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Counterfeit vs Real OEM Toyota Prius Inverter Pump 04000-32528

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Dale2005, Oct 4, 2019.

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  1. Dale2005

    Dale2005 Junior Member

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    Don't be deceived by eBay sellers offering counterfeit "Genuine" Toyota Prius Inverter Pump 04000-32528. Read below and study the pictures on this listing to learn how to tell before and after buying a 2004-2009 Prius Inverter Coolant Pump if it is an authentic OEM part or a lower quality, less reliable Chinese made knock-off.

    Toyota Part 04000-32528 is a kit which should include two parts: 1) inverter coolant pump G9020-47031 and 2) inverter coolant gasket 90430-18008.

    An authentic OEM part 4000-32528 (manufactured by the Japanese company Aisin) has printed circles and letters on the outside of the part. Counterfeit or knock off parts are missing these printed markings on the outside of the part.

    An authentic OEM part 4000-32528 contains a pump plus an inverter drain plug gasket as per Toyota documentation. Low cost knock-offs and counterfeit “genuine” part 4000-32528 may not include the vital drain plug gasket in the package.

    An authentic OEM inverter pump has a phillips head set screw visible from the top. Non OEM pumps use a different type of screw, usually with a hex head. You can expect the low cost knock offs and counterfeit “genuine” parts to skimp on all the internal materials and seals vital to preventing the electric pump motor from failing.

    An authentic OEM part 4000-32528 always comes with a silver steel mounting base. Non OEM pumps might come with a silver or brass colored base. If the base is not silver then the pump is not OEM.

    The OEM inverter pump does not have caps on the pump ports. Listings of pumps with white caps are not OEM. eBay listings claiming to be “genuine” Toyota parts that have pumps with white caps are counterfeit.

    Authentic Toyota OEM part labels have a barcode that scans to read “0400032528E" which is the Toyota part number for this item. A counterfeit label has a barcode that scans to read a string of miscellaneous/random numbers. You can download a barcode scanner on your smartphone to read the number the barcode represents. If it doesn't read to be the appropriate Toyota part number then it's counterfeit. The counterfeit part label in the photo has a barcode that reads "123456781445614646564” which is nonsense.

    Authentic Toyota OEM labels have coded information printed in black ink on the bottom right of the label. This is present on all genuine Toyota part labels. These codes are absent on counterfeit Toyota labels. A simple review of eBay listings claiming to be “genuine” Toyota parts that have labels lacking this imprinted information are likely counterfeit. A scan of the barcode would confirm that part is counterfeit if the bar code does not equal the Toyota part number.

    Authentic Toyota OEM inverter coolant pumps last around 100,000 – 150,000 miles. Authentic Toyota parts don’t come with warranties beyond 1 year. Other listings with multi-year warranties are suspect. You can bet the seller with a multi year warranty will be long gone when your cheap pumps fails a few months after you installed it (or worse yet paid someone else to install it).

    A low quality knock off inverter coolant pump sells for around $30-50. eBay sellers buy these cheap pumps from China for about $20. A counterfeit “Genuine” Toyota inverter coolant pump sell for around $50-75 on ebay . . . a fair price. Dealer price will be $120-200. The life span of a counterfeit part or low cost knock off will not be as long at an authentic OEM inverter pump.

    It’s OK to buy a low cost pump if that's what you want . . . it will work. Just don’t get fooled thinking you scored a deal buying a low cost “Genuine” part that is in fact a lower quality counterfeit.

    Give some thought to what the cost and experience was like when your Prius inverter coolant pump failed on you recently. How soon would you like to repeat that? How close to home will you be when it happens again? How safe will the area be when your inverter coolant pump fails? What are the consequences of being delayed to your destination when your low quality Chinese inverter coolant pump fails? How much damage to your expensive inverter will be sustained by continuing to drive with a failed inverter coolant pump when it fails miles away from home? How much will it cost you in the long run to save a few bucks now on a low quality, less reliable knock-off or counterfeit “Genuine” inverter coolant pump?
     

    Attached Files:

    #1 Dale2005, Oct 4, 2019
    Last edited: Oct 4, 2019
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  2. Georgina Rudkus

    Georgina Rudkus Senior Member

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    Sometimes "counterfeit" is worth the discounted price. Many of these no name parts are made off of the same production lane as the originals, since making a small is very expensive due to the cost of the dies and other "start up" components.

    I would use a "counterfeit" part only if it's an old car that needs the part to get it running and the part is easy to remove and install.

