Beware 15400-RTA-003

[Evox787]

No they aren't.

The US-made filters were being OEM'd for Honda by Fram.

Fram went through Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Honda started looking elsewhere in their already existing supply chain to make up for the missing Fram supply in the US.

The standard filter at US dealers is now one made by Mahle in China.

At no point did dealers phase out old filters and start selling counterfeits. That's a straight-up lie.

I am not contradicting your point; I am addressing your disagreement with the other person and what his dealer reported. I am not defending anyone. We need not debate the filter, which resembles arguing over the correct oil brand or viscosity for the car. I simply shared my situation and sought confirmation before using the filter so no one else is caught by a counterfeit.

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[I♥️LCY]

It's not that I can't read. I flat out didn't read your posts sparkle. My apologies.

 

[Spart]

It's not that I can't read. I flat out didn't read your posts sparkle. My apologies.

Okay, great. I won't read any of your posts any longer either!

Welcome to the ignore list.

 

[blueroadster]

Whirlwind discussion and starting to get a headache...No ignore list on my end but moving on to the next thread.

 

[I♥️LCY]

Okay, great. I won't read any of your posts any longer either!

Welcome to the ignore list.

Sparkle, don't take it so personal. You're taking a reciprocal conversation a bit too heavy. I filled in the gaps to bridge the convo. and convey my thoughts.

 

[Spart]

Sorry for the delay, here is the box

This looks more or less identical to the one that @HorizonsEdge posted. His came from Amazon as well.

I'm not sure that it's counterfeit, but they seem a little sus.

Things that make me think they could be legit:

• The "JD" in the label probably stands for "Julian Date" and seems to be in the format where the first two digits are the year, and the next three digits are the day of the year. On counterfeits, they often get this wrong by just copying the same date codes over and over. Yours differs from his, but everything else on the label is the same.
• Honda had to scramble to replace the Fram filter supply, and these might be among those that were imported temporarily with deliberately relabeled boxes, which would explain why these look nothing like the boxes for filters that are sold in Japan.

I posted the things that make me think it could be counterfeit already here:

Okay so coming back to this one specifically:

Again I am not saying that I'm sure they're fake.

This style of label does not seem to be used on the made-in-Japan filters that are sold in Japan.

The one thing that gives me pause is that Honda's US supplier Fram went through Chapter 11 this year, and Honda USA started sourcing filters from wherever they could. Exigent circumstances. Could that have meant they were required to relabel or repackage Mahle-made Japanese filters? Not a clue!

For reference, here are some legit Honda stickers using that style of barcode layout etc:

Here's what I notice being different about the oil filters you posted:

• The radius of the corner of the sticker seems wrong. Honda's labels almost look rectangular and then you look close and there's a small radius on the corners. On that oil filter box sticker, the radius is much more pronounced.
• The "GENUINE PARTS" and "Honda Motor Co., Ltd." are a much bolder font in the known-genuine Honda labels. On that oil filter box, it doesn't even look bold at all.
• The fonts in the white area are all different from what you see on the known-genuine Honda labels.
• In particular, the "1" (this represents the quantity) is much smaller and placed oddly.

Now, it bears pointing out that Honda doesn't maintain perfect consistency of this stuff. If I had to guess, across all of their manufacturing facilities and partners, there are different brands of label printers and software being used. The red part of the label is pre-printed on every sticker, the part inside the white box is likely printed on-demand and on-site. So that leads to natural variation when there's one single machine doing the printing.

But this stuff in combination with the loose shrink wrap makes me lean towards these being counterfeit.

