Buyer beware: Fake car parts
The role of search engines in directing buyers towards counterfeit automotive parts is examined
Published: 11 August, 2020
The automotive sector faces huge volumes of counterfeit vehicle parts. The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) estimates that more than €2 billion is lost each year due to counterfeit tires and batteries being sold and offered for sale inside the EU. Particularly alarming is the recurrence of counterfeit airbags within the top search results. Research by Incopro revealed that one website selling counterfeit Honda airbags received 61.24% of its traffic from organic search and placed on the first page of results.
Risks posed by fake parts
Fake automotive parts do not adhere to stringent safety regulations and put people at great risk. Counterfeit airbags, brake pads, seatbelts and tires all increase the risk of serious injury or death if the vehicle outfitted with them is involved in an accident.
Counterfeit airbags have been linked to fatal car accidents. In 2017, a female driver crashed a Kia vehicle into a tree in Highland Park, Dallas Texas, and lost their life after their airbag failed to deploy. It was only two years later that investigators discovered that the airbag module was counterfeit – it was poorly constructed, did not contain a firing mechanism and the main inflatable airbag that should have been present was, instead, replaced by rags.
Fake brake pads have also been found to be made of all manner of unsuitable materials, including dried grass dyed to look like rubber.
A test conducted by Mercedes-Benz that compared real and fake brake pads showed that cars driving at 100km/h on a dry surface travelled a further 25 metres to come to a complete halt, potentially changing a minor accident into a major collision where human life is put at risk. BMW conducted another test in 2017 where fake brake pads started to smoke and disintegrate almost immediately, indicating that they would completely fail to bring a vehicle to a halt.
Identifying dangerous websites within search results
Fakes may be easy to identify in person, but it can be harder to do so when purchasing online. Buyers are lulled into a false sense of security when seeing automotive parts displayed on the first page of Google (Fig.1) or other large search engines, reducing the level of scrutiny these products receive.
In the research, which was conducted using keyword searches for airbags with and without the names of popular car brand names, showed the first 10 results of a keyword search on Yandex, the Russian search engine, using the term “купить airbag дешево” (English translation: “buy airbag cheap”).
The website in seventh position was identified as a harmful website. This website generates 61.24% of its traffic from organic search.
A product page for a Honda branded airbag on the airbag-master.ru website is shown (Fig.2). The website is advertising a Honda passenger airbag for 7,000 Russian Rubles, equivalent to approximately £89. The retail price of official Honda airbags is closer to £800. The site also offers a discount of 10% for those customers who buy two or more.
Furthermore, the product is described in Russian as “Характеристики: неоригинал” which translates to indicate it is not an original manufactured product, despite their claims that they are working directly with the manufacturers. Add to that, the site claims to sell high-quality products, but on closer inspection, the airbag in the photo is, in fact, ripped.
Another recent investigation undertaken by Incopro on behalf of a leading car manufacturer revealed that a website offering over 64,871 ‘branded’ parts, the majority priced below 50% RRP, was easily accessible through search engines. The low price and the fact that the items were stated to be shipped without the original packaging indicates this site was likely selling fakes and was therefore harmful to end users.
Counterfeits infiltrating the supply chain
In another upcoming piece of Incopro research that asked US and UK consumers to indicate the fake products that pose the biggest threat to society, alarmingly, only 6% of US and UK consumers said fake car parts. This is despite the danger to life from fakes such as tires and brake pads. This figure likely reflects the fact that consumers are rarely part of the purchasing process for car parts; mechanics and garages determine the replacement parts needed and will place the order.
It is most likely that consumers will take their vehicle to a mechanic to source and fit an airbag. In the ever-competitive motor trade, some garages are known to source parts from various suppliers, including online sites such as the example highlighted above, ‘Airbag-Master.ru’.
While the mechanic sourcing the airbag will have greater knowledge than the average user, there is still a risk that they may buy sub-standard or counterfeit parts, especially from wholesale sites offering parts at a discount. If counterfeits are bought in large quantities from these sites, there are widespread implications for drivers.
What must search engines do to rectify the issue?