    My dad had an old '98 Mazda MPV van that needed a distributor. The genuine Mazda part was over $500. He got one off of eBay for $125 delivered. It worked for three years and continue to work at the time he sold it.
     
    #2 Georgina Rudkus, Oct 4, 2019
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  3. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    There has been some changes in the Amazon suppliers. Mine was rated pretty high a year or so back but I see that partulcar vendor is no longer avail.
     
    #3 wjtracy, Oct 4, 2019
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  4. pasadena_commut

    pasadena_commut Senior Member

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    Well, yes, but since the gasket is just a washer it is plausible that some of these dealers are actually selling OEM pumps and just confusing the part number.
     
    #4 pasadena_commut, Oct 4, 2019
  5. Pinan

    Pinan Member

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    Dale. Thank you for posting this. I am ready to order a new pump, and this opened my eyes to look closer. I've now narrowed down the search, thanks to you.

    I also saw your Ebay "listing" about this.

    Thumbs up. :)
     
    #5 Pinan, Dec 22, 2019
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  6. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    It is probably worth being a little more conscientious about the difference in meaning between a knock-off part and a counterfeit part.

    Nothing wrong with anybody making and selling a knock-off version of some other part. Free enterprise for you. They may sell it for less, you have a lower cost option to buy, quality may be iffy, maybe you're ok with that, everybody's making their choices, nobody's being deceived. The vendor might be legitimately competing on their ability to make a good quality part at lower cost.

    A knock-off part that is being sold as original and pictured with the original maker's packaging and logos is a counterfeit part. If you buy one, you are doing business with someone who is lying to you. Maybe it'll still work, at some level of quality and reliability, but with the seller already known to be dishonest, that might not be such a smart bet.

    I don't see much reason to go around softening the meaning of counterfeit by putting quotes around it, or mixing it up with legitimate third-party manufacturing and selling. Doing that just serves the interests of counterfeiters.

    Wording like "off of the same production line" can be kind of shaky too; manufacturers have a lot of adjustments at their disposal to control the costs of what comes off their line between runs made for the original contract purchaser and runs made for other distribution channels, from substituting input materials to just changing their quality assurance standards and what % of the run gets filtered out as QA rejects. In fact, depending on the original purchaser's QA standards, every run of the line may produce some number of parts that they know the original purchaser won't be buying. Selling those in an alternate channel, with or without grinding off the original purchaser's logos, might be a way they can recover some of those costs.
     
    #6 ChapmanF, May 19, 2021
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  7. Georgina Rudkus

    Georgina Rudkus Senior Member

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    #7 Georgina Rudkus, May 19, 2021
  8. Dale2005

    Dale2005 Junior Member

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    I think the decision as to whether to buy and install a knock off part verses a Factory or OEM part comes down to the price difference and how mission critical the part is for the operation of the car. I think about all the times I have been put to the side of the road, in remote places, because of a failed part (e.g. blown radiator hose, blown tire, failed throttle body). If I'm luck I'm close enough to home to get a tow and fix the car myself. If I'm unlucky and in a remote location I'll have to pay big for the local shop to fix so I can get on my way. I believe paying more for a more reliable part that is critical for the operation of the vehicle is worthwhile. That's not to say you only have to buy dealer parts for reliability. Getting an OEM part or aftermarket part manufactured by a reputable company can be a sound choice. My point in the original post was to educate on the deception of counterfeit offers on eBay for at least this mission critical part. You should get what you pay for and pay for what you get. In the case of counterfeit parts you are paying a premium for a sub pare part.
     
    #8 Dale2005, May 1, 2023
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  9. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    I would agree with you if we were talking about knock-off parts, but this thread is about counterfeit parts, and those terms mean different things, and the difference is crucial.

    When you buy a knock-off part, you know you're doing it. It has its own brand and its own packaging and its own price, and you are able to make your own informed decision based on what you think about the price difference and how mission critical the part is, and that's the free market at work, and that's awesome.

    When you buy a part that you think is factory or OEM because a criminal racket has made it and sold it to you in a copy of Factory or OEM packaging with the factory name and part number, you have not had the chance to make your own informed choice about what to buy—and even if you've saved money buying it, you have rewarded the criminal racket for scamming you.

    Knock-offs and counterfeits are both topics worth talking about, but they are very different ones, important not to get mixed up.
     
    #9 ChapmanF, May 1, 2023
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  10. Dale2005

    Dale2005 Junior Member

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    Good point.
    Good Point. Regrettably there are several people that are buying conterfeit parts on eBay none the wiser. My OP was just one example that I fell prey to until I figured it out and returned the fake. If only more parts buyers knew to scan the bar code on the label to see if it reads the actual part number and not some gibberish. While not foolproof, a bar code reading a gibberish number is likely a counterfeit.
     
