Mechanics warn low-quality car parts pose hidden risks on Kurdistan roads

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The widespread use of low-quality and refurbished car parts is putting drivers’ lives at risk in the Kurdistan Region, with weak oversight and consumer demand allowing dangerous components to circulate, mechanics and car part sellers warn, despite recent declines in traffic accidents.

Car accidents remain a leading cause of death in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, where years of war, neglect, and corruption have damaged infrastructure. Roads are often riddled with potholes and lack proper illumination, making nighttime driving particularly dangerous.

Prime Minister Masrour Barzani announced in late September that traffic accidents in the Kurdistan Region have dropped by 50 percent and traffic-related deaths by 60 percent following the implementation of highway point-to-point radar systems.

However, during an episode of Legel Ranj, experts and mechanics said the role of faulty and low-quality car parts in accidents has largely been overlooked.

“A lot of changes are being made to tires that put people’s lives in danger,” Pshtiwan Mohammed, a mechanical and energy expert, said, adding that tires are being “rehabilitated and refurbished” in local workshops and factories, but that it is unlikely for the quality of such tires to remain safe for use.

He said the practice is common, adding that production dates are altered on old tires to make them appear new and that they continue to be sold despite degrading. He said old tires can only be driven at lower speeds than indicated by standards and are more prone to puncturing and putting lives at risk.

Tariq Ziyad, a training director at a car inspection company, said using generic and low-quality car parts “carries dangers.” He said some tires arrive at warehouses already degraded, while others deteriorate due to poor storage conditions.

On the show, he displayed two spark plugs - one costing slightly over $2 and another over $15 - but mechanics and guests said it is difficult to tell them apart because low-quality products are made to resemble higher-quality ones.

Bahaddin Mohammed, a car mechanic, said some car brakes sold on the market cost around $2 to produce but are sold at nearly ten times that price. He said such brakes quickly lose effectiveness, accelerating wear, scoring, and overheating, and can potentially cause unsafe braking conditions.

“All parts are linked together… if one part stops, you lose control,” the mechanic saidsaid. Pshtiwan Mohammed, however, noted that such faults usually show warning signs and do not pose immediate danger unless vehicles are driven at high and dangerous speeds.

Ibrahim Sleman, deputy head of the committee of Sulaimani’s industrial zone, said “most people use generic [parts], they do not have [financial] ability to get something original.”

Another car mechanic, Shakhawan Salah, faulted authorities responsible for inspection and quality control, saying low-quality parts “should not enter [the country] in any way.”

He said that despite decades of experience, he has personally been misled by low-quality parts, adding that even customers who request high-quality products can be sold inferior ones at higher prices through misleading packaging. He said low-quality products are locally placed into packaging of higher-quality brands and sold as original, despite better products being available in the market.

He added that customers often buy very cheap car parts and automotive fluids that later lead to higher repair and maintenance costs.

Another mechanic said large sums of money are spent importing low-quality car parts “due to demand,” adding that only a minority of customers ask for high-quality products.

One car parts seller, who said he imports from China, protested, saying low-quality products do not pose “such risks” and that most parts on the market are not low quality. Other guests working in the same field agreed with him during the program.

Another part seller said responsibility is shared, saying half the fault lies with merchants and the rest with quality control authorities.

Another mechanic said that “there are [car-part] companies in the industrial [zone] that invite hundreds of mechanics” to promote and push sales of substandard parts, prompting applause from many guests on the show who agreed.

A student participating in the episode said some risks also stem from improperly installing car parts.

Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) officials have previously attributed a significant portion of traffic accidents to low-quality and second-hand vehicles. In May 2019, the KRG Ministry of Interior issued a ministerial decree banning the import of accident-damaged cars, repaired vehicles, and cars submerged under water, citing “public interests and to protect the soul and wealth of people.”

Statistics from the Kurdistan Region’s interior ministry, obtained by Rudaw in May, show that 779 traffic accidents were recorded across the region in 2024, resulting in 98 deaths and 1,437 injuries.

While data for 2023 was unavailable, figures from 2022 showed 3,706 accidents, leading to 445 fatalities and 7,250 injuries.

Between 2022 and 2024, traffic fatalities in the Kurdistan Region dropped by 78 percent, from 445 to 98, while the number of traffic accidents fell from 3,706 to 779.