The Dealership threw my K&N Air Filter out!

[BensonTT]

Some idiot at Stampede Toyota threw out my K&N Air Filter and put in an OEM one.. I took my car in before Christmas for an oil change but didn't notice til today .. Will they reimburse me? I have the receipt for the oil change and the filter. :thumbsdow

[dj_rice]

If you can prove that you had it in there when you had it serviced, possibly, but its been two months since.....they would probably tell you to pound sand.


When you had it in for service, did you approve the air filter change?If you didn't and they replaced it anyway and charged you then maybe you have more sway.

[BensonTT]

Yeah I know it would be hard to prove but they were the last person too check my car... :thumbsdow

[jwslam]

Originally posted by BensonTT
I have the receipt for the oil change and the filter.
If they put in an OEM filter they must've charged you for it no? No such thing as free parts and labour...

[Sugarphreak]

...

[BensonTT]

Originally posted by jwslam

If they put in an OEM filter they must've charged you for it no? No such thing as free parts and labour...

I think it was one of those mandatory service that did a bunch of crap at once so I didn't notice..

[Darell_n]

They did you a favour.

[BokCh0y]

I went through that with Lexus of Calgary a while back. I brought my gen2 RX in for regular service, got the car back and then when I got home and took a look at the receipt I noticed they charged me for an air element replacement. Went out to the garage, popped the hood to take a look to see wtf - sure as fuck they tossed my K&N (I even have the K&N sticker on the top of the filter housing that states "STOP blah blah K&N") and replaced with an OEM filter, they also lost one of the bolts that hold the box together so it wasn't even sealed all the way :facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm: .

Anyway, I went back first thing in the AM told them what happened and asked them WTF and how they could miss the sticker on top that says STOP and I also showed them as well. They replaced the bolt right away and sure as fuck...the tech miraculously "found" my K&N filter in the "trash". They gave me the installed filter and credited me for the element they charged me for.

Anyway OP - do you have the sticker on the top of your box that says "STOP K&N blah blah do not replace?". Maybe if you showed them, it may help...but my suggestion is for you to really take a look at your receipts moving forward. With my gen2 IS, I didn't have a K&N in that car, but I noticed they were swapping out my filter every time I got an oil change, every 8000 km and charging me. I flipped my lid cuz those filters are good for at least 15000 km and they stopped doing that to me. They were swapping without permission and charging me....

[Sugarphreak]

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[killramos]

Sounds like they did a regular service that included replacing your air filter. They don't particularly care what kind of filter is in there. If it was on their checklist to replace then that's exactly what they did.

If you didn't tell them otherwise that's not their fault. They can't read your mind about what parts of the service to perform or not.

I think that the concept of this being malicious or kids stealing "cool" used air filters is a bit of a stretch.

:dunno:

[BensonTT]

I didn't put that K&N sticker on but am sure they know what a K&N filter looks like.. Fuck it! I just bought another one from Amazon.. Am going to check every time now when I get an oil change..

[vengie]

Originally posted by BensonTT
I didn't put that K&N sticker on but am sure they know what a K&N filter looks like.. Fuck it! I just bought another one from Amazon.. Am going to check every time now when I get an oil change..

Why not save yourself the hassle and just TELL THEM not to touch the filter when you drop the vehicle off... Open communication tends to alleviate minor headaches. :dunno:

[BensonTT]

Originally posted by vengie


Why not save yourself the hassle and just TELL THEM not to touch the filter when you drop the vehicle off... Open communication tends to alleviate minor headaches. :dunno:

To tell them is one thing but would the guy doing the vehicle follow thru? lol

[AE92_TreunoSC]

Are you sure it was still there in December? You may be shit outta luck.

Seems idiotic of a tech to throw it out, but some kids see "dirty" and chuck it out.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[BensonTT]

Originally posted by AE92_TreunoSC
Are you sure it was still there in December? You may be shit outta luck.

Seems idiotic of a tech to throw it out, but some kids see "dirty" and chuck it out.

YES! I am 100% sure it was there.. Nