Are OE Replicated cabin air filters safe to use?

in order to make a decision, you first need to correctly understand why the filter is there - it's not to "clean" the air you breathe, it's to remove particulates so they don't accumulate in the air conditioner matrix, grow mold and subsequently stink.

as for which to buy, generally, you get what you pay for. it's much cheaper [and easier] to buy good filters than it is to remove and wash an a/c evaporator element. alcohol "disinfectant" sprays work at temporarily managing odor on contaminated a/c systems, but it's a short term thing and does nothing to address the accumulated organics that are the breeding ground for the mold.

I'm not sure what you mean by OE replicated. If that simply means a filter with the correct physical dimensions then if you pay $10.00 you will get a $10.00 filter. There are no secrets here - you generally get what you pay for. If you buy a filter from one of the major filter manufacturers or from the dealer then you will pay more than $10.00 but you will get a better product. What are we talking about here - maybe spending $25.00 vs $10.00 once a year?

I'm not sure what you mean by OE replicated. If that simply means a filter with the correct physical dimensions then if you pay $10.00 you will get a $10.00 filter. There are no secrets here - you generally get what you pay for. If you buy a filter from one of the major filter manufacturers or from the dealer then you will pay more than $10.00 but you will get a better product. What are we talking about here - maybe spending $25.00 vs $10.00 once a year?

******** I dont agree with you about price versus quality. You SHOULD get better quality if you pay for it but many times you dont. A lot of times the dealerships will soak you for 2-3 times the cost of an equivalent parts store item. And you are not guaranteed to get any better part, and in some cases you wont get as good.

Napa Online has at least three cabin filters for the 2010 Yaris. They range from about $14 to about $18. The NAPA filter is about $16.

NAPA has good parts and I would have no qualms at all replacing the factory cabin air filter with the NAPA one.

"econo_cars" wrote in news:ib3pgk$72t$ snipped-for-privacy@tioat.net:

"OE Replicated"? Are you using a fancy term for "aftermarket"?

"hls" wrote in news:T4SdnXM2tq5 snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

I've found that the OEM Toyota and Honda cabin filters tend have more surface-area than the aftermarket filters I've seen. OEM also seems to fit a bit better. Does that make OEM worth the extra cost? I guess that's up to the buyer.

No. Original Equipment (OE) replicated is different than aftermarket equipment which makes no claim at being OE. Aftermarket can be complete garbage to better than OEM. OE replicated is suppose to be the same or better quality than the OEM, and doesn't void the warranty. I am new to this market, well aware of the aftermarket though.

I've since discovered (this afternoon) that there is an OE replica being sold publicly that is the actual OEM Toyota filter less the brand name stamp. The company makes the Toyota cabin air filter, and sell it for $25 less under their own name than Toyota wants for it with the Toyota name on it. Mind you the Toyota price I was given includes install. The filter comes with a guarantee that the use of this filter is manufacturer approved and will not void the Toyota warranty on the A/C and related. Of course it will not, it is the same one Toyota sells, LOL.

Anyway I'm going to get the OE replicated one and install it myself. A call to Toyota confirmed that I would be fine, just keep the proof of purchase to prove the maintenance was done.

Econo-cars

Napa sells the Wix (wixfilters.com and wixfilters.ca) that are actually the OE filters used by both Honda and Acura North America. They sell them to the public for about $20 less under their own name than Honda/Accura charges a customer to have a name on it.

I think people are getting confused with aftermarket which from what I've read and experienced in the past does not claim to be OE or OE replication. They are replications but they make no guarantee that a manufacturer warranty won't be voided because aftermarket typically (not always) uses cheaper materials to make parts more affordable. The filters like the Wix filters have manufacturer approval since in some cases like this, the part is identical, in other instances it is improved (could be in newer model cars, and can be used in older models).

Econo-cars

untrue. some aftermarket very much tries to claim to be o.e.m. - there's an "oem" as a manufacturer name coming out of china that is deliberately designed to deceive in this way and be mistaken for the original equipment manufacturer abbreviation.

this is NOT a genuine honda supplier product - it's a chinese replicant and it's very far from anything like oem quality. but they get away with it because "oem" is their "brand name".

"econo_cars" wrote in message news:ib4ff8$cs6 The filters like the Wix

In some cases, these exact aftermarket parts are the same as OEM. The car manufacturers do not manufacture every screw, filter, and bearing. They may buy from the same manufacturers which supply to the aftermarket.

I havent seen anything from Toyota, for example, which says they might void the warranty if I use a Fram filter. They have some recommendations/specifications about how often to change the oil and filter, and which type of oil should be used, but as long as I keep the records and do the service maintenance, my warranty, they say, is protected.

There are probably some items which come via Toyota or Honda which are superior, because they are likely specked from Japan and demand a specific item. But not all parts are so critical.

