Fake injectors from Dealership??? Possible???

So, I'm looking to buy a brand-new set of OEM injectors for my 3.4 (I have the older 'gray' injectors part# 23209-62030). I'm not really interested in going the refurb injector or cleaning/servicing route. Needless to say, it's going to cost a lot of cash, around $1k, but it seems to be the most reliable way to go.

Anyway, after everything I've read so far regarding the amount of fake injectors that are floating around on the aftermarket, and seeing how good the chinese knock-off injectors look, I'm feeling pretty damn paranoid about ordering them, to the point where I'm starting to wonder if it's possible to get sold a fake set of injectors even when buying direct from a toyota dealership.

I'm not familiar with how dealerships source their parts, but, for such a pricey item that's so easy to replace with a convincing knock-off, what's to keep some unscrupulous employee/dealership from simply sourcing some dirt-cheap fake injectors, throwing them in a plastic bag with a legit toyota parts label that they can print themselves, shipping them out & pocketing all the extra cash? Are there any internal controls that would prevent this type of stuff from happening?

yes, I realize maybe this sounds super paranoid & crazy, but we're talking about a huge difference in $$$ between what the OEM injectors cost, and what the almost-identical cheap clones cost. Seems like it could be really tempting for someone to pull some shady shit and walk away with a big profit.

FYI, I'd be buying from one of the big, popular online parts dealerships (Ourisman/Mcgeorge, Camelback, Longo, etc.), and not some rando parts site that claims to sell toyota OEM parts.

So, should I be this worried???

Any feedback would be appreciated...

 

As long as you purchase from a reputable source like you mentioned I would think you would be fine. Specify when you order that they must be legit Toyota OEM. As long as you are not purchasing from eBay or the like I doubt you will have an issue.

Might be worth researching who Toyota sources them from. Might be able to source direct from Toyotas manufacturer cheaper.

 

MotorWest sells reconditioned OEM Denso injectors for our trucks. MotorWest has a stellar reputation, and the whole kit (6 injectors and all necessary seals) runs $350, and includes a lifetime warranty. There's no good reason to pay 3x more to get new from the dealer.

https://motorwestperformance.com/product/upgrade-for-23250-62040/

 

Just talking to "Summit". I asked what if anything is different about their o.e. Denso coils vrs. the o.e. dealership o.e. Denso coils?

FWIW he stated even dealers are known for doing a chepo switchero... FWIW...

I worked dealerships and am very aware its ALL about profit, soooo

 

How does a dealer employee "pocket extra cash" when you order online and pay by credit card to the dealer's merchant account?

Also fuel injectors are "small time" considering the $1200 oil coolers and $1000 LED headlights on current Tacomas.

I don't think the older gray injectors are interchangeable with the brown ones. Shape looks different.

 

Honestly, if the OEM are denso I would just buy those from any name brand parts store. All you are paying for from Toyota is the box and I guarantee that’s where the dealer is buying them if they are installing them.
I bet the parts stores sell a hell of a lot more of them than Toyota.

 

Hey man, thanks for the reply.

Yeah, I'm familiar with MotorWest, and I've actually been debating going with them for a long time, for either a cleaning or for a whole set of refurb injectors.

I totally get that they've got a great rep & solid warranty, but, in the end, I'd still just be buying a used injector that can possibly have issues down the road or simply fail. I'd like to avoid having to deal with the down-time & hassle of having to get into the fuel rail to R&R the injectors again, not to mention the associated drama & possible engine damage if an injector completely fails. Even though $350 for the whole set makes it super tempting, it's still kind of a risk.

I'm more/less ok with paying that much to go with a set of brand-new quality OEM injectors, as long as I 100% know that I'm not getting ripped off and sold some cheap junk at a premium price.

 

LOL idk man... In my head, I imagined a scenario where some shady parts manager figures out a way to run some kind of bait&switch scam. But, I guess you've got a point and it's probably not even worth the hassle for them

like I said, I'm probably just being super paranoid...

I believe the brown injectors *might be interchangeable, as they ended up being used in the 5vz-fe in later models, but I'm just gonna stick with whatever was stock on my '98.

 

yup, this is kinda what worries me...