    #10 Dale2005, May 1, 2023
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  11. Georgina Rudkus

    Georgina Rudkus Senior Member

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    If the genuine part is many times over the aftermarket part and the part requires very little effort and is easily accessible to replace, I might buy the part from two different vendors, install one and keep the additional one for as spare.

    If the part is nearly the same in cost as the genuine one and is very labor intensive and time consuming to install, I buy the genuine part.

    To avoid counterfeits, I'd only buy from an authorized Toyota dealer. I'be been taken, also, on Amazon from a vendor claiming a genuine Toyota part, when it is actually a counterfeit.

    Many aftermarket parts are often made by the same manufacturer but are overruns made on the same production line. That can be a good deal.
     
    #11 Georgina Rudkus, May 1, 2023
  12. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    I see little value in buying any non factory part. Toyota cars hate that.

    Your already doing the labor yourself and saving alot of money. Your going to throw in a cheapo part and cross your fingers? Everything is awful Chinese junk now and like Dale pointed out you have to do detective work to boot now so you don't get burned?

    No thanks. Its too hot out now to work on cars I want to fix it and be done with it. If that part doesn't fix it I then know I'm on the wrong trail..

    But that's never happened to me over 15 years of 07 ownership. Factory part fixed it I drove away.
     
    #12 edthefox5, May 14, 2023
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  13. Abdu_mka

    Abdu_mka Junior Member

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    #13 Abdu_mka, May 24, 2023
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  14. ColoradoCrow

    ColoradoCrow Active Member

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    Carlock Toyota out of MS. I would call them direct and get a price? Why are they selling third party through Wal-mart? LOcally dealership charge about $160 for this part. For $60 more I'd skip coffee at starbucks for a week or two and be guaranteed to have an OEM. While you are changing out the part yourself think of the $125 an hour in labor you are saving yourself...Buy once...cry once...and be done with it. IMHO
     
    #14 ColoradoCrow, May 24, 2023
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  15. pauln119

    pauln119 Junior Member

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    Toyota never sell parts through third parties. Only through dealers. Most likely a counterfeit.
    Go to toyotapartsdeal and look for the part 04000-32528. I bought through them and it is genuine. I cannot post direct links here yet.
     
    #15 pauln119, Jun 30, 2023
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  16. Aloe

    Aloe Junior Member

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    What about amazon canada? I've found these two, one is Aisin (with 3 new rubber bushing but no base or washer and importantly 1.5" shorter on the top tube) and the other just says Toyota OEM (with base and washer), both items sold and shipped by Amazon, surely they are not selling counterfeit items? Aisin also available from and sold/shipped by Amazon (USA):
     
    #16 Aloe, Jan 31, 2024
  17. Aloe

    Aloe Junior Member

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    #17 Aloe, Jan 31, 2024
  18. Dale2005

    Dale2005 Junior Member

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    Aisin is the actual OEM for this and other pump parts for Toyota. The first thing I look for is the little circles painted on the black housing. That's a sign of an Aisin part. This is a quality part you can trust especially since it is sold by Amazon themselves and not a third party. If they have a "used" one as a Warehouse Deal buy it if you want to save $ but buy it along with a new one (so you don't waist time). Then inspect the Warehouse Deal upon receipt. I often find Warehouse Deals are new/never installed products that just have damaged packaging. Then return the one you don't want and install the keeper. Enjoy your ride for many more years!

    The fact that Aisin is selling their part without the metal base is a good idea. Saves on material cost and may make installation a little easier.
     
    #18 Dale2005, Feb 1, 2024
    Last edited: Feb 1, 2024
  19. Dale2005

    Dale2005 Junior Member

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    On Amazon USA I see lots of knock off pump listings under various brand names. I also see several listings as "Genuine Prius Inverter Pump". The use of the word "Genuine" is a ruse to make you think they are OEM. They are not. They are a genuine knockoff.

    I don't currently see any listings for counterfeit pumps on Amazon. "Counterfeit" meaning a product claiming to be a Toyota brand part, usually in a box with fake Toyota markings, that contains a knockoff part not manufactured by Aisin.

    I do see one legitimate OEM listing on Amazon which is labeled as and made by Aisin currently priced at $113
     
    #19 Dale2005, Feb 1, 2024
    Last edited: Feb 1, 2024
  20. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Maybe a Genuine Prius Inverter Pump is a pump they want you to install in your Genuine Prius.
     
    #20 ChapmanF, Feb 1, 2024
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