Fake Counterfeit NGK Spark Plugs Sold On Amazon - How To Identify

[@PhaseP1]

I was initially going to write that they are just for another market made seeing TSE (Turkish Standard Institute) and Russian GOST marks, but then EAC (Eurasian Conformity mark) is the later version of GOST. And most telling is the package says Platinum-Platinum, where as that particular spark plug is speced as Iriduim-Platinum. That last piece really makes them extremely suspect of being fake. Also just checked my NGK iridium plugs that were lying around from last replacement, (different part but still). They have curved ground electrode, not bent with angle. All the markings and text on the box are like one from assembled in USA but they are marked made in Japan. They have cardboard spacers too. The iridium electrode is supposed to be very thin pointed also, like a needle.

[@JackofAllMasterofNone]

Thanks for the great comment.

[@5roundsrapid263]

I see these every day where I work. The real thing has only EAC on the package.

[@stephendee7839]

You see this sort of "old marks" when companies pick up New-Old-Stock (NOS in the industry) and sell it at a discounted price to get rid of it.

[@waboom248]

It will also have a visible laser welded tip on the electrode.

[@bryanmatthews1540]

u mean the resistor is like a needle? electrode is the curved part at very top of plug.

[@KastaRules]

Great to know, thank you! Should have sent them to Project Farm to test against the original NGKs though.

[@nickp8373]

Good call there. That guy is awesome

[@truepatriot8947]

Excellent idea! 💡

[@danieldelarosa8806]

Project farm is always asking for ideas on what to test next... hope he does this one next.

[@tousshong9438]

Great idea? I love project farm video!...Lawn mower automatically register in my head as soon as I head "Project Farm"...Well, they do a lot of stuff but the lawn mower test ..always in my head. LOL

[@HDLUXLOBO]

Definitely, send these, Original and Counterfeit to Project Farm, maybe we could have a surprise with the results.

[@julianmcalister6865]

I appreciate you making this video. I had purchased genuine BMW spark plugs off eBay and I haven’t even driven 4k miles. Now I’m having to replace them again. So, I ordered some NGK’s off eBay again and when I got them, I noticed something wasn’t right about the electrode. So I bought some from the part store and compared the two. The electrode is sticking up higher and all scratched up. What you described is exactly the same as what I saw. I’m still scratching my head of how this is allowed on eBay or Amazon. What you are saying is straight up 100. If I could give you more than one thumbs up, I would. I wondering about the rest of the parts bought off eBay now. Anyway, Thank you for taking the time to make this video. Take care my friend.

[@パッチです]

Having worked at NGK for over 15yrs, I immediately noticed the difference in the box size. Also, the plating on the plug is a different color. along with the darker colored top terminal. Obviously, the main issue is that the counterfeit plug performance is not consistent. Heat rating is off, gas sealing is poor, corrosion, etc, etc. Even though they are cheaper, DO NOT USE THEM! A failed plug can ruin your engine. It's not worth it.

[@crisnmaryfam7344]

ruin your engine over a 5-10$ part... Stupid honestly.

[@nikyabodigital]

Where can we buy legit NGKs? In Philippines? I feel like I need replacement for my mitsubishi but I don't wanna buy a fake one.

[@pinktumbleweed123]

Just used these same spark plugs. Car got hot and the we looked at spark plugs and they were broken 😮

[@dannylay7965]

I think I got fake ones. My coil packs keep burning out. 2 went out this month!

[@jaredlabriola]

@@dannylay7965 same here, bought some "genuine Toyota" plugs on ebay. they looked authentic​, my poor gas mileage and they way my truck ran after always had me wondering.... 25k miles later i have a coil out. Im going to remove the plug from that cylinder and check to see if i got scammed. either way i just bought some new NGK laser iridiums to throw in when i swap out my ignition coil. this time my parts all came from napa. haha

[@theslo777ery]

Send the fakes to project farm! He'll do a comparison.

[@pahanorlando]

Would be very interesting to see from project farm! I got mine NKG of ebay that look also identical to OEM, 1-2 months later, I am getting random misfire code. Just ordered 6 on advanced auto parts and will replace.

[@tnasituning8173]

Yezzir! Send to Project Farm! For Sure!

[@tnasituning8173]

Im sure that the plugs will perform just as well, except they WILL NOT LAST AS LONG because they dont have the same quality long lasting center core electrode or the Triple Seal that NGK are Known for besides the tips and grounding/other parts of the plug... They might have a different Center Electrode Core Material than the 98% pure Copper... So they will use either Ruthenium or Platinum in place with nickel... Ruthenium is the next best thing besides Iridium, then Platinum, then Copper Plugs... But the Center Electrode Core Material itself should be Almost pure 98% OXIDATION FREE COPPER.. A Copper Center Electrode Core, and an IRIDIUM Center Electrode Tip, IRIDIUM Tip with Iridium Core are best... And for a ground a Nickel Ground core are thee best of everything... So instead of 105,000 mile rating they will probably last 60,000~80,000 I bet... Which is still really good... The only thing that would worry me is if the tips were very bad and even more brittle than the NGK Iridium already is... Because if it breaks off and falls down there could be a catastrophe to the cylinder walls/Piston... So i would test the Core to see how good it is (if the copper is nearly as pure, and test the tip to see how much percent it is Iridium to begin with...