It is brand owners and their representatives who are best placed to verify the authenticity of their branded car parts. However, there are currently no scalable solutions available to them to notify search engines and have infringing pages removed from results.
By providing a scalable solution for the removal of illicit results, search engines would have a lasting impact on this problem, especially where sites rely on organic traffic to survive. Every stakeholder should welcome the ability for rights holders and their representatives to be able to take action against indexed pages or websites which directly lead to trademark infringing content.
By taking the lead, search engines can together set the standard for protecting everyone online.
- Ivor Searle: 70% remanufactured engine export surge
Ivor Searle has reported record exports of its remanufactured engines for light commercial vehicles, with a 70% surge in demand from abroad, particularly from EU and Baltic states.
- Rising business energy costs: Running to stand still?
The rise in energy prices is an issue that is not just affecting homeowners it is also causing problems for garage businesses, including bodyshops. It is leading to owners having to think if they can afford to run the business due to the increasing cost of gas and electricity eating into the already tight margins the business runs on. However, it is not all doom and gloom. There are many ways businesses can deal with rising energy costs alongside some new trends designed to respond to this issue.
Tools
Tools are the life blood of a garage or bodyshop and a fair few of the tools used on jobs are powered by rechargeable batteries, which need to be charged regularly. With the charging, the cost of electricity during the day is significantly more expensive, so businesses should look to charge them overnight, which comes under off peak times, when the energy price is cheaper. However, businesses should be reminded to only charge tools at night as long as they do not pose a fire risk.
Conservation
Do not waste electricity. Most of the wastage comes from items not being switched off, so it is important to remind technicians on the workshop floor that when they are not in use they should be turned off. This is especially important to remember when closing in the evening.
Heaters used on the workshop floor to keep staff warm are comfort items to have but they are expensive to run. In addition, they do not work well when processes like welding require heavy ventilation. This means that the heat produced from them will be sucked out of the workshop before it has had a chance to warm anyone up.
Ramps such as a three-phase electric ramp are expensive pieces of kit and are a key cog in the workshop. These ramps use quite a bit of energy however, reducing their energy consumption is pretty simple. It is achieved by ensuring the ramp is correctly maintained and is regularly oiled and serviced. In addition, technicians on the workshop floor should ensure the right ramp is being used for the car that is being serviced.
Price increases?
To combat the rise in prices we are seeing businesses, no matter their size, increasing the prices of jobs that require a lot of energy such as re-spraying and heating ovens to ensure the job is not loss-making. The price increases that are being seen now are here to stay for the foreseeable future, and it is something that the customer will have to be made aware of.
Going green?
Another avenue businesses are going down to cut costs is the use of green parts. Green parts are made up of undamaged and reusable parts from end-of-life and written-off vehicles, which does bring costs down. But they can cause issues once installed. This is highlighted by the fact that the part might have an electric module in it that is programmed for a specific vehicle or chassis. This means that if it is installed on a new vehicle, there is the possibility it may stop the vehicle from starting and it can also be difficult to code, which adds time to the overall job.
- Building in a fault
The subject this month is something I am sure we have all come across; Parts that cause more problems than they solve. The vehicle in question was a 2006 Chrysler 300C with EDC 16CP31.
This car drove in to us under its own steam with a constellation of lights shining in the dash, including the battery warning light. As usual, we started with a global scan of the vehicle while on battery support. Upon completion we found several low-voltage fault codes, but the one I was most interested in was U1132 Lost Communication with Generator – Active.
Armed with this information I formulated a test plan:
1) Test the vehicle battery
2) Check voltage at the battery to see if it was charging at all with the engine running; The answer was yes, and we could use an amp clamp as well but I saw no need
3) Find a wiring diagram for the system so we know what should be where and connected to what, I.E Comms line
4) Find the alternator on the vehicle physically to do testing
5) Do volt drop testing on ground and B+ side as we need both of these for the alternator and comms to work correctly
6) Connect the scope so we can see what is happening on the LIN bus control wire
7) Make a decision on the fault according to outcomes.