I'm not referring to obscure chinese knock-off scammers. I'm referring to legit brick and mortar, and well known online stores (North American) sellers who advertise themselves as aftermarket, and have no qualms about stating they equipment is not OE replicated. Often you can tell just from reading their descriptions of the parts they have engineered that they are not OE. They will say things like we have engineered a more efficient design which will mount with our special mounting bracket. Many claim that their equipment is better than OEM, but unless they've received manufacturer's approval the buyer is at risk of losing their warranty coverage by using re-engineered parts.

Yip lots of scams out there. Buyer beware. It is a part of the reason why I asked my question in the first place. Before researching more today I wasn't aware that OE replacates are not the same as aftermarket stuff. I also wasn't aware that many OE replicates are actually the exact same part that car manufacturers are using, just with a different label.

Econo-cars

Good Lord! We're talking about a cabin filter. They all work. Ten years ago no car even had them. The only reason I see to pay more is if there is some possibility to extend the change interval (there's not). It's certainly not a warranty issue. You can take it out and totally forget about it if you want to.

The last time I called the local Honda dealer for a price on the factory cabin filter for the (gone now and not missed) '06 CR-V, they wanted $60 - each! for the two filters. The aftermarket filters sold by Autozone for $20 (for the pair) had apparently identical material and exactly the same number of pleats.

I've found that Toyota OE parts pricing on maintenance items such as belts, hoses and filters to be extremely competitive with the aftermarket.

I have heard other people say that too, Aarcuda. I would have to drive 60 miles, one way, in any direction to get to a Toyota dealership. If it were a part that I really felt was crucial to the car, I would do it, or order by mail.

Actually, my wife's car is three years old and mine is one year. I have never needed any parts at all except for the oil and cabin filters, motor oil, and a couple of wiper blades.

No such category of parts. You have OEM parts (sourced through the dealer and ONLY available from the same companies that make the parts that came on the car when new with the same part numbers or the superseded number) OR After market.

After Market means just that. Parts made to fit the vehicle After it came on the Market.

However since none of the companies actually make all of the parts for a given vehicle in house, many parts are sourced from supplies. These suppliers will mark the parts sold to the company the way the company wants them. For your filter they will stamp it with a Toyota part number and it will be made to the specs that Toyota requested. This is for a couple of reasons. One - Inventory tracking and supplier verification. Two - Parts usage on the line.

When your vehicle was built the factory says that it should require one part number ##### Filter, HVAC Handling, Interior.

This number allows them to track the parts and make sure that if they build 50 cars that they used 50 filters. They also look at how often that filter should be changed and will order extra production for dealer stocks.

BUT the supplier also looks at that part and says, Gee they will be selling a LOT of these cars and we can make money by selling the filters through After Market channels. So they make the filter for the OEM use one day, the next they may change the color of the rubber surround, use a slightly different screen mesh, Change the part number to something like Toy-HVAC 1 and run production for them to ship to stores.

These parts are the same size, shape and produced on the same machine as the factory parts, BUT they are different enough that patents are not a problem. They can then sell you this part for 15 bucks while the OEM part is 20 bucks.

Very common.

Then you have the other type of After Market parts. These are parts where a competitor to the OEM supplier sees how much money is being spent on those parts and decides they want a piece of the pie. They will then get factory parts, determine which ones they think will fail and reverse engineer them. This happens a lot with many parts.

For instance take the intake gaskets on the GM 4.3 engine. These are known failure items. the factory parts are a plastic substrate with silicone molded to them. The heat and motion of the parts makes them fail. The OEM supplier makes and sells the same gaskets after market. However they also noted that there were problems with them. So they made some modifications to improve the design. GM didn't want to pay the extra money and still used the original design. The supplier then notified their aftermarket channels about the new gaskets and you started seeing them on the market. For instance Fel-Pro makes a gasket that uses a steel core and better silicone than the factory part, they hold up better but are a bit higher in price than the factory parts. There are at least 4 different designs out there now for that same gasket.

And as such it is After market part. The store selling it may call it an O.E. Replacement but unless it carries the same part number and Toyota stamps it is After Market.

Could it be the same or better than the OE part. Yes, easily. Remember that OE parts are designed to a price point and they generally meet specifications that could be much higher but those cost more.

Take an oil filter for instance. An OE filter could be specified to filter to something like 20 microns and flow X amount of oil before it gets clogged with crud. When an Aftermarket company makes the filter they can follow the specs and still be OK, OR they may decide that they can make a filter that fits the same, but filters down to 10 microns, flows 50% more oil until clogging, can have a coating on it to resist damage and have better steel in the can to handle pressures better.

In fact many of the aftermarket filters follow higher specifications than factory parts. Why? Warranty claims. Say you take your new Toyota to a local garage every 3000 miles and they change out the oil and filter. They use a good filter and oil. 15K later the engine grenades and you take it to the dealer. They are going to try to get out of replacing that engine any way they can. "Gee sir, you didn't have US change the oil and filter, this is why the engine failed" will be one of the first things said.