[@justinfargas2367]

​@@tnasituning8173 Theres no platinum or iridium in the fakes. The resistance is all over the scale on the fakes. They are shite. Not worthwhile saving a few bucks to mess up your cars engine or electrical system. Perform similarly hey mate? Not likely champ.

[@aleksandrbmelnikov]

Better then a testing lab. We'd get to see the results (carbon fouling, white ash, meltdown).

[@Leo555ZZZ]

I have used NGK plugs for decades and until 2019 I had never seen them come with plastic protectors. So , not sure that really means anything.

[@AlphaMachina]

I just purchased some NGK Iridiums from O'Reilly for my Civic and they had cardboard as well. I even compared them to this, and they were more similar to the "knockoffs" than the ones he got from Advanced.

[@visigoth2020]

I bought 4 yesterday and it was plastic

[@visigoth2020]

jason9022 they are fake I can tell you from experience.

[@visigoth2020]

ɑʟpʜɑ ɱɑсʜɪиɑ do not put them on your car and if you did replace them at once, if by any chance you leave them on just in 1 month get them out and see how the gap goes from 32 to a 100 just like a finger straight up.

[@rtmadman3418]

I bought 8 iridium ix this morning from napa after seeing this video i went to Benson then carquest to compare them and they all came whit cardboard

[@tomking1890]

I always buy car parts from the local guys. We can't have all the stores going out of business, and only have Amazon.

[@airgliderz]

But my from local LOL. Local auto parts get them from far away, no different then Amazon.

[@Tyson2busy]

Especially since Amazon does a half a$$ job at protecting us.

[@airgliderz]

@@Tyson2busy wo w your nothing but lies. Amazon dies a lot to protect workers. Stop spreading lies and myths, you are wrong and an idiot.

[@enriqueaguilar8788]

Same here, and faster plus returnable if not the right part.

[@MilesPrower69420]

I've also got fakes from local

[@bombadeer8231]

Been using NGK since the ‘70’s. The ground electrode has always been a curve. The right angled trode would have caught my attention. I’ll be looking for that. Thx for the heads up. Subbed & liked.

[@jamesyoung5610]

by the time you get to talk to an expert, I've already driven 80 miles on my new plugs!

[@connieanddicks]

Thanks for taking the time to assemble this. A few years back we had a “friend” of a customer leave us a nasty review because we charged her for the real spark plugs on her toyota and he of course could have purchased them a lot cheaper. Tried to explain to the guy that we buy from a reputable vendor who doesn’t sell fakes and who also helps supply 1st class training to the professional marketplace. Folks love going to amazon because of the convenience and oftentimes dismiss the possibility that what’s you’re getting isn’t the real deal or the fact that when it comes to automotive, an automobile is a sophisticated device and without skilled tradesmen regularly attending advanced training, you won’t have the right ingredients to achieve proper service and or repair.

[@mamoruokinawa]

Thanks for the post, I hate when I hear things like this. It's one thing you want to go cheaper items but to lie and sell fakes to people who thinks are getting a good deal, is pissing me off, they need to be punished

[@dannyspitzer1267]

Agree

[@MarcMallary]

You can check the ohms of resistance and compare the two, to see if the counterfeit is within spec.

[@joemilton7552]

the ohms should be nearly 0 in pretty much all cases.

[@bobjohnson541]

Just changed the plugs on my 2017 Subaru with 146k miles. Don't know if the plugs were ever changed as the previous owner drove mostly highway miles. Still ran great, but decided it was time to change them. Bought a set of NGKs that I now know are counterfeit. As soon as I started the car, it was really rough. Drove it about 1 mile and turned around and went back to check it out. Ran the OBDII reader on it and it read codes for a misfire on cylinder 1, bad MAF/ IAT module. Ordered a MAF as the temperature at the MAF/IAT was -45F. So I assumed that may be the root of the trouble. Got the new MAF module and same thing. So I pulled cylinder 1 plug and it was fouled and the porcelain was cracked. I did a search of counterfeit plugs and found this video. I guess I am going to have to pull all of the plugs and replace with plugs from the parts store. To change 4 plugs on this car takes about 3 hours. At the dealership, they lift the engine up to access the plugs. I did it without doing that, but it was a major job. I had no idea that there were counterfeit plugs out there.

[@oc91five]

Thankyou for sharing this

[@JackofAllMasterofNone]

Just a follow up. Amazon gave me a full refund after I returned them. I also left an honest review.

[@tomwoo1161]

Man same thing happened to me. prime sent me counterfeit so I ended up getting genuine ngk from autozone. Mine had the exact same differences as well. Also if you look at your video another tell is that the triangle with exclamation mark 3:03 is not yellow like it is on the genuine ngk. I only realized they were fake after watching your video, never would have thought there would be fake ngk's being sold on prime. I feel bad for all those other people on prime that bought these fakes and don't realize it.

[@scion-dj4he]

So what's the number to look out for that would determine is fake, please advise. Thank you.

[@scotty2hotty909]

I've had to return a few items on amazon... They do full refund pretty readily on items... But you think about all the people that dont catch it that get screwed. Definitely buyer beware on amazon.

[@efrensaclolo7021]

I always buy my parts from Amazon and eBay, After watching your video, I will start buying now at local auto part store like Autozons and O'Reilly even if it is more expensive.

[@tuv0k152]

0:43 there is a screenshot of the offer.. I can read "Sold by incredible spark..." so this item was only fulfilled bei Amazon, but not sold by amazon itself! Or was it another offer? The Problem are those other sellers, who are using the amazon platform to sell their products

[@redlinemotorsports187]

Really glad I watched this before putting that fake trash in my car. Now I wonder if they will tale them back and give me a refund? My fake plugs came from Ebay.

