Denso spark plug authenticity check

[UG_Passat]

I ordered a set of VK-22's off of ebay from a store from UK. No issues running them.

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted by Gebo

Originally Posted by blufeb95

[ Rock Auto should be fine, their stuff should be coming straight from the manufacturer, unlike say Amazon where even if you buy from Amazon, they mix 3rd party's stock to be fulfilled by Amazon with Amazon's regular stock in the warehouse and you might get fakes if a third party seller sent counterfeit inventory to Amazon..

I didn't know Rock Auto shipped direct from the manufacturer. I thought they had this warehouse network system set up.

They either ship from the manufacturer or drop ship from another wholesaler. One of my vendors at work, IMC, is a drop shipper for Rock Auto.

 

[wing0]

I went onto a lexus forum to check what other people's factory pulled Denso plugs look like as I had NGK in mine and I usually stick with Denso in Toyota. I'll break it down into 2 categories and they all just differ on the "Denso" text shading. Light shade: Dark shade: Now I'm more confused, maybe the 4pack is fake? or all of them? I can see the blue iridium tip hue and the platinum ground electrode on all of them. I'm still digging on my purchase receipt or some record of where I got them from, but this must have been from 2013 or so. I was going to replace them around 160k km, but saw many photos of them doing over 200k km without any issues. So I just left them due to the pita access to the rear bank and ended doing it now at 275k km. The car drives ok, no misfire and nothing from the OBD reader to signify an issue at the moment. I've put the 2 lighter Denso text on the front bank so I can pull them out say 2 weeks from now and compare it with 1 in the 4 pack.

 

[Amkeer]

Alright, this post freaked me out this morning so I went and checked my 2014 Tacoma for the NGK Iridium plugs I put in about 40,000 miles ago. I went and pulled one out and sure enough the plug looks like it has been in the truck for 130,000 miles! What should be a Iridium tip is completely gone and down to a stub.

 

[Amkeer]

The sad thing is I have these in my 2008 Tundra and 2014 Tacoma. They are all counterfeit as confirmed by NGK when I called them. I purchased mine from Amazon. So I have the 6 out of the 2014 Tacoma. I still have to change out the plugs in the Tundra. That will need to wait until Sunday. Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! I am so glad I read this thread no telling what would have happened if the stayed in there longer! This is what I know. Purchase the plugs from an authorized reseller. This was confirmed by NGK to only use authorized vendors.

 

[Amkeer]

The used one is counterfeit as confirmed by NGK. The used plug has about 40,000 miles on it. The new one was purchased from Autozone and is a NGK Authorized Reseller.

 

[edhackett]

Originally Posted by wing0

Now I'm more confused, maybe the 4pack is fake? or all of them?

All of them are fake. Look at the printing on the ring below the hex. It doesn't match the content, style, or quality of the genuine plugs. Look at the baseline of the second from the left. It looks almost like it was printed free hand. Ed

 

[wing0]

Originally Posted by edhackett

Originally Posted by wing0

Now I'm more confused, maybe the 4pack is fake? or all of them?

All of them are fake. Look at the printing on the ring below the hex. It doesn't match the content, style, or quality of the genuine plugs. Look at the baseline of the second from the left. It looks almost like it was printed free hand. Ed

I'll try them till next oil change, which is another 2k km and pull out the front ones to see how bad they are.

 

[Hall]

Originally Posted by Amkeer

The used one is counterfeit as confirmed by NGK. The used plug has about 40,000 miles on it. The new one was purchased from Autozone and is a NGK Authorized Reseller.

I call bovine excrement on NGK's claims. I'll bet if you hadn't told them where each was bought, they couldn't say which was real vs counterfeit without physically seeing them. They probably just default to say "if you didn't buy it from an authorized reseller, it's probably fake".

 

[Hall]

This page lists who NGK says are "authorized" sellers (no Amazon or Rockauto !): https://ngksparkplugs.com/en/about-us/where-to-buy Our son bought some NGKs, from Amazon or Rockauto, and we've always wondered about them. Interestingly enough, we ordered the NGK part numbered spark plugs but they arrived in Honda packaging (which is fine as they're for a Honda). I have Densos in my Infiniti and I'm going to confirm where I bought those too. Pretty sure they're from Rockauto.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Many Rock Auto parts are shipped from Parts Authority warehouses

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted by hallstevenson

This page lists who NGK says are "authorized" sellers (no Amazon or Rockauto !): https://ngksparkplugs.com/en/about-us/where-to-buy Our son bought some NGKs, from Amazon or Rockauto, and we've always wondered about them. Interestingly enough, we ordered the NGK part numbered spark plugs but they arrived in Honda packaging (which is fine as they're for a Honda). I have Densos in my Infiniti and I'm going to confirm where I bought those too. Pretty sure they're from Rockauto.