However if you look at the laws in the US you will find the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975.

Basically it says that if a manufacturer offers a warranty they have to spell out the buyer obligations to keep the warrantee in effect.

So if your owners manual says you should change the oil every 3000 miles and use a quality oil of the correct rating and a quality filter both of which meet or exceed the OEM specs, And you have the receipts to prove it they will usually not fight much.

BUT there are instances where after market parts have been shown to be a problem and the factories issued a service bulletin about them.

One of those is the "oiled aftermarket air filter" that most of the makers have issued. This is because of the folks who use oiled gauze filters and who over oil them when they clean them. The oil mists downstream and can coat the MAF sensor. Makes a few interesting things happen depending on the amount of contamination. This problem was directly caused by the oil from the filter and isn't covered under the MM act.

"E. Meyer" wrote >

Toyota warranty services says you can take it out, but if anything goes wrong with the A/C or related parts during the Toyota warranty period the work needed will not be covered under warranty. For the 2009 2010 Yaris models the filter is to be replaced at 10,000 miles or once a year, whichever comes first. Due to the necessity of the cabin filter in some areas more than others (such as driving on dirt roads often, or exposure to high smog areas) the cabin filter is to be checked at all service intervals.

Econo-cars

"aarcuda69062"

Aftermarket isn't necessarily OE. OEM is from auto manufacturer's dealership. OE is often just rebranded OEM, or OE is of the same quality or better. Aftermarket can literally be anything from completely cheap junk to very good. Sure there are scams out there with some obscure companies claiming to be OE, but that's where buyer beware applies. CARQUEST sells quality OE parts for approximately 30% less than the average Toyota dealership. Aftermarket can be as much as 90% cheaper, but any buyer should know that kind of savings rarely leads to having a part of anywhere near the same quality as OE or OEM.

There is a complete history and well thought out strategy by some American based as well as international auto parts distribution companies working in partnership to bring quality into what was previously called 'aftermarket parts'. OE is the answer to that. "OE" replicates are an attempt by legitimate parts manufacturing companies worldwide to provide consumers with quality equipment (often the exact same or better) at less than the actual manufacturer dealerships offer. They are not aftermarket, they are OE.

Many articles on the net explain why it was necessary for legit companies to try and stop the scams that were (and still do) take place in what was previously just called 'aftermarket parts'. American companies benefit by billions a year by bringing quality into the picture. As someone pointed out in one of these threads there is still 'aftermarket' companies trying to scam, like now they are saying on their web sites that their parts are OE quality. Buyer beware.

Econo-cars

'Aftermarket' parts can be anywhere from complete junk to very good quality. Aftermarket is not necessarily OE. OE can be the same manufacturer who makes the OEM (dealership) parts, but generally come in at 30% less then dealership pricing. Don't forget the dealership buys the parts and puts a markup on those parts too. The OE resellers get bulk pricing from the original OEM which gives them more room to reduce pricing. Legit OE resellers are selling parts that have received auto manufacturer approval so warranties don't get voided. Of course dealerships can still opt to void the warranty by claiming the OE auto manufacturer authorized part was not installed correctly, and therefore caused the malfunction. I think most Toyota dealerships wouldn't do that, but a few might. Mine wouldn't.

BTW legit OE resellers are more available to lesser populated areas than a Toyota dealership may be. Not always, but it is worth a try if it will save you a 60 mile drive.

Econo-cars

"Steve W."

Not exactly. The original equipment manufacturer (OEM) sells directly to the auto manufacturers, but they also relabel those parts as OE to sell to the public via OE resellers such as CARQUEST Auto Parts. The OE parts are often IDENTICAL to what the dealerships sell, or they are new and improved OE parts. Either way the legit OE sellers sell OE parts that are auto manufactuer approved. CARQUEST sells the exact same cabin filter that is used by Toyota, only it is rebranded as CARQUEST cabin air filter, the same filter that was made by Micronair that the Toyota labelled cabin filters come from.

No. Aftermarket parts have no definition. They can be anything from completely different design requiring special mounting brakets to being exactly the same shape and size but using cheaper materials, to being even better than OEM. In any event buying just 'aftermarket' is a buyer beware situation. OE reselling is an attempt to bring order and increased consumer confidence to what was traditionally a jungle called 'aftermarket'. Legit parts manufacturers saw the need to make a distinction between their parts and the bearly regulated (minimum specs met in some countries) junk parts being brought into countries from all over the world. There are plenty of articles on the net talking about the partnerships that were formed world wide by legit auto parts manufacturers who are trying to form a respectable OE market.

Econo-cars

It actually says all that? Or did some dealer monkey just tell you that?

It must be significantly easier to remove and check than most other Japanese cars. I would be really surprised if anyone (including the dealers) actually pull them out and check them at every service.