[@mrb3n]

EXCELLENT VIDEO! - Last week I purchased a regulator / rectifier off Amazon for my Triumph Sprint 1050. Fitted it to my bike & it worked charging the battery for about 10 mins. Then the main fuse blew & I checked the regulator / rectifier unit & it was almost on fire! All wires melted & connection plugs fused together. Phoned Amazon, got my money back & they removed the item for sale to anyone else. Be careful what you’re buying guys! Amazon can be an absolute death trap & so can other online marketplaces such as eBay or Ali Express etc. Stay safe. 👍🏻

[@SuperMarioDiagnostics]

Would like to have seen a resistance reading too

[@XiseTK]

resistance?? it would be out of limit, there is an air gap, that is why it sparks.

[@CarsSimplified]

Core resistance, I would assume. It can vary quite a bit. That and wire resistance cut down on RFI.

[@davidjoegamez5901]

I’d say within spec resistance reading at the core. Most of our metals are coming from overseas now so it’s hard to say which would last longer.

[@DENicholsAutoBravado]

@Poor Poor no evidence? It was piled so high it helped me remember some different looking plugs which I've installed and guess what? They didn't last a year. They sucked. Then, possibly related, an engine with just over 100k miles blew up. Take this fake plug warning seriously!

[@DENicholsAutoBravado]

@Poor Poor it has everything to do with the video as I have bought the real and fake ones and seen the performance difference. My customers have also bought fakes. When my shop bought the spark plugs, there were no fakes. Just customers saving a buck online.

[@4Nanook]

I've gotten counterfeit razor blades on Amazon so can't say I'm shocked.

[@Greggg57]

I bought some NGJs from Rock Auto and installed them but have not yet started the engine. I think that I will go check them out right now. Checked. They're NGKs. :)

[@tayninh69]

I'm glad you did the research, I use NGK plugs in all my engines and I buy them from a trusted auto parts store. Thanks for the video.

[@TrojanLube69]

You didn’t buy from Amazon itself, you bought from amazon sellers. Pretty much like buying on ebay. When you want authentic parts from amazon. Make sure it says sold by Amazon and shipped by amazon. They get shipments directly from manufacturers not resellers.

[@srhatfield]

Amazon sells counterfeit micro sd cards as well. They look good, but they’re not the same quality/speed.

[@dannyspitzer1267]

Where can we get legit ones ?

[@TheEDNC]

As a former custom restorer, I found most company reps are fresh out of college young know it alls that are too proud to simply say, “not sure” or “ I don’t know” or “send me detailed pix and I’ll look into it to be sure” ... so they almost always default to “I know everything... take care”... when they don’t. After 48 years of working and restoring cars, both plugs are NGK’s, only one is gray market...

[@816athlon64]

He did say it was a Honda part number.

[@MrMichaelmager]

Yea I caught that too. Maybe they're buying Honda platinum plus and putting NGK markings on them. That would still make them very high quality. I would like to see a comparison against a factory Honda plug.

[@Chris-yy7qc]

That number is a bit short to be sure, tho... Its got like what? 4 digits?

[@Db1017og]

Michael Mager honda factory plugs are NGK IR. I work at a Honda dealership. They’re just ngk plugs just sold in Honda packaging. I bet you those are legit plugs, they were probably just overstocked.

[@that90sbenz]

Conclusion: it is hard to spot fake spark plugs

[@complexequation807]

No, it is not hard, you can measure the resistance by using multimeter.

[@mikemiller9119]

Too bad you couldn’t test them or put them through their paces.

[@tousshong9438]

Like one guy mention on the comment here. Send it to Project Farm and they will test it for us consumers.

[@Gunners_Mate_Guns]

@@tousshong9438 Yep That guy's testing is the bomb. I'm sure there's some product testing lab out there somewhere that could nitpick some aspect of how he does his evaluations, but he does a hell of a job at it, IMNSHO.

[@jaywhoisit4863]

You think the counterfeiters couldn’t fake the stamped number if they can replicate everything else so well? I figure they are grey market. Original parts but from a different market.

[@6spdkeg]

From a different market that uses lessor STDs probably. Cheaper casting material, loser tolerances etc. Never know. There's a reason it's cheaper, typically.

[@Picklejam08]

Grey market is a strong possibility, just like camera equipment to it has been for many years huge gray market even in retailers like Best Buy

[@stephentowse4453]

Working in a garage in the U.K. every plug I've ever put in an engine had a card sleeve on it and we only ever fitted NGK.

[@パッチです]

NGK uses both cardboard and plastic protectors. You can't determine if it is a fake by that difference alone.

[@joemilton7552]

so like the cardboard tube in the video? Those were the ones he said were supposedly "fake". Maybe his fakes weren't fake but grey market imports as others have suggested.

[@パッチです]

@@joemilton7552 NGK doesn't produce "grey market imports". They are either genuine or fake.

[@パッチです]

@@trevorwylie5882 Yes, older NGK plugs were a different color. The yellowish tinge is now gone because they had to change their plating formula due to hexachromate concerns.

[@パッチです]

@@trevorwylie5882 Yes, older NGK plugs were a different color. The yellowish tinge is now gone because they had to change their plating formula due to hexachromate concerns. NGK uses both plastic and cardboard protectors, that the protector type is irrelevant when it comes to counterfeits.

