Mahle now selling oil filters made in China ?

[atlex]

I've always kind of idolized MAHLE as the peak of quality, so I'm genuinely confused by a sub-standard chinese copy actually stating Made in China. And they're using the same EAN numbers as the good ones.

If it is Mahle, they really letting their name down. If it isn't original Mahle, why aren't the fakers doing a better job at Faking it by stating it's made in Austria ? get-past-customs-export reasons ? It's a big grey area.

 

[drtyler]

I've always kind of idolized MAHLE as the peak of quality, so I'm genuinely confused by a sub-standard chinese copy actually stating Made in China. And they're using the same EAN numbers as the good ones.

If it is Mahle, they really letting their name down. If it isn't original Mahle, why aren't the fakers doing a better job at Faking it by stating it's made in Austria ? get-past-customs-export reasons ? It's a big grey area.

For Euro cars, the Mahle filters we get in the USA are usually made in Austria. If the car is not European, I've seen them made in either Austria, Mexico, or China. The Austrian made filters seem to be best quality of the bunch, but I've seen no particular issues with the others.

 

[atlex]

Update from Mahle:

"Our product manager for oil filters have checked the sent pictures.
As already informed the filter OC196 is currently produced in China.

Based on the sent pictures the oil filter seems to be original."

 

[Sayjac]

Good for Mahle for responding and confirming genuine. To use a cliche now, it is what it is. Honestly imo, new coo Mahle in pics don't "appear" bad to my eye. More proof would be in post use appearance.

 

[nthach]

Good for Mahle for responding and confirming genuine. To use a cliche now, it is what it is. Honestly imo, new coo Mahle in pics don't "appear" bad to my eye. More proof would be in post use appearance.

I wouldn’t hesitate to use a Chinese Mahle. FWIW, Mahle has a presence there to serve the Chinese OEMs and their joint ventures with VAG/Daimler/Honda/Hyundai/GM.

I’ve seen OE VW filters from China and South Africa as well.

 

[K.Aoi]

I pre-emptively (when I still planned on changing out the FF early) purchased the VW/Audi oil change kit from FCP Euro, and that also came with a PRC made Mahle OC977/1, so this doesn't seem that unusual now. No concerns about the quality however. On the FCP Euro site it explicitly says the COO is China.
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/oil-filter-mahle-oc9771

 

[930.engineering]

Interesting. Seems CoO doesn't follow any kind of 'pattern'. The OE EA888 3G filter element is still made by Mann and production went from Czech Republic (back) to Germany:

formerly:

current:

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/audi-oem-vs-fram-titanium-cartridge-filter.344146/page-3

 

[Zee09]

Interesting. Seems CoO doesn't follow any kind of 'pattern'. The OE EA888 3G filter element is still made by Mann and production went from Czech Republic (back) to Germany:

formerly:

current:

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/audi-oem-vs-fram-titanium-cartridge-filter.344146/page-3

Baldwin is now making one for the above application that are made in Taiwan and not too surprising they look better than the typical Baldwin.

 

[930.engineering]

I'd love to try it or at least get one to compare it to the OE Audi/Mann.
That's all from Baldwin I was able to find for my GTI:

Air	PA10102
Cabin Air	PA10404

 

[Zee09]

I'd love to try it or at least get one to compare it to the OE Audi/Mann.
That's all from Baldwin I was able to find for my GTI:

Air	PA10102
Cabin Air	PA10404

 

[Zee09]

Hastings and Baldwin are one.
Baldwin box but Hastings supplied with different model #
Taiwan which I do like...
Fits according to them your filter # and my VW Arteon.

 

[Zee09]

@930.engineering
43 pleats in case it helps.

 

[CleanSump]

Just checked and I'm down to one Mahle for Mercedes and it was made in Austria. When I had a Jetta the Mahle I bought were sometimes from Mexico. The irony is that my "Wolfsburg Edition" Jetta was Hecho en Mexico anyway. Out of dozens over the years the only filter failure I've had was a K&N on No 1 Girl's BMW. It tore.
I've got a Hengst fuel filter made in Bulgaria.

