i heard that the oil used on k&n air filters can screw with the wire inside the mass air flow sensor is this true. i want to use one on my cold air kit where the filter will be attached to the maf. right now i have a cheap oil free cone filter on there and i want some thing i can clean cause this one aint reuseable and is getting real dirty

 

i have an 89 MAF car with the MAF screens ripped out and am using drop in replacement K/N's without a problem.... so far so good.

 

i work at a dealership chevy and we had alot of car come in with check engine light on,and it was from a recleaned k&n filter the oil will suck on the mass air flow senser heated wire and also cause the trans to not shift right.

 

as long as you don't over oil the filter there should not be a problem with the maf sensor.

 

My 89 formula has MAF, no screens and its never messed anything up when i clean mine.

 

exactly 100% correct. if its causing problems with your MAF, its because theres too much oil on the filter.

 

Second that. I've run the same MAF and K&N since 1990 without a problem.

 

I agree with the oil part. I have seen to much oil put on it messes with the car. Use it the way it is supposed to be used and everything will be fine.

 

word to the wise..

if any of you have K&N's on your newer cars.. some dealerships are now voiding your entire warranty's if they see you have a drop in, or a complete kit for this vary reason.. they are considering it a "modification" under the terms of the warranty contract, and extended warranty.

i have heard of 2 dealerships in SoCal that have done this to people i know personally.. and yeah they are fighting this because there are no problems with the car as of yet. crappy, i think..

 

You are protected under the law from your warranty being voided by installation of aftermarket parts............

They can only refuse a warranty claim for something that they must prove said aftermarket part caused.........

If this was enforced all those ball joints/vertical links/steering racks wouldnt get replaced on all those cars out there with 20 inch+ ghetto rims on them under warranty, now would they?

(they shouldnt, those rim and tire packages are extremely abusive to the suspension, especially compared to what the cars were designed for)

later
Jeremy

 

Caused the trans to not shift right? lol

 

I hear the b@$t@rd$ at Toyota will void a warranty if you install a cold air kit. If you have the dealer overcharge you for the installation of the same thing, the warranty is fine.

 

That is very possible if the maf is getting lied to about the current engine load, as this affects shift points.


As 3.8 transam said, you are protected against this under the Magnuson-Moss Warrant Act.


Here is a letter from the K&N site about this very concern.

Link to K&N site with the same letter as below
http://www.knfilters.com/warrantyletter.htm


Dear K&N Consumer:

K&N Engineering, Inc., is informed that some automobile dealers and manufacturers are telling their customers that the factory warranty on their motor vehicles is “void,” if an original equipment (OE) replacement air filter, manufactured by K&N, has been installed on their vehicles. K&N finds such instances disturbing, and while it does not purport to give legal advice, K&N would like to refer you to the federal Consumer Product Warranties law, often referred to as the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, which states, in part, in Title 15, United States Code, Section 2302, subdivision (c), as follows:

“No warrantor of a consumer product may condition his written or implied warranty of such product on the consumer's using, in connection with such product, any article or service (other than article or service provided without charge under the terms of the warranty) which is identified by brand, trade, or corporate name; except that the prohibition of this subsection may be waived by the [Federal Trade] Commission if –

(1) the warrantor satisfies the Commission that the warranted product will function properly only if the article or service so identified is used in connection with the warranted product, and

(2) the Commission finds that such a waiver is in the public interest. The Commission shall identify in the Federal Register, and permit public comment on, all applications for waiver of the prohibition of this subsection, and shall publish in the Federal Register its disposition of any such application, including the reasons therefor.”


Under this federal statute, a manufacturer, who issues a warranty on your motor vehicle, is prohibited from requiring you to use a particular brand of air filter, oil filter, or other service or maintenance item, unless such item is provided, free of charge, under your warranty or unless the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) waives this prohibition against the manufacturer. K&N is unaware of any exemption or waiver granted by the FTC to any motor vehicle manufacturer, which pertains to air filters or oil filters.

K&N interprets this law to also prohibit the motor vehicle manufacturer from restricting your use of a particular brand of air filter, oil filter, etc. K&N’s interpretation of this law is consistent with the interpretation given it by the FTC, the government agency responsible for the interpretation and enforcement of this federal law.

The rules and regulations adopted by the FTC, to govern the interpretation and enforcement of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, are set forth in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 16 - Commercial Practices, Chapter I - Federal Trade Commission, Subchapter G - Rules, Regulations, Statements and Interpretations Under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, Part 700 - Interpretations Under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. Contained within these rules and regulations is Section 700.10, which states, in relevant part (with specific language highlighted by K&N), as follows:

“(c) No warrantor may condition the continued validity of a warranty on the use of only authorized repair service and/or authorized replacement parts for non-warranty service and maintenance. For example, provisions such as, "This warranty is void if service is performed by anyone other than an authorized 'ABC' dealer and all replacement parts must be genuine 'ABC' parts," and the like, are prohibited where the service or parts are not covered by the warranty. These provisions violate the Act in two ways. First, they violate the section 102(c) ban against tying arrangements. Second, such provisions are deceptive under section 110 of the Act, because a warrantor cannot, as a matter of law, avoid liability under a written warranty where a defect is unrelated to the use by a consumer of "unauthorized" articles or service. This does not preclude a warrantor from expressly excluding liability for defects or damage caused by such "unauthorized" articles or service; nor does it preclude the warrantor from denying liability where the warrantor can demonstrate that the defect or damage was so caused.”

