Officials in Northern Ireland confirmed that they have seized a batch of brake pads that had been falsely labelled as Renault.
The parts which were found after a tip off were examined and discovered to be held together with glue making them highly dangerous.
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment commented that there was “no way” the parts would ever have passed the required braking friction level that would make the roadworthy.
Damien Doherty from the Trading Standards Service said:
"In the past, counterfeit car parts were mainly non-safety items such as window wipers, mud flaps and car interior accessories. Now, counterfeit items such as brake pads, brake shoes, suspension components and steering linkages are readily available on the market.”
Brake pads are crucial to the braking system and any faults or wear in them could have disastrous consequences.
Buyers have been warned to take care when buying parts and to only use reputable dealers such as CarSpareFinder or Car Part Buyer who can search dealer and breakers nationwide to find you the best deal whatever part you need.
Whether it’s Renault parts that you need or any other make the site will search legitimate and carefully chosen dealers without you having to leave your computer screen.