 

[930.engineering]

@930.engineering
43 pleats in case it helps.

Thanks for that information and for your picture.
Unfortunately I missed to check the OE Mann for number
of pleats but I'll to make up leeway before my next OC.
Yes, same type of OF for all EA888 3G regardless it's a VW
or an Audi (or Seat, Skoda, Porsche Macan 2,0T).
.

 

[Johan1]

Going to bump this thread. Just got 4 OC338 filters for my 09 Mazda 3 2.0

Made in China. I posted a comparison pic with the OC264 I have for a 2014 Jetta 2.0 that's made in Austria. I also cut open the OC264 and posted in a separate thread. It'll be a while before I cut the OC338

 

[50yr Street Mech]

Can't seem to trust anything anymore nowadays. Let's be realistic here. Asian countries have the cheapest labor rates. I'm just gonna dump the oil & filter @ 3k, like the old days. Yeh, it's a waste of oil & filters, no doubt. I'll just run Walmart Supertech oil and filters. Can't get much cheaper than that, but, peace of mind. Supertech gotta last at least that long. And somewhat fresh oil will always be in the engine. Nothing is going to change. That ship sailed with Jimmy Carter & Ronald Reagan. Would take 40 years to turn the industry around. Trump can't get that done with any amount of tariff. It's over.

 

[Hootbro]

Can't seem to trust anything anymore nowadays. Let's be realistic here. Asian countries have the cheapest labor rates. I'm just gonna dump the oil & filter @ 3k, like the old days. Yeh, it's a waste of oil & filters, no doubt. I'll just run Walmart Supertech oil and filters. Can't get much cheaper than that, but, peace of mind. Supertech gotta last at least that long. And somewhat fresh oil will always be in the engine. Nothing is going to change. That ship sailed with Jimmy Carter & Ronald Reagan. Would take 40 years to turn the industry around. Trump can't get that done with any amount of tariff. It's over.

Peace of mind of what?

 

[50yr Street Mech]

Well, I guess I could only say " Peace of mind" knowing that there will be fresh junk oil and a fresh junk oil filter in the engine for only 3k. Won't give it enough time to degrade, I hope. This particular vehicle has 614, and change miles on the ODO. So far, so good, or I'm just getting lucky. It's a 13' CRV AWD. Fortunately, the oil pan plug crush washers are cheap too. I do fill the oil filter with oil prior to installation, so I don't run it dry on start up. I's easy enough to change too. 10-15 minutes, done. It works for my particular application anyway. Just a small Honda 4 banger engine.

 

[Stimp]

I liked the build of the filter I currently have in service, it looked perfect.
So, got another one and they'll be lifetime replaced with FCP.

However, not super thrilled about this one, pleats ended up at an angle.

Anyone have up to date efficiency numbers for Mahle? From their website: "The response from MAHLE: a fully synthetic two-layer fleece made of polyester, consisting of a support and a filtration layer. This makes it possible to achieve highest filtration performance with best stability—and at the same time block forming in the pleats can be avoided." No mention of efficiency anywhere. https://www.mahle-aftermarket.com/n...rs/oil-filters/#thecellulose-freefiltermedium

 

[DannyM]

I liked the build of the filter I currently have in service, it looked perfect.
So, got another one and they'll be lifetime replaced with FCP.
View attachment 285883

However, not super thrilled about this one, pleats ended up at an angle.
View attachment 285885

Anyone have up to date efficiency numbers for Mahle? From their website: "The response from MAHLE: a fully synthetic two-layer fleece made of polyester, consisting of a support and a filtration layer. This makes it possible to achieve highest filtration performance with best stability—and at the same time block forming in the pleats can be avoided." No mention of efficiency anywhere. https://www.mahle-aftermarket.com/n...rs/oil-filters/#thecellulose-freefiltermedium

they are almost all 99@40 . but some people freak out over this brand like they found some gold or something LOL.