Upon testing the vehicle battery, the result was; ‘good - needs charging’. This was only to be expected, so a substitute battery was put in and the original put on charge. It is always best to start with a known good and we already had a copy of the DTCs that were present. With the multi meter installed across the battery and 12.6v shown, the car was started up and the lights turned on to load the system. The voltage was going down even when picking the revs up. This proved why the battery light was on in the dash and why we had the alternator LIN bus malfunction DTC.
Next, I found the alternator, which was on the driver's side under the engine. To get at it, I had to go through the suspension and subframe. As I had the scope at the ready, I first checked between battery ground and the alternator casing. This showed less than 100mV, so good. The next check was between battery positive and the B+ terminal at the rear of the alternator. Again, the same result here, less than a 100mV. This was good, both passed. For the next test, I connected the scope using a back probe in to the Lin bus connector. I found a good signal, 12 volts to about 0.5 of a volt, so it passed that test. Please refer to Fig.1.
Wiring and response integrity
At this point we knew the LIN bus signal came from the engine control unit ECU, so we didn’t need to test there as the signal was good. It was looking like the alternator is was fault, but how do we prove it, as well as the ECU-to-connector integrity? What I did at this point was to ground the signal down, pulling it to ground and reread the DTC. As expected, we now had two DTCs for the LIN bus, two malfunctions, but two different DTC codes. This proved wiring and response integrity of the circuit, so I deduced that a new alternator was required.
What arrived was an aftermarket example, due to availability problems with the OEM part. With the new one fitted by my colleague, which is not the easiest to do, the shout came out “Kev it’s still the same - not working!”
As always, you get that sinking feeling and question yourself. What did I miss? Back to the job then. Rescanning the original DTC returned ‘U1132 lost communication with Generator –Active’.
Believing it was the alternator at fault, I ran through the tests again just in case I had missed something, but the results were conclusive; Definitely the new alternator at fault. So, another one was ordered, this time from a different manufacturer. The part duly arrived, only this time I wanted to try before we fitted it to the vehicle. With the second new one in front of me, I extended the LIN bus communication line to it outside the vehicle. I thought, I know, I will put the jump box on to the alternator to give it live and ground, this should allow it to talk. By now, some of you will be ahead of me doing the test this way. Without the B+ and the vehicle ground connected to the alternator, how can the circuit be complete for feedback logic to work? When the CTC was checked to see if it cleared, it did not.
Steady charging voltage
We extended the B+ wire and a ground connection along with the LIN bus wire to the second new alternator on the tool box. The DTC was checked again and erased and did not return. Next, I cycled the ignition a couple of times to make sure it didn’t return and rechecked; No DTC returned for loss of comms with the alternator. With this product seeming to be okay, it was installed and tested. Charging was occurring and control of the alternator was taking place. With the scope recoupled to the Lin bus signal and the headlamps turned on and off we could plainly see the LIN bus control signal altering on the scope screen. We could also see the charging voltage staying steady, at around 14.2 volts, thereby proving the repair. Please refer to Fig.2
With this saved to the scope for future reference we could now hand the vehicle back to the customer with confidence in our repair. A full post repair global scan was also taken once we finished the job. This allowed us to be aware of DTCs in other system which bear no relationship to the repair we carried out. This enabled us to advise the customer of up-and-coming likely future repairs, should they wish to do anything about them.
- febiPLUS programme widens
febi has launched new references to their febiPLUS range, which features over 1,500 vehicle parts and product types. The new references include new rocker covers for the Vauxhall Insignia, Mokka and Mokka X cars, as well as for BMW vehicles in the 1 and 3 Series. There are also inlet manifolds for a number of Audi, BMW, Seat, Skoda and Volkswagen vehicles.New parts to the febiPLUS range include brake disc shields, with references for the Audi A3, Seat Leon, Skoda Octavia and VW Golf, as well as for the Mercedes Benz C-Class and for BMW 3 Series vehicles (1997-2007).
www.febi.com
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An LKQ Euro Car Parts delivery driver has received Trakm8’s Road Safety Hero Award, an initiative launched by the vehicle technology solutions provider and road safety charity Brake, after he rescued a couple from a submerged vehicle.