If you aren't 100% sure the 15400-RTA-003 you have is legit, you are much better off running a filter sourced from a US Honda dealer in my opinion, even if it is made in Mexico/China/Whatever. Reason being, the fakes that say they're made in Japan often have very, very bad internals that could lead to serious engine damage. For example, see this thread:

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/cut-open-rusticship-fits-honda.299464/

 

[blitz423]

[/QUOTE]

bought a pack of 3 off Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CWG8JYDS a while back. 3 filters and 3 washers. Washers were not packaged with the filter; just rolling around the shipping box. seems legit but take a look, thx

I bought the exact same ones from Amazon. Haven't tried it yet. After my little research the counterfeit has some spelling errors such as "FILL" spelled "FILLL" on the counterfeit and other small details from what I researched online. The ones I got from Amazon I checked and couldn't find the errors.


Picture below I got from reddit where someone shows the misspelling. Also someone mentioned another version of counterfeit has the French mispelled.

 

[Cueyo]

It's not that I can't read. I flat out didn't read your posts sparkle. My apologies.

Congratulations, welcome to the club

 

[Spart]

I bought the exact same ones from Amazon. Haven't tried it yet. After my little research some of the spelling on the actual filter is a giveaway. I saw "FILL" spelled "FIL" on the counterfeit and other small details from what I saw on the internet.

Post pics if you can, including the box design/label. It’ll help people in the future.

 

[zumbooruk]

I do not believe that the Honda OEM oil filters are the best

Honda has no interest in keeping our K20C1 engines and turbochargers lasting more than 120,000 miles. they would much rather sell us new Hondas, or pay them to replace/fix the engines.

The Honda A02 filter used to be made by First Brands and was the same as the cheapest lowest grade Fram, not the best Fram Ultra Synthetic.

Obviously Honda does not make their own filter, they just contract with a filter manufacturer (First Brands and now Mahle), so if I have to guess, probably the same (i.e. not the top of the line) applies to the current Japan made, or any variations such as the "Made in China" H01, Honda oil filters...

Just because it says Honda on the label, does not mean it is the best, most efficient filter to protect our engines and the turbocharger.

 

[Spart]

I do not believe that the Honda OEM oil filters are the best

They are not the best or the worst.

You can guarantee you’ll get the worst with a counterfeit though. Even the cheapest filter you’ll get at Napa/Autozone/O’Reillys/etc will at least have a functional bypass valve inside. Some of these counterfeits do not.

Given that the online market is saturated with fakes as well as how difficult it is for the average person to judge for themselves, most people are best suited to either:

• Get filters from a dealership.
• Buy from RockAuto
• Buy from Walmart (ETA: brick and mortar only.)

That’s deeply serious advice. If you just buy the most expensive Honda filter at Walmart (probably a Mobil 1 or Fram Xtra Guard) you are likely miles and miles ahead of the guy unwittingly buying fakes online from scAmazon because they’re “Made in Japan” and the Honda boys on Reddit all say they’re the ones you want.

 

[marcusm86]

Congratulations, welcome to the club

i was waiting for this..

 

[blitz423]

They are not the best or the worst.

You can guarantee you’ll get the worst with a counterfeit though. Even the cheapest filter you’ll get at Napa/Autozone/O’Reillys/etc will at least have a functional bypass valve inside. Some of these counterfeits do not.

Given that the online market is saturated with fakes as well as how difficult it is for the average person to judge for themselves, most people are best suited to either:

• Get filters from a dealership.
• Buy from RockAuto
• Buy from Walmart

That’s deeply serious advice. If you just buy the most expensive Honda filter at Walmart (probably a Mobil 1 or Fram Xtra Guard) you are likely miles and miles ahead of the guy unwittingly buying fakes online from scAmazon because they’re “Made in Japan” and the Honda boys on Reddit all say they’re the ones you want.

Walmart sells honda part numbered filters. It's in a black purple box https://share.google/JjPSoJT5rMDbJuv9x

 

[optronix]

This is the most pedantic thread I think I've ever seen in my life, on any forum.

The culture here is heading in the wrong direction.

 

[Spart]

Walmart sells honda part numbered filters.

Walmart the brick and mortar store or Walmart the website?

Walmart the website is just another marketplace where scammers run amok, no better than scAmazon or eBay.

I wouldn't trust anything I didn't buy from a brick and mortar Walmart.

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