[@carolrobinson7779]

Thanks for this video, we use a lot of ngk plugs in outboard motors and my boss usually buys online. Now I'm going to check our plug stock, being the certified marine mechanic my name is on my work including the parts I install!

[@Authoratah]

the fake ones probably don't contain any Iridium. This sucks, I have to go and check my plugs now.

[@AnnaVannieuwenhuyse]

Third party sellers can send things to Amazon to have Prime available. Prime shipping does not mean the same as sold by Amazon inherently.

[@njsongwriter]

Everything sold at Amazon is "sold by Amazon". Amazon takes your money regardless of whether it shipped by them or shipped by someone else.

[@JoeHynes284]

at least when i buy from ebay, i assume the parts are rip off brand :)

[@stylerunner2959]

@Poor Poor he did call NGK directly and had them verified that they were fake..

[@lizardhart3646]

Just because its an Amazon prime product doesn't mean it sold by Amazon! 3rd party sellers also use Amazon prime. They send their products to an Amazon distribution center and then when the product is sold the distribution center for Amazon boxes them up and mails it to you.

[@BOBBY-et9xb]

There are reputable parts stores that also import their own parts from China. That also needs to be investigated. Just from my experience.

[@rxwhat33]

Plot twist: the knock off plugs are higher quality.

[@eriv4735]

It really wouldn’t take much 😂😂

[@bryanmatthews1540]

bro! Thats what I was thinkng exactly. I was like no way the one on the right has gotta b the fake! Fuck i need to buy plugs n have no idea what to do. 370Z I want the best...

[@Fable1Guides]

@@bryanmatthews1540 just go to autozone tard

[@fordmud]

They definitely are not, they are absolute garbage, they only made it 15,000 miles in a acura v6, when the originals made 100,000 and still looked good

[@sssmithVR]

what makes one better or worse than the other? type of metal? How can you test? I agree the electrode on the knock off is beefier. Is that a good thing or bad?

[@RadioWerwolf]

On the larger box: TSE means Turkish Standards Institute and the marking looking like PCT is actually the logo of GOST, a Russian standardization institution. I personally believe that both boxes are genuine items, just produced at different locations. But again, it is hard to tell just by watching a video.

[@AndyMarsh]

Sound like they could be grey market imports, he did say the chap from NGK did say that was a number "that would never be sold in the United States"

[@westernapache1700]

Fake plugs. Don't be fooled.

[@mustangj0hn]

I work for a motor factor in England and have just looked at our stock of NGK 6994 plugs. They were made in Japan with the same logos on the box as your Amazon plugs. I can safely say we do not sell fake stuff. So as others have said its doubtful yours are fake either. Simply made in a different factory.

[@Dragonkingzx]

As You Can See At The Back, There Is A Different.... One Is Writed "Double Platinum" And The Other One Writed "Platinum Iridium"...

[@machtschnell7452]

Perhaps, but which is which?

[@spyder000069]

Good catch.

[@kwakman99]

Wow... good eyes. Not certain it proves anything but interesting.

[@newfinishautospa]

Ram some in my car for a bit. They caused shorts around the coil and steadily more misfiring. Oh and the power went from about 700 to about 450 on my tuned m550i. It was absolutely drivable and a non-enthusiast wouldn’t have been any the wiser, especially if the car was stock. I bought a plane ticket to the merchant’s address and im going to reverse insert them into him rectally.

[@malt6943]

Hmmm, interesting as NGK states on their website regarding fake spark plugs that their spark plugs always come with cardboard roll thread protector not plastic and one you of them got plastic and you assumed is genuine. Did you chekc it with NGK too?

[@JackofAllMasterofNone]

I bought genuine plugs from 2 local auto parts stores and did verify them with NGK. I didnt "assume" anything

[@amazingthingsfromaroundthe2057]

They are so close that if you didn't have the real ones to compare them to you wouldn't even be able to tell.

[@MicroAngelo1]

Exact same thing happened to me with Bosch plugs, but I went ahead and installed them, with absolutely no issues. The built quality looked excellent.

[@bEEBO178]

Until the electrode falls off in the combustion chamber and destroys the engine 🙄

[@GadGetHackss]

@@bEEBO178 it wouldn't fall they just won't be as effecient as the originals

[@ad636051]

I bought an oil control valve from amazon for my toyota vvt-i it was cheap and apparently a Toyota oem part and as soon as I installed it it started leaking oil, I don't think Toyota will ever make a leaking part from the factory and let it get past quality control.

[@Turboboob]

ad636051 you are incorrect, even the manufacturer makes mistakes and lets things slip by. Took me two power steering pumps from Toyota to get a good one. Nobody’s perfect.

[@TheFrankman711]

My NGK had the cardboard protectors on and I bought them from Autozone. Pretty sure they were original because after 30 000 miles, they still look almost new. The cheap copper ones though. The Denso plugs I bought from the dealer had plastic covers.

[@handydaddy4232]

The set I bought from “NGK” Amazon Prime immediately caused engine misfires on my car. The old set with over 80000 miles on them did not cause any misfires.

[@kennethiman2691]

Bought some NGK Iridium plugs from eBay. The electrode burned off after a few thousand miles.

[@DavidWX877]

You didn’t buy these from Amazon. You bought them from a seller on Amazon that stocked the item in a Amazon warehouse so you can get prime shipping. In your screenshot it shows the seller is not Amazon.com but is incredible spark.

