the fall.

doitmyself · 2026-07-02T12:36:26-0400

Sigh. "Detroit Axle" ........................... evokes thoughts of high quality U.S. manufacturing from decades past. Reviews tell another story.

PandaBear · 2026-07-02T12:40:09-0400

Not the same Detroit Axle as OEM from the past. This seems to be just a company started in 1990 selling imported parts.

slacktide_bitog · 2026-07-02T13:14:00-0400

Well to be fair, those parts aren't worth very much anyway

$170k worth in knockoffs is like an entire cargo ship.

Hall · 2026-07-02T13:20:26-0400

The_Jeff said:
Well, it's more the importer, or maybe a disposable middleman set up to take the fall.

Correct, this is the IMPORTER that's doing this.

PandaBear said:
Not the same Detroit Axle as OEM from the past. This seems to be just a company started in 1990 selling imported parts.

Many "legacy" brand names have been bought and are being re-used today just like this. It's especially prevalent in electronics. RCA, Westinghouse, Magnavox, etc. I would see Detroit Axle parts, especially brake parts, pop up on Amazon all the time or people asking if they were good buys (when clearly the person was using "Sort by low price to high price".

Rand · 2026-07-02T13:24:35-0400

I was brake parts shopping 2 weeks ago and detroit axle were some of the higher priced options

Hall · 2026-07-02T13:41:22-0400

Rand said:
I was brake parts shopping 2 weeks ago and detroit axle were some of the higher priced options

This was probably (additional) pre-tariff days

Rand · 2026-07-02T13:46:17-0400

Hall said:
This was probably (additional) pre-tariff days

Do you mean these cost extra years ago?

I checked 2 weeks ago. 2 Bosch quietcast rotors with pads were 94, Raybestos element 3 set was 108
Detroit axle was 179?

Hall · 2026-07-02T16:18:00-0400

Rand said:
Do you mean these cost extra years ago?

This could have been 1, 2, 3 years ago.... No idea as I had next to no interest in them. Never heard of the brand and felt they were playing on the "Detroit" name implying American-made. People were finding 4-wheel kits with pads and rotors and they were like $180-220 total, which seemed really low (too low) to me.

Rand · 2026-07-02T16:53:31-0400

Hall said:
This could have been 1, 2, 3 years ago.... No idea as I had next to no interest in them. Never heard of the brand and felt they were playing on the "Detroit" name implying American-made. People were finding 4-wheel kits with pads and rotors and they were like $180-220 total, which seemed really low (too low) to me.

I think I saw them on amazon around that time.
I guess they are cheaper on amazon.
If they arent fake "detroit brakes"

Hall · 2026-07-02T17:34:42-0400

Exactly ! That's them. The cool (drilled, slotted - or both) rotors especially appealed to some people.

D60 · 2026-07-02T19:07:04-0400

The_Jeff said:
Whoops!

I've bought Detroit Axle stuff on ebay and gotten good service, for probably half the price of stuff from a "real" parts store. Wheel bearings, brake kits, frond end seem to be their thing. Never knew they had a shady underbelly!

(And honestly, I hope this is a one-off offense and they stay in business, LOL.)

https://www.wavy.com/news/local-new...arts-shipment-from-china-over-fraudulent-ids/

I recently needed a replacement front wheel stud for a '14 Ram 2500 4x4. The piece called out in every parts listing doesn't fit as the knurl area is larger on this hub.

I did a deeper dive and apparently it's quite common; brands "like Detroit Axle" often use unique wheel studs in their hubs. I really can't fathom why, unless it's to force you to buy an entirely new hub, which was the only suggestion I could find online.

I scoured parts listings and can't find a single production stud that matches this one. I need a ~.667 knurl dia in M14x1.5 with approx 2.5" under head length

To be clear, I don't know that Detroit Axle specifically does this. I merely read "brands like Detroit Axle" in one Ram forum.

The point is it's kinda shady and arguably detracts some value from cheap wheel hubs/unit bearings that embrace this practice.

D60 · 2026-07-02T19:09:15-0400

Hall said:
Exactly ! That's them. The cool (drilled, slotted - or both) rotors especially appealed to some people.

Speed holes = adds 10hp

supton · 2026-07-02T19:30:58-0400

D60 said:
I recently needed a replacement front wheel stud for a '14 Ram 2500 4x4. The piece called out in every parts listing doesn't fit as the knurl area is larger on this hub.

I did a deeper dive and apparently it's quite common; brands "like Detroit Axle" often use unique wheel studs in their hubs. I really can't fathom why, unless it's to force you to buy an entirely new hub, which was the only suggestion I could find online.

I scoured parts listings and can't find a single production stud that matches this one. I need a ~.667 knurl dia in M14x1.5 with approx 2.5" under head length

To be clear, I don't know that Detroit Axle specifically does this. I merely read "brands like Detroit Axle" in one Ram forum.

The point is it's kinda shady and arguably detracts some value from cheap wheel hubs/unit bearings that embrace this practice.

I would think there would be "standards" for this sort of thing, like multiple OEM's using the same part, but who knows, order a few million of something and you can get exactly what you want. For Detroit Axle I wonder if they try to re-engineer things so as to narrow down their inventory of parts. If they can get a custom made stud and then use across a multitude of hubs, then somehow they save a dollar.