Counterfeit Auto Parts: The Invisible Threat to Your Safety
Our health, safety, and lives depend on the vehicles we drive (and those of others) whenever we travel. These vehicles are a collection of parts held together and, hopefully, working well together. If a critical part fails at a crucial time, the vehicle can become unsafe, jeopardizing the driver, passengers, and others sharing the road. One reason a part could fail is that it’s counterfeit. It looks like and is sold as a genuine, safe, and reliable part, but it’s not.
Satterley & Kelley, PLLC attorneys have the knowledge and experience to take on insurance companies and win. We represent clients severely injured in vehicle accidents throughout Kentucky. Call us toll-free at 855-385-9532 to learn more.
Airbags are in the Headlines Again, But for a Different Reason
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are investigating illegally imported Chinese airbags that have been linked to at least eight accidents causing deaths or injuries since 2017, reports Autoblog.
The agencies report that six drivers suffered fatal injuries, and two others sustained severe injuries, after they had Jilin Province Deiannua Automobile Safety System Company (DTN) airbag inflators installed in their vehicles after earlier crashes. NHTSA has concluded these parts were likely imported into the US illegally.
Federal investigators concluded that these airbag inflators exploded rather than safely inflating. Component parts were violently propelled into the drivers and dispersed throughout the interior cabins of the vehicles. This failure mode is strikingly similar to the defect that triggered the global recall of millions of airbags produced by the now-defunct Japanese manufacturer Takata.
DTN’s own website acknowledges that the company “does not do business with the United States and that its products are prohibited from being sold in the United States.” This statement strongly suggests that the components at issue entered the United States through unauthorized and illegal channels. Anyone who purchased, imported, or distributed these products knew, or at the very least should have known, that they were not lawful for sale or use in this country.
Counterfeit Vehicle Parts are a $3 Billion Business in the US
Airbags are just part of the problem. The US Department of Commerce and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development reports that counterfeit auto parts entering the US market have an estimated value of more than $3 billion annually, according to USA Today. The total market for vehicle aftermarket parts in 2022 is estimated at $205.8 billion.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is responsible for preventing counterfeit goods from entering the country. It seized more than 211,000 counterfeit automotive parts in fiscal year 2024. That’s nearly twice the number from the prior year. That includes more than 490 counterfeit airbags, which is more than 10 times the number of counterfeits seized in fiscal year 2023.
Counterfeit parts can include anything a foreign manufacturer thinks will be profitable and can be smuggled into the US. This includes brake pads, oil filters, suspension systems, and advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) sensors.
The Automotive Anti-Counterfeiting Council tested airbags that comply with US safety regulations and counterfeit versions. They found that none of the counterfeits deployed as they should. This could mean they didn’t deploy at all, didn’t fully inflate quickly enough, or the inflators exploded.
How Do Counterfeit Parts Enter the US?
Most counterfeit automotive parts are sold online, often from sellers based in China, Hong Kong, or Taiwan. The parts and their packaging are cleverly designed to mimic trusted brand-name products, complete with familiar color schemes, emblems, and logos, making it harder for buyers to detect that they’re fraudulent.
Counterfeit parts can cost less than safe, genuine components, sometimes as little a tenth of the price of a legitimate part. For repair shops or consumers looking to save money, the temptation to buy can be strong.
But the savings come at a potentially deadly cost. Counterfeit vehicle parts bypass the testing and quality control that legitimate manufacturers employ and the requirements of federal government regulations.
How Do Counterfeit Parts Pose a Danger?
If you purchase counterfeit auto parts for your vehicle, knowingly or unknowingly, you’re putting yourself, your passengers, and everyone else on the road at serious risk. A counterfeit brake pad might fail at a critical moment. A fake ADAS sensor might not detect an obstacle. A counterfeit airbag might deploy improperly or, worse, explode into shrapnel.
All of these scenarios can cause accidents. When they do, you could face:
- Serious injury or death to yourself or your passengers
- Liability for injuries to others involved in the accident
- Voided insurance coverage if your policy excludes accidents caused by non-genuine parts
If you’re purchasing a used vehicle, especially one with a salvage or rebuilt title, have a thorough inspection performed by a reputable mechanic or dealership to verify that safety components are genuine.
What are My Legal Rights if I’m Injured by Counterfeit Parts?
If another driver’s vehicle contains counterfeit parts that cause or contribute to an accident that injures you, you may have legal recourse against multiple parties. They might include:
- The other driver
- The repair shop or mechanic who installed the counterfeit parts
- The seller or distributor who sold the counterfeit components
- The manufacturer of the counterfeit parts, though suing a company based outside the US could be difficult
- Online marketplaces that facilitated the sale of the prohibited parts
If counterfeit parts in your vehicle fail and you’re injured, depending on the evidence, you may be able to seek compensation from all the parties involved in making, distributing, installing, or selling it to you.
If someone is killed due to counterfeit parts, a wrongful death action may be an option. The family of a deceased Florida woman is suing several parties in part because she was killed in a car accident equipped with a defective, counterfeit airbag, reports WKRC.
The plaintiffs allege the car had been owned by Enterprise Rent-A-Car before she bought it. It’s also claimed it had been involved in an earlier accident so severe that it should’ve been scrapped. The original airbag was allegedly replaced with a counterfeit one, and during a 2023 accident, plaintiffs claim it exploded, sending parts into the driver, killing her.
Get the Help You Need from Attorneys You Can Trust
If you’re injured or a loved one is killed in a vehicle accident caused, at least in part, by counterfeit parts, call us at 855-385-9532 or locally at 502-589-5600, or contact us online to arrange a free initial consultation with a Satterley & Kelley, PLLC attorney. We can discuss what happened, how Kentucky law may apply, and how we can help you and your family.