[@CarsSimplified]

Good catch! I suspected that would be the case, but missed it when it was on screen.

[@DapimpBDSD]

Amazon was just a better ebay, but its slowly been flooded by resellers and counterfeiters, which is sad because it will slowly cause distrust when ordering from amazon.com

[@automotiveperformancemobil4030]

I keep telling these people to stop blaming amazon themselves and Ebay. people need to learn to read their sources and the difference between manufacturer and VENDOR

[@DavidWX877]

@@automotiveperformancemobil4030 I agree people just need to read! There are so many bad reviews on Amazon from people not even knowing they bought it from a seller. Like this video for example. Amazon needs to do something to make it more obvious.

[@visigoth2020]

L J yes let them know that they are fakes, you’ll save lots of people a big headache give them a negative review, this guy will kill someone’s engine for profit, he is an assassin.

[@heilaw7002]

It is not necessarily a Counterfeit. They make slightly lower quality parts for the specific china market, and someone bring it to the US market.I mean, what is the point of making the quality that high and selling it dirt cheap?

[@waltbullet1287]

Some Chinese quality is very good!

[@jgarsemrod]

I purchased 4 for my CRV 1 year ago and still running great. Those are cheap because are intended for overseas and sell in USA. Gray market.

[@toddpederson333]

As a retailer selling clothing items on Amazon. Our product images get copied and then relisted and as the same product. The copy cats modify the image to crop the head out of the picture and then sell you junk for a fraction of the price. So if my product made in California costs $90 on Amazon, the copy cats shipping from China will sell for $10 or less. Then a customer will buy mine and return the Chinese knockoff that is nowhere near identical to our product. Then we go around and around with Amazon about their customers "stealing" our products. Amazon has a huge counterfeit problem that they refuse to acknowledge. It will ultimately cost them sales. You can't keep selling counterfeit merch and not have it catch up to you. Nike has deep pockets and aggressively persue this crap. Small retailers do not. Amazon ultimately only cares about it's commission. Amazon is aware and continues to sell products from China. I personally bought a Bosch oil filter that was a Bosch box with a stp filter in it. Amazon could care less. Buy locally. I am through with Amazon.

[@BaltimoreAndOhioRR]

Wow. You cant trust anyone/anything anymore. 😥

[@fixitallpaul4847]

If its worth counterfeiting it has been

[@KRTube75]

Imagine my surprise when I pulled a set of 14,000 mile, 8 month old ACDelco iridium plugs out of my vehicle and the tips were worn to a nub! If you are experiencing misfires, rough idle and shudder under load, check your plugs first even if they only have a few miles on them. Don't do what I did and troubleshoot everything else including the transmission before checking the plugs.

[@80skid83]

I bought some ngk iridium plugs off ebay a few years ago. 45k later , I'm now getting all the symptoms you have mentioned. Will remove tomorrow and see. But yeah probably fake plugs

[@ichewtoast111]

Hahaha no way, I bought these and could see the cathode at a taper. Every single plug was gapped different also. Thanks for posting this, I had no idea.

[@javierrodriguez-vo8yr]

Happened to me to.

[@sailorsanjoy]

Amazon is a haven for scamsters ...i'm slowly losing my faith in Amazon

[@officialmysteriousrider6327]

Ebay is much cheaper and everytime i look for what i want on amazon they have rather sold out or just dont have it at all

[@Quentyn73]

True

[@1970PMD]

Chinese have been doing this garbage for decades. Cells phones, laptops, spark plugs, etc...almost to the point of perfection. Someone with the proper testing tools should test these spark plugs vs the real ones to see the result of the performance under driving conditions. Thumbs up great vid.

[@huanweili7699]

I rather have the one made in Japan rather than the one made in USA. Japan made is more of a quality.

[@林振华-t4v]

That is a myth... Japanese built Nissan car are still junk. Lol

[@closeenoughmicron]

Assembled in the usa vs made in japan. Id say the usa one is produced in japan and the fake one produced in china

[@thedepartmentofredundancyd5160]

But the "Japan" stamp on these plugs is a lie. It's a counterfeit. No quality assurance at all. Not worth the risk.

[@창녀줄리가청와대접수]

But the fakes are not made in Japan.

[@griplimit]

It doesn’t say made in America, it says assembled in America. Big difference, it could be it’s packaging was American.

[@oldfellafpv7770]

i dont think its a fake plug at all it just manufactured in a different plant as it says on the box .its still an ngk product just specific to the plant where it was made

[@Tmanscar]

OldFella FPV the only question that I have is why wouldn’t the electrodes be the same size? He stated that the electrode was bigger (thicker) on the “counterfeit” one

[@MCW1955]

My son is a Honda tech and he got me a set of laser iridium plugs directly from the dealer and they have cardboard protectors and a code on the plug starting with c9. Your video seems to be a mismash of real and fake statements. Are the dealers selling fake parts? Br ick and morter stores beyond reproach ? Watchers beware.

[@Check7his]

My NGK laster platinums from O'Reilly's had card board protection. Don't know what to think because the air filters I buy seem to be fake as well.

[@irocracer3755]

Martin Wilhelm possibly the dealer is getting parts off amazon. There are some parts that I can get cheaper off amazon than through my suppliers.

