Concerns About K & N Air Filters:

[Lexusfreak]

I e-mailed K & N regarding some concerns about using their air filter and problems with possible sensors being damaged due to the oiled element, here is the reply I got back from K & N...I'd be intrested in any comments.

At this time, K&N is unaware of any evidence that K&N air filter oil from a K&N air filter can damage or cause the malfunction of a MAF sensor, regardless of the make of the vehicle involved. K&N takes seriously any claim that one of its products is incompatible with its designated application or can damage or cause the malfunction of any automotive component. Such claims are thoroughly investigated and, when appropriate, testing is undertaken to determine their merit. In the case of MAF sensors, ongoing tests have shown that contamination from K&N air filter oil has not caused any failures or malfunctions of the MAF sensors in the test vehicles. K&N is aware that MAF sensors can become contaminated for a variety of reasons, unrelated to a K&N air filter (such as backfiring, blowby, leaking airbox or leaking intake duct) and that various methods have been used by some service departments and repair shops to clean a dirty or contaminated MAF sensor, such as spraying with an appropriate cleaner. K&N has not completed any tests as to the efficacy of such a process and, therefore, does not officially endorse or recommend any cleaning process. However, if given the choice of either replacing a MAF sensor or cleaning it, K&N recommends that the consumer ask his or her automotive dealer to attempt cleaning, before replacement. It should be noted that the presence of contamination does not mean the contamination was the cause of the MAF sensor failure. Sensors can fail for electrical or mechanical reasons, unrelated to any visible contamination.

Sincerely,

Martin Jackson

K&N Engineering

1455 Citrus Avenue

Riverside, CA 92507

Phone: 800/858-3333 ext. 4518

Fax: 909/684-9060

[Lex3486]

My K&N has seen service in two seperate ES's and so far, no problems on account of it. The intake system (manifold, intake pipe, etc.) did have a lot of residue (dirty K&N oil) in it when I pulled it all apart while workin on the head gaskets, but the way I see it, it's better that the dirt is caught in the oil on the sides of the intake rather than inside the engine, and what's a little oil on the internals of an engine gonna hurt anyhow ya know? It's a nominal amount of oil anyhow; so little that I doubt it'd ever cause the MAF any trouble ;)

[SKperformance]

you only need to not douse it with oil and make sure you remove the excess or you will ingest the oil in the engine

but no big deal anyway

[monarch]

K&N is aware that MAF sensors can become contaminated for a variety of reasons, unrelated to a K&N air filter (such as backfiring, blowby, leaking airbox or leaking intake duct)

The K&N rep is offering only generic advice, not Lexus / Toyota specific advice. What Lexus or Toyota suffers from "backfiring, blowby, leaking airbox or leaking intake duct" ?? Answer: None of them.

By contrast, many Lexus / Toyota owners who used factory filters have accumulated many hundreds of thousands of miles without MAF or other sensor problems.

[Lexusfreak]

This maybe true monarch, but there are many K & N users that have had no problems whatsoever also (inlcuding Lexus owners). I have used the filter on my Buick Riviera & 01' Nissan Maxima without incident & actually this is the only forum I've been apart of that quite a few owners reported problems using the K & N filter. If the company was having such massive problems with their product, I don't think they would still be in business because of lawsuits & the like. Just my opinion. We always have the option of returning to the original paper filter should any issues cause concern.

[SW03ES]

I say go for it and get one. The only people I've heard disparage the K&N filter are doing so on a THEORETICAL basis. "It CAN do this" "It MAY do that" then only bad thing I've ever heard from people who have them is "It DIDN'T do anything, bad or good".

[SKperformance]

i have never heard of anything negative with a k&n filter ,ever

maybe no results or better results but never bad ones.

[Lexusfreak]

Agreed skp :D

[tundra-lover]

I've seen a few of these problems at the Toyota dealership, from Tundra owners putting the FIPK kit on. My mechanic told me that they usually just had some oil residue on the MAF sensor, and was able to clean it off with no problem. I ran K&N in mine for over two years with no problem in both my vehicles.

Side note: (One thing the mechanic here told me was that the computer can take up to 500 miles to adjust to the new fuel air mixture. So all these guys dropping it in for a day, and swapping it back for the OEM filter don't really notice any difference. If you want to see, just run one for a month at time?)