Parts Authority is clearly listed on the NGK page as an authorized seller. As previously mentioned, Rockauto generally ships their parts from Parts Authority.

 

[wing0]

I was going to place an order of brake pads, belts, air filters with Rockauto. Now I am thinking of adding in spark plugs as well. Any reported fakes from Rockauto for Denso/NGK?

 

[Hall]

Originally Posted by slacktide_bitog

Many Rock Auto parts are shipped from Parts Authority warehouses

Originally Posted by The Critic

Parts Authority is clearly listed on the NGK page as an authorized seller. As previously mentioned, Rockauto generally ships their parts from Parts Authority.

For many years, I have looked at who actually ships items I've ordered from RA. I have never rec'd anything from a Parts Authority location. Almost all of our orders come from "Hahn Auto" in a suburb of Buffalo NY. Buying from Rockauto, "we" have no input on what supplier they order/ship our orders from so just because Parts Authority is listed, you have no assurances otherwise....

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted by hallstevenson

Originally Posted by slacktide_bitog

Many Rock Auto parts are shipped from Parts Authority warehouses

Originally Posted by The Critic

Parts Authority is clearly listed on the NGK page as an authorized seller. As previously mentioned, Rockauto generally ships their parts from Parts Authority.

For many years, I have looked at who actually ships items I've ordered from RA. I have never rec'd anything from a Parts Authority location. Almost all of our orders come from "Hahn Auto" in a suburb of Buffalo NY. Buying from Rockauto, "we" have no input on what supplier they order/ship our orders from so just because Parts Authority is listed, you have no assurances otherwise....

Of course, your geographic location and the type of parts you order will determine where the order ships from. I am simply sharing my experience of only receiving orders from Parts Authority warehouses. This may be attributed to my location and the parts I ordered.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Originally Posted by hallstevenson

Originally Posted by slacktide_bitog

Many Rock Auto parts are shipped from Parts Authority warehouses

Originally Posted by The Critic

Parts Authority is clearly listed on the NGK page as an authorized seller. As previously mentioned, Rockauto generally ships their parts from Parts Authority.

For many years, I have looked at who actually ships items I've ordered from RA. I have never rec'd anything from a Parts Authority location. Almost all of our orders come from "Hahn Auto" in a suburb of Buffalo NY. Buying from Rockauto, "we" have no input on what supplier they order/ship our orders from so just because Parts Authority is listed, you have no assurances otherwise....

Hahn supplies Auto Value and other regional independent auto parts stores. You can sue Hahn-supplied parts with confidence

 

[Jett Rink]

Last week I ordered 6 Denso 5031 T20EP-U spark plugs off the walmart.com website. WalMart Denso T20EP-U They arrived today and look legit. No obvious signs of fakery, at least.

 

[Hall]

Walmart isn't an authorized reseller of Denso parts. The listing you linked to does indicate "sold and shipped by Walmart" too, not a 3rd-party reseller that uses WM's online platform.

 

[G.Frost]

A couple weeks ago I ordered 6 Denso IK20TT from Rock Auto. I haven't installed them yet... but all this talk of fake has me taking a closer look at them. With a 10X loop I can clearly see that both electrodes are welded on. So does that mean I have authentic product? Do the fakes go to the trouble to precision weld the .4mm and .7mm fake tips on? I would like to see some macro close-ups of what fake Denso TT electrodes look like. These look to be the real product to me,,, but I'll spend more time to be sure before they are installed.

 

[wing0]

Originally Posted by G.Frost

A couple weeks ago I ordered 6 Denso IK20TT from Rock Auto. I haven't installed them yet... but all this talk of fake has me taking a closer look at them. With a 10X loop I can clearly see that both electrodes are welded on. So does that mean I have authentic product? Do the fakes go to the trouble to precision weld the .4mm and .7mm fake tips on? I would like to see some macro close-ups of what fake Denso TT electrodes look like. These look to be the real product to me,,, but I'll spend more time to be sure before they are installed.

That's the plug I want to order off Rockauto as well Can you post up some macro shots? Some photos of the packaging would be nice too. I think sharing information now is crucial in finding authenticity now that these fakes are getting better.