Moving Forward After the Kobe Steel Debacle: Five Tips to Keep Yourself Safe
Posted on: 26 October 2017
Recently, news was released that Kobe Steel sold subpar steel to a variety of automakers. If you frequently buy parts for your vehicle, you may be wondering if your car might be affected. You may also be wondering how to keep your car safe from subpar parts.
1. Buy From Reputed Suppliers
Whether you're buying Mitsubishi car parts, Toyota parts, or any other car parts, make sure that you get them from a reputable supplier. Find a local car parts specialist with positive reviews online, and get your parts from them. You may also want to focus on brand name parts, rather than off-brand replacements.
2. Find Out Where the Parts Are Coming From
If you really want to do your due diligence as a consumer, you may want to find out where your parts supplier gets its parts from. For instance, in the recent steel debacle, Kobe falsified information about the steel, but Toyota said it only used that steel in its Japanese factories.
When you know where your auto parts are coming from, that makes it easy to deal with situations like this. If you know, for example, that you didn't buy any Toyota parts from Japanese factories, you would immediately know that the parts you bought weren't affected. On the other hand, if you knew that you had bought Toyota parts that came from Japanese factories, you would know that you need to take more steps to investigate the situation.
3. Test the Metal of Your Parts
When you buy parts, you may want to see if you can test the metals. For example, if you buy a part that is supposed to be steel, you may want to check whether or not it's magnetic. Steel is a ferrous metal so it should be magnetic. If it's not, that's a sign that you may have the wrong part.
4. Watch for Press Releases From Auto Parts Companies
It can help to watch the news related to these issues. For example, in the recent steel issue, all of the affected auto parts companies issued statements. However, companies such as Mitsubishi said that it only used that steel in its jets and rockets. As a result, most car owners don't need to worry.
5. Heed Factory Recalls
Finally, if you ever hear that a car part has been recalled, make sure to heed those issues. When it comes to a factory recall, companies tend to provide consumers with free replacements. Paying attention to recall notices is essential if you want to ensure your vehicle is safe.
Share