The Certified Automotive Parts Association’s (CAPA) Decertified Part Report for February lists four metal, four plastic and one lighting part for decertification.

All parts were decertified between Jan. 1 and Jan. 31. The parts include hoods, bumper covers, a fender moulding, and a headlamp assembly.

“CAPA provides the public with a list of parts’ certification status, ensuring industry awareness of those that meet or no longer meet CAPA’s Standards,” CAPA said in a statement to Repairer Driven News (RDN).

When asked how the industry is intended to use the part reports and if information providers receive the list and, in return, update their inventory and database, CAPA responded that it does not have insight into how recipients use the reports.

The CAPA’s weekly part reports were also the subject of recent social media posts on LinkedIn, posted by Kristen Felder, owner of Collision Hub.

Felder wrote, “For those of you in claims, how many of you were aware of the WEEKLY decertified and safety recalled list of AM crash parts? “If you have told customers these parts are as good as OE, do you call those customers back to warn them of the recall?

“Who within your organization is responsible for tracking these recalls and connecting them to paid claims? If the insurer is 1) requiring these parts as a condition of claims settlement AND not tracking safety recalls, is the insurer liable?”

RDN asked CAPA how many decertifications are allowed to occur before a manufacturer can no longer apply for certifications. CAPA didn’t answer the question directly.

“As the industry understands, no manufacturing process is flawless — even OEMs face challenges, as evidenced by weekly recall lists,” CAPA said in the email.” CAPA thoroughly investigates reported issues, addressing necessary corrections on a case-by-case basis.”

CAPA’s February report decertifies two Tong Yang parts and two AP parts.

This month’s report also includes the decertification of a Toyota Tacoma left fender moulding from Hui Yih. CAPA issued a public safety notice for a Hui Yih Subaru hood part in October.

CAPA issued a public safety notice for a Hui Yih bumper in March 2019. It said the material used to produce certified products may not be the same material used when certification was achieved.

Four days later, on March 22, 2019, NFS released a statement that it was revoking the certification of all automotive parts manufactured by Hui Yih, effective immediately.

“NSF has removed Hui Yih’s parts from its listings and they are not authorized to bear the NSF certification mark,” a release does not provide information about why it decided to revoke the certification.

Later in 2019, NSF discontinued its Automotive Parts Certification Program. NSF is an indepedent organization that develops public health standards.

In October, CAPA was asked why it decided to continue certifying Hui Yih parts after NSF revoked its certification. CAPA did not respond.

CAPA explained the difference between decertification and public safety notices to RDN in 2021.

“Decertification occurs if a part or part lot no longer meets the CAPA Quality Standard requirements to which it was originally certified,” CAPA said. “CAPA may withdraw certification of the part or lot. A CAPA part number is still considered certified even if some production lots have been decertified. CAPA has an ongoing and thorough system of monitoring continued compliance, which may include random material testing or vehicle test fit, and marketplace monitoring which includes its complaint program.”

CAPA said in 2021 that Public Safety Notices arise when a “product safety concern” exists.

RDN has also recently received reports from repair facilities that provided examples of submitted complaints to CAPA indicating that a part does not appear to meet OEM standards. In response, the CAPA Complaint Coordinator responded to the complaint:

Thank you for taking the time to provide CAPA with your Quality Complaint Report information.

We are sorry to inform you that we were unable to purchase the part, however CAPA has notified the manufacturer of the problems that you observed and will be monitoring the part.

If we can be of further assistance, please contact us direct at (616) 656-1342, or toll-free (800) 505-CAPA (2272). You can also visit our website at www.capacertified.org to find out the latest information about
CAPA.

CAPA was asked about the incidents by RDN. CAPA responded that without specific incident details, it couldn’t respond in detail.

“We can confirm that CAPA makes every effort to obtain the exact part referenced in a complaint,” CAPA said. “Acquiring the specific part allows us to thoroughly investigate the repairer’s concerns. However, there are instances where purchasing the exact part is not possible — for example, if the shop has already used it in a repair or returned it to the distributor.”

Sign up to receive CAPA weekly and monthly part reports here.

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Featured image: CAPA’s booth at NACE 2016 is shown. (John Huetter/Repairer Driven News)