[@tipstolevelupinlife5837]

Ive called the manufacturer before on different things. these big companies often don't even know their product. I would test it out with an ohm meter. I think buddy overreacted and its close enough you would not notice a difference in a CRV and why wouldn't you go rutherium if you are that picky. Laser Iridium is not the best either.

[@mbwilson2625]

I think when in doubt, just call NGK.

[@askaliu2943]

i have never actually purchased a set of NGK spark plug (iridium or standards for my EK civic at least) that came with plastic protector thingy too, always been cardboard ones, and this is from local automotive shop, or directly from NGK website O_o

[@jawneelogik5744]

Kind of lends credence to the question: Should we be trading with China at all? The question is NOT just theft of IP, but there is often a safety issue as well. Case-in-point, a few years ago I was working on a project constructing a new offshore drilling rig. The rig was being assembled in South Korea (a very common thing). Many of the components were sourced from far East suppliers and even though the rig owner (BP) stated very clearly in the contract, NO Chinese parts, many were snuck in using fake tracking documents. The story gets interesting when, back in the US, the rig was being commissioned out in the Gulf of Mexico. A crew was setting up to begin pressure testing high pressure well control piping on the rig floor. This piping was service rated for #15000 and was to be tested to #20000. Fortunately, they only got to about #5000 before many of the fittings cracked and started leaking off pressure. The company was quite suspicious and so sent many of the failed parts off for metallurgical testing and analysis. The fittings used in constructing the manifolds were supposed to be high grade chrome-moly material, but were actually low grade recycled Kias and Hyundais. If this had happened during an actual well control emergency (Remember the Horizon!), it would not have ended well.

[@icebreaka1969]

Wholesale price is 9.20 each, so if amazon or ebay price is lower than this, pretty much you are getting a FAKE or knockoff.

[@norman_sage2528]

There are always different wholesale prices. Wholesalers are companies. Manufacturers price should be fairly constant unless there are closeouts because of assembly line retooling.

[@stevenp3176]

Ice Breaka Exactly. Not even worth the risk buying online.

[@paulrakis]

Wow I had no idea but that's the reason why I only buy spark plugs and brakes from are authorized retailer like advance Auto which I go too for must of my parts. I have a S2000 which is a very special car and engine. Would of been terrible if I had put in fake spark plugs. Great video 👍

[@RoldanRR00]

Fun fact: Unless it says shipped and sold by Amazon you're not actually buying from Amazon.

[@JackofAllMasterofNone]

True. But if Amazon is sending it via prime delivery, it's being shipped out of their warehouse. They should be doing more to stop counterfeit products from being sold on their website.

[@njsongwriter]

"Shipped and sold by Amazon" is no guarantee. Go to NGK's website to see if Amazon is an authorized seller. I know on Denso's website Amazon is not listed as an authorized dealer.

[@LLF1234]

@@njsongwriter Btw, do you know which one is better for a 2nd gen Honda CRV, the NGK or the Denso? Which one is the OEM? Also, where would I be able to find this kind of information? Thank you!

[@nastysoda9212]

it's crazy how people don't get this

[@gfriedman99]

@@LLF1234Honda lists both ngk and denso parts. Out of the factory they use denso but both are fine.😅

[@veryzen1]

Very revealing. Thank you for making this video. I order a lot from Amazon...I will pay closer attention to everything from now on. Cheaper isn’t always better...you get what you pay for, eh!!

[@simongalan9717]

I I think it's because they are outside of the USA as I just bought a set from the local dealer in Malta EU and they have the carton cover instead of the plastic one you have and they have the EAC print on the box and they are made in Japan.

[@toxictophat711]

I had both in my 6 set

[@philpfirrmann7729]

One thing you should have done is to weigh each plug, To see how close the manufacturing is. Second is to measure the resistance of each plug. If the suspect plug is the same in every way , that would not effect it's performance, I would use it until it needed to be changed. Hey, if it was cheaper and works, what else could you ask for?.,,,

[@josev5537]

I bought six spark plugs from Amazon that was ngk for my Kia Sedona a few days ago and it made my engine misfire so bad. I switched them with one's from auto zone and problem solved. Yes people buy from an acual store when it comes to "important" parts of the car.

[@chrisfrost7337]

Bullshit.

[@paulmills6189]

Thanks for sharing this. People need to know how big of a risk buying items on Amazon can be. There are darn good reasons why Nike and Birkenstock won't do business directly with Amazon. Not only do they fail to police 3rd parties, but they sometimes commingle inventory between reputable sellers, counterfeiters, and their own inventory. No other retailer had been allowed to get away with the shenanigans Amazon seems to be able to get a pass on. Always buy from manufacturer authorized parties.

[@nastysoda9212]

Rock Auto send me counterfits, 3 of the 4 for my impreza were chinese shit, confirmed by NGK customer support.

[@blackprelude1]

Similar situation with oem honda sparks plugs from ebay .looked super legit ran in car and still had misfire codes.switched out to ngk from parts store no problems since.

[@javierrodriguez-vo8yr]

Same with our Hyundai.