 

There might be a different hold-down bracket, different manifold, etc. year-over-year changes.

 

As far as I know, only the dealerships sell new OEM injectors.
Parts stores only sell either OEM refurbs or aftermarket versions.

 

The chance that you (or I) will mess something up tearing the engine bay apart is far greater than Motor West or dealer injectors being bogus or faulty. I did the injectors job and had gasoline flying everywhere asking to get turned into a fireball as I cruised down the freeway from a hose I didn't clamp right. If you're going to be paranoid, be paranoid about that.

 

I understand your concern, but I really think you're thinking about it wrong. The parts of the injector that could fail have been replaced in the reconditioning process by MotorWest. So I think it's pretty much fair to say that the MotorWest reconditioned injectors are in every bit as good of shape as new OEM and have no higher chance of failure, and include a warranty that new OEM ones won't. Considering they've been flow tested, you actually have a higher chance of one or more of the new injectors being a dud new out of the box then having problems with the MotorWest ones. But if you really get piece of mind out of spending the extra $700+ then by all means go for it

 

Well, from what I understand, the parts that start to fail (the solenoid, spring & plunger) are all internal to the injector and aren't serviceable. The only parts that can be replaced are the screens & seals/o-rings, and the pintle caps (the gray injectors for the 5vz-fe don't have replaceable plastic pintle caps). What MotorWest does is try their best to clean the internals using ultrasonic cleaners, and then measure the injector performance before&after to see if there was an improvement. However, if the internals are worn out & starting to cause leaks or sticking, there's not much else that can be done, and the injector will only get worse and eventually start to fail.

This is the risk with buying a set of refurb injectors; there's still a chance that one (or some) can start giving out due to wear. The lifetime warranty is great & all, but you're still exposed to a bigger risk of failure because you're running a random set of used injectors with *who knows* how many miles of wear&tear each injector has.

Sure, there's always a chance of getting a bad one when buying new, but, in theory, it's a way lower risk, and you're technically getting a set of injectors with exactly the same amount of wear&tear (which is zero).

Like I said, I mulled over going with MotorWest a bunch before I just decided that i'd rather not risk running into problems later on. I just want the peace of mind of getting new OEM injectors and be done with it...

 

Well what you fail to realize is that companies and supply lines dry up and go out of business or get bought out .....

So parts made 20 yrs ago may have nothing to do with the one made yesterday......may even be made on the other side of the planet....

well you may say 'toyota will check everyone of those parts for exactness' ....
just like Boeing.....

and you never know at any given time where that dealer might drop ship you from some national warehouse thats not even theirs..

everybody runs thin backstock now....

 

I’ve never heard of counterfeits straight from Toyota. I buy a lot of OEM parts, and Toyota packaging is very noticeable.

And I’d like to see proof that Toyota drop ships from non Toyota warehouses.

 

It’s Friday somewhere.

There’s too much analysis here regarding verified sites selling knockoff to employee keeping the quality parts and repackaging knockoff to used parts isn’t good enough.



I would bet that if you take your Tacoma to the local Toyota dealer for an oil change, the tech will take the time to spray paint a Walmart brand oil filter to match Toyota color and substitute Toyota oil with Supertech and keep the good stuff.

 

The better question is, why do you think you need new injectors? It's very easy to swap the pintle caps and install new filters yourself... For like $30. You have 45psi of solvent running through them while you drive

 

I did a really thorough cleaning myself, even rigged up my own "flow bench" using the fuel rail off an old camry. I have a cheap-o ultrasonic cleaner that got most of the gunk out, but I also just flushed the hell out of them over&over with solvent under pressure. I also did replace the screens, seals, and o-rings (these injectors don't have replaceable pintle caps). After all that, there are still a few injectors that will sometimes not seat correctly and will drip/leak. I'm pretty sure this is causing the long cranks & bad MPG I've been getting.

I'm pretty sure the plunger & plunger seat are worn and the injectors are toast. This is why I don't really think sending them off for a cleaning will fix anything, and buying a used refurb set just leaves me at risk to having the same thing happen sooner than later.

 

Fair enough.
The pintle caps certainly do come off and are replaceable, however. (not that they're really a cause for issue though) https://injector-rehab.com/product/toyota-denso-cap/