Mahle…India?

[Carmudgeon]

Ugh. After many years of buying Austrian-made Mahle oil filters in the familiar blue/white boxes, the latest one I received is quite different.

It came in a plain white box with a Mahle sticker, and the filter itself is made in India, bears no specific brand markings, and looks like a rebox of someone else's product. Or, the type of thing I've avoided for years by sticking to Mahle/Mann instead of the other common brands typically sold in stores.

I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later, but it's still disappointing. Guess I'll be switching to Mann, Hengst, or OE, which now appears to be a Mann made in Spain.

 

[Soft Cars]

That wrapper is not supposed to stay on there is it?

 

[Carmudgeon]

It does remain, but usually ends up sliding to the bottom edge. But I've never seen one detach, or something like that. Some designs, like Mann's, omit the outer band, and the metal caps to be more eco-friendly (though they used to make a version that did have the caps).

But, the plot thickens…I emailed Mahle, who responded very quickly, and they claim it is a counterfeit based on 1) no safety sticker (which their own site says is not applicable to filters), 2) the "MAHL" abbreviation on the vendor's SKU sticker on the box (which may just be how they do it), and 3) the filter application is still made in Austria.

I know Mahle does have a presence in India, and found references to such filters in Amazon reviews, but of course they are no stranger to bad reviews and fake products. However, this filter did not come from Amazon, but Turner (aka ECS/Pelican)

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Only thing I'm sure of is that I'm not going to use it, and am willing to eat the half-price it will cost to ship it back. I usually buy filters as filler items to get free shipping anyway.

 

[fantastic]

A lot of aftermarket sellers will use OEM numbers in their titles which makes a person believe it's legit. I'm glad to hear you got down to the bottom of it by double checking w/Mahle. I'm going through this right now with 2 different orders on amaz. for an air filter that fits my wifes FS40C Stihl Weed Eater. This 3rd order I'm going to try a Stens brand & if not I'll just get an OEM.

 

[Passport1]

I've been using Hengst filters. They are made in Poland and seem high quality. The Bosch filters on my shelf are from Mexico. Don't have the same quality feel as previous Bosch filters I've used.

 

[Carmudgeon]

A lot of aftermarket sellers will use OEM numbers in their titles which makes a person believe it's legit. I'm glad to hear you got down to the bottom of it by double checking w/Mahle. I'm going through this right now with 2 different orders on amaz. for an air filter that fits my wifes FS40C Stihl Weed Eater. This 3rd order I'm going to try a Stens brand & if not I'll just get an OEM.

I ordered the filter from Turner Motorsport, not Amazon or some other marketplace or 3rd party seller. I expected them to be as trustworthy as any other veteran import parts vendor, like FCP, Pelican, RM and others with similar established reputations.

That's why I'm still not 100% ready to write it off as a fake, but if it is, it could bring doubts upon the others as well.

I would have ordered from a reliable source I've had excellent experiences with in the past, RM, but needed stuff they don't carry with this order. They drop ship directly from the wholesaler, SSF. If it had come from them, then I'd conclude that Mahle had switched sites, or outsourced the application in question.