[@Nick-ud9hf]

I made the mistake of buying six NGK 7658 Iridium plugs from Amazon for my 2007 Suzuki Grand Vitara. I changed out the original NGK 7658 iridium plugs that came with car at 115,000 miles. They were hardly worn and could easily have gone another 20,000 miles. The ones I bought from Amazon looked identical to the original plugs, but after only 15,000 miles my COPs (coil on plug) started failing, one after the other with a check engine light and misfire code. These COPs were new, expensive ones installed at the same time I changed the plugs and should have easily lasted 100,000 miles or more. Generally, when a COP misfires or goes bad , it's usually caused by a worn spark plug or a plug with a gap that is too wide. A wider gap requires a lot more voltage from the COP to fire. A COP can easily produce 40,000 volts but it should rarely do so. Most sparkplugs fire at about 8,000 - 22,000 volts. When a COP continuously fires at a very high voltage, it will either short out the secondary coil wiring from the excessive heat or burn out the transistorized driver inside the unit. So I removed the spark plugs to check them and found the "iridium" center electrode completely worn down on each one of them. It was almost completely gone after only 15,000 miles. This created a huge gap. Theses clearly were not iridium plugs. No way. These were cheap counterfeit plugs made to look like NGK iridium plugs. Fortunately, for me, the misfires did not cause any damage to my catalytic converters on either bank. That would have cost me another $1500 to replace them myself. But I still had to replace three COPs burned out by the wide gaps of the worn fake plugs. I bought the replacement plugs form Rock Auto and have had no problems since then with any misfires. The plugs look fine after 20,000 miles, so I'm certain they are genuine NGK. Now, as far as Amazon is concerned, be careful. If there are multiple vendors for a product, (sparkplugs for example) Amazon places all the units from different vendors in one bin. When a unit is sold, they give credit to the vendor that you bought it from. So, if a dishonest vendor provides counterfeits, they get mixed in with all the other vendors' units. Therefore, it's easy to get a counterfeit one by purchasing from a reliable vendor. It just depends on which one the Amazon employee picks from the bin.

[@dannyspitzer1267]

Wow

[@JohnnyDiablo1]

I just had my second NGK iridium plug from Amazon fail. 1st failed after 3 months 2nd failed after 6. Porceline gets loose and makes puff sound. Amazon rep doesnt care.

[@3asyrider75]

www.ngk-sparkplugs.jp/english/techinfo/fake/index.html

[@skye1212]

I think a key point is NOT if it's "prime," but is it sold by them and not a third party seller on Amazon.

[@dstone20]

Thank you for this video! I received the same fake NGK plugs from a third party seller on Amazon as you've identified here. What led me to your video was the back of the box on the ones I received. On the fake plugs, it says "Double Platinum" (also shown @ 1:54 on your video). The real plugs say Iridium and Platinum. I too left an honest review on Amazon, but they deleted it. Amazon did however refund me after making me send the fake plugs back. I hope they don't just re-sell them.

[@TopShotta713]

Daniel Piedra You know they do make “double platinum” right

[@seanhatch4425]

Good eye mate!

[@Alhumdullullah]

Thanks for this video, I am in London England and I’ve been offered 6 of these plugs for ONLY £37.09p with free delivery, I thought this to be too good to be true, so I did research and your video has confirmed this, I can’t put fake plugs in my Lexus rx400h 2006 because they are extremely difficult to change because of engine furniture in the way, the only way to change them is to remove several bits of furniture, I’ll probably will be getting them changed by a patient mechanic 🤷‍♂️

[@tocrob]

@5:51 - likely not "fake" but definitely not authorized for sale in the US but maybe not illegal if import tax is paid. "Assembled" in the USA is an indirect tax therefore more expensive.

[@simongalan9717]

I think you are spot on mate , the ones I bought look like fake according to this video but I bought them from the NGK importer in Malta so.

[@eugenevosko7832]

Read my review: 3 different eBay sellers sell same spark plugs, and ALL reviews of the plugs are THE SAME! Does it say something?

[@3asyrider75]

tocrob It is fake and may damage engine. Official info. www.ngk-sparkplugs.jp/english/techinfo/fake/index.html

[@itscorky]

Just bought a set for my RAM from Amazon and happened to come across your video. I checked everything you mentioned and luckily mine appeared legit. Thanks for the heads up!

[@ils360]

I used to work at one of the larger Auto part Chains here in the US and we used to have guys pretty often including shops would buy our parts then return them two weeks or so later with cheaper or knockoff parts in the boxes. It got bad enough with one shop that we had to refuse them service

[@LatitudeSky]

Also worked for a parts chain and we had the same problem. There were clever ones trying to sneak stuff past us. And idiots who bought things like an alternator or starter and brought it back months later under warranty for replacement, and the thing they brought back wasn't our part at all, it had stickers on it from another chain. They would argue and argue and threaten to call corporate. I am so glad I don't work in that business any more.

[@ils360]

@@LatitudeSky yeah I'm glad I don't either

[@kevincagla4895]

TSE mean is turk standartlari enstutisu(turkish standard institute) and I have never seen one spark plug carries that sign :)

[@jonathanwoo6597]

I just got some from Amazon. It says it's sold by Amazon and it's $6.72 per piece. One thing I noticed on mine that you didn't show in your video is the platinum 'spot' on the underside of the curved electrode. NGK says by using platinum the electrode won't erode away easily. I wonder if the fake ones have this shiny little spot. If someone who has the fake ones can confirm it would be another method to detect counterfeit ones.

[@raymorley8241]

I bought a FRAM Oil Filter for my car in Bangor and later bought the exact same flter in Moncton NB Canada and the packaging was slightly different and the print on the filter was different. Both filters were bought at parts stores and not online.

[@VanWinger]

There are offers on Amazon 'sold by Amazon' and others that are 'fulfilled by Amazon' -- This product was only being shipped by Amazon as they are fulfilling for a 3rd party vendor.