We think this FTC rule is pretty clear and unambiguous. Please note that the FTC requires the “warrantor” (this would, generally, be your motor vehicle manufacturer) to “demonstrate” that the defect in or damage to your vehicle was caused by your installation or use of a K&N air or oil filter, or other “unauthorized” part, before a warranty claim can be denied. We contend that this requires credible proof as to the cause of a failure and not merely your dealer’s guess, speculation or unfounded opinion as to the cause.

Therefore, K&N considers any threat to void your factory warranty, or the actual voiding of your factory warranty, solely for the installation of a K&N replacement air filter or oil filter, to be a violation of federal law.

The foregoing addresses only your rights and protection under federal law. Of course, you may have greater rights under the consumer warranty laws applicable in your state.

If you have encountered a motor vehicle dealer, who has failed and refused to “demonstrate” or prove, as federal law requires, that your K&N air filter necessitated a repair for which warranty coverage has been denied, or a manufacturer, who refuses to perform warranty repairs on your vehicle, merely because you have installed a K&N replacement air filter or based on inaccurate information from your dealer, then we ask that you request that the dealer or manufacturer set forth, in writing, the warranty denial, together with a written statement as to the specific reasons for the denial of warranty repairs, and that you send a copy of this written statement to K&N. We also ask that you direct your dealer and manufacturer to the federal law quoted above. While K&N cannot act as your legal advocate or assume responsibility for enforcing your warranty rights under state and federal law, we will write to the dealership and to your motor vehicle manufacturer and insist that they provide a legal basis for their position. We have been successful in numerous instances in challenging the conclusions of dealerships and convincing manufacturers that the denial of warranty repairs was improper, which has resulted in letters of apology from dealers and reimbursements by dealers or manufacturers to consumers for those repairs.

In addition to any informal action K&N may take, you should consult an attorney and various state and federal agencies, who may be able to assist you in protecting and enforcing your warranty rights, if you encounter a motor vehicle dealer’s or manufacturer’s refusal to honor your motor vehicle warranty.

Please keep in mind that a motor vehicle dealer is, generally, not the “warrantor” of your vehicle. Your dealer may be assisting you as much as possible in getting the manufacturer to cover repairs of your vehicle under warranty, but the factory may still refuse to cover the repairs. If this happens, then there may be nothing further that the dealership can do, and it should not be blamed for the actions of your vehicle’s warrantor. A dealership’s control over the approval of a warranty repair is usually limited to properly diagnosing and reporting the cause of the repair. K&N only takes issue with those dealerships who advise consumers that the mere installation of a K&N air filter on a vehicle “voids” the factory warranty, or they convey to the manufacturer an unsubstantiated opinion or conclusion that a K&N air filter caused an engine or component failure, without any objective proof to support such a statement, which results in the denial of a legitimate warranty repair.


Sincerely,

STEVE ROGERS,
President & CEO
K&N Engineering, Inc.

 

The shift points are controlled by the trans, not the maf. If it was running like crap the trans would just shift at the lower rpm and power level that the engine was producing.

 

I hate K&N in the first place. Mine is a BIG POS. My opinion though. K&N might be a great filter though.

I can see a 4L60 or 80E trans acting up b/c of the solenoids being control by the pcm, but i dont see a 700R acting up.

 

I was refering to a PCM controlled trans in regards to the shift points. Yes a 700R4 or other non electronic shifted trans should not shift different unless the engine is not running correctly.

 

I figured you was Eric.

 

I know on LS1 and LT1 based vehicles you can take the maf sensor (the actual plastic sensor) out of the housing and soak it overnight in rubbing alcohol and it will help clean the oil off the sensor wires. I did it on my 99 T/A that was throwing a MAF code and the car runs fine now.

 

Means they can’t tell you what to use, DOES NOT say they can’t tell you what NOT to use.


And you’ll please note that throughout the letter K&N does NOT back re-oiled filters. In fact they make it rather a point to limit the letter to pertain to Hmmmm... interesting no?

Preclude:
1 archaic : CLOSE
2 : to make impossible by necessary consequence : rule out in advance

Don’t be blinded by K&N’s letter, it’s a bunch of bull****. I know, I wrote that kind of crap for a living.

As for the MAF, I haven’t seen a hot-wire MAF have issues unless there was a TON of extra oil, the thick film MAFs on the other hand…