NGK Plug check... They look OK

Joined
Jan 9, 2010
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Location
Los Gatos, CA
I have had a bad run of fake NGK plugs from Amazon. 3 cars, maybe more. I serviced my grand niece's Civic; I pulled a plug to inspect.
I put plugs in when I got the car for her; they might have 50K on them.
Tatiana is in the Marine Corps, stationed in Camp Pendleton. She is up for the 4th.
I sent these pics to @The Critic as he has a critical eye for issues. He gave me the OK. Gap was .044", this little Civic with 132K runs like a champ.
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I have had a bad run of fake NGK plugs from Amazon. 3 cars, maybe more.
And........ the moral of that story is???????? ;)

Reminds me of the pest control officer over-seeing some of our workplace research fields saying to my one day "Every time I drive over this old fence line area, I get a flat tire. Did you guys install tire irons there??" No, maybe broken T fence posts. And, DON'T DRIVE THERE ANYMORE!

Happy 4th. weekend everyone (with appreciation for what we have).
 
Same here. Mine showed little clues like poor printing or engraving. Bite the bullet and buy them from the dealer. Not cheap….but peace of mind.
 
Buddy got some fake ones from rock auto awhile ago for his sentra. Started missing last week, so he pulled plug to inspect and center electrodes were right down to porcelain. Only about 35k
 
so, rock auto is no good for legit NGK, neither is amazon. are the stores like autozone ok?
 
I was able to buy plugs directly from NGK a few months back, I was recently informed here that can't be done anymore. Having said that the next best place imo to get them is from AAP. I would not buy them from AMZN.
 
Who was the actual seller on Amazon? If the seller was Amazon then I would say unlikely it's fake. Defective or mislabeled maybe. Amazon is big enough to be buying straight from NGK. No real chance for a fake to creep in.
I can tell you I have bought numerous fake NGK plugs from Amazon. See post #6.
I will not buy anymore plugs from them going forward. Pretty disappointing.
 
That sucks did you contact Amazon for a refund.
Do a phone call...I bet you will get your money back.
My concern is not so much with the price of the plug. I service numerous friends and family's cars. For example, the car in this thread is my grand niece's 2013 Civic. Fake plugs could cause a breakdown between here (Silicon Valley) and Camp Pendleton (San Diego). That's my problem.
 
Who was the associated seller? Actually sold and warehoused by Amazon? Wow.

I don't like to remove plugs as you loose the gasket crush/seal and have to step up the install torque which can distort valve seats. But with that thread count you are likely O.K. I would get a OBDii reader to look at misfire counts instead to judge plug health. The Civic plugs look great. Not sure about the Acura Plugs.
This trend reminds me of Delco Remey fakes in the 90's - you could almost not buy real Delco parts from an AP store. Ended up at the GM dealer to get the good stuff.
 
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Who was the actual seller on Amazon? If the seller was Amazon then I would say unlikely it's fake. Defective or mislabeled maybe. Amazon is big enough to be buying straight from NGK. No real chance for a fake to creep in.
Who was the associated seller? Actually sold and warehoused by Amazon? Wow.

I don't like to remove plugs as you loose the gasket crush/seal and have to step up the install torque which can distort valve seats. But with that thread count you are likely O.K. I would get a OBDii reader to look at misfire counts instead to judge plug health. The Civic plugs look great. The Acura are indeed not made from good material and are shot.
This trend reminds me of Delco Remey fakes in the 90's - you could almost not buy real Delco parts from an AP store. Ended up at the GM dealer to get the good stuff.

Amazon co-mingles their own inventory with that of third-party sellers using FBA Amazon fulfillment :sneaky:
 
Amazon co-mingles their own inventory with that of third-party sellers using FBA Amazon fulfillment :sneaky:
I am convinced this is the problem. I cannot say who actually sold me the plugs.
Luckily Tati's Civic seems to be fine. Rock solid idle, etc.

The problems I have had are the Honda K24 NGK plugs. I imagine they sell a bazillion of 'em.
 
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