[@raphotopeck5536]

There may be resistance through the spark plug. It would be interesting if there is a difference?

[@DStabs720]

IDK how you could get fooled by the price. These are $10 for a single spark plug. There is no way in hell you would get them for half price!

[@frostbite1991]

hmm, makes me wonder if the NGK plugs I got from oreillys are fake. They also had cardboard covers and said made in Japan...

[@jamesm.8392]

Every vendor with so many dollars worh of proudct distribution should have secret shopper as well as other consumer protection safeguards. No excuse.

[@atexnik]

Recently I ordered NGK ignition coils U5098 from China Taobao store (via a mail forwarder), and they do look different from what is sold in Europe or US (mine got red tips vs blue tips in other parts of world, plus no ventilation hole exists on Chinese version), however, they are not fake, and this is why: I entered the official NGK China website, checked the part image - it looked exactly as the one at their Taobao store, and, what's more important - the NGK website had direct link to their official Tao store, where I ordered my coils. The quality is top-notch at first glance, installed, they work like a charm. So, what I wanted to emphasize here is that the NGK China might have its own standards and specifications. So, in your case, it is really hard to tell whether the plugs are fake or not. You might try to contact NGK China and ask them, since the US personnel might not be aware of the China plant.

[@LoneWolf3574]

So pretty much I stand as good a chance on Alibaba as I do with Amazon. Great to know.

[@davidrhelmick72]

I have never ordered anything from the internet because I'm old school and honestly just not up to date on technology and method of payment.So what's alibaba?I seen that name when I looked at truck tires on line ,thank you for any response and advice if anyone respondes

[@ldorman]

I used "knock-offs" and I used original and honestly didn't noticed a difference. On my Japanese cars I always used NGK and on my German cars I use Bosch. In France, from a car shop I ended up with fake Bosch and they were from the shop. How I know, so the Spark-plug, not even 2 months old, the porcelain broke - the car started running on 3 cylinders (E30 318is) and when I wanted to check the contacts, the connector was loose, and then I noticed that it actually while in the car, just broke in half. Luckily I still had the old ones in the car, so swapped them out and continued my roadtrip. I was on my way to Austria; where when I arrived I went to a local car shop and Bosch reseller, when I showed him the plugs he showed me that their were fakes. Got a new set from there and they were good for years.

[@gplusgplus2286]

The thread profiles looked different, they were more sharp on the real one. Also the writing looked like painted on the ceramic as opposed to painted letters baked with the ceramic. But very good immitation, I was shocked. Worst thing that happen with a bad/fake plug is pieces may break and fall into your engine = game over.

[@Funkydood]

Never had a problem with e-Bay!!!

[@cameronwebb3959]

I love getting stuff from rock auto love the pricing.

[@nicholas_scott]

Cameron Webb the main killer is the shipping, especially if your items are coming from different warehouses

[@eriv4735]

I bet you love the ridiculous shipping as well 😂

[@eriv4735]

You must love the high shipping cost as well

[@eriv4735]

Typical_podagee e you can tell who ACTUALLY uses rock auto 😂😂..they truly are garbage

[@markrancourt5430]

Yea, Rock sells economy parts for cheap. They also have decent parts. I have never gotten anything I didnt order...

[@johndelong5574]

The genuine electrode will have a tiny tip of iridium the fakes will not.

[@ryanpeck3377]

1:56 Writing is NOT the same. Counterfeit ones say “Double Platinum” and real ones say “Platinum Iridium”. Its the small details like that to watch out for

[@JackofAllMasterofNone]

Exactly. Glad you saw it.

[@witboj8281]

You are right. NGK makes double platinum but they are named Laser Platinum, not Laser Iridium

[@karlt10]

Would have been interesting to have seen an OHM resistance check on each. Perhaps even put a blow torch to the body of each to see if anything would happen

[@wegder]

Thanks, I buy a lot from Amazon but it isn't worth the difference in price for an important part like this.

[@victoryfirst2878]

YOU are not the only one who got hosed by AMAZON. I only buy plugs from reputable suppliers. Nice video to fella.

[@charleselliott4690]

Conclusion: "Only buy from a reputable dealer" Oh, like AMAZON ? Shyt we can't trust anyone.

[@Group_Anonymous]

Charles Elliott amazon is a dealer which gets fulfillment from anyone who has the product (which can often be fakes... ie. Dickies, ADIDAS, NGK

[@Big2009Gee]

Never trust Amazon

[@alext9067]

What reputable dealer? It's a crooked world, w/ a crooked cane and a crooked path...? What was that from? A Crooked Man!

[@Dmeech100]

@@Group_Anonymous FALSE. Amazon provides fulfillment to third party sellers to give the sellers Prime shipping capabilities. Amazon also acts a seller and this is clearly marked on the item pages. Only buy items which are "shipped and SOLD by Amazon", not "Sold by XYZ, fulfilled by Amazon" such as the guy in the video did (thus he got a grey market/fake).

[@Chris-yy7qc]

The seller wasnt Amazon in this case. They just did the shipping...

[@thra5herxb12s]

How to tell anything counterfeit. It came from Amazon, the worlds number 1 trader in Counterfeit goods.

[@Torchi0]

I had an experience with Denso Iridium this year, so be aware.

[@danwoods8611]

one thing your video lacks of is the explanation of the difference between the two spark plugs what are the components of each and if you could have made a test of them and come back with result that would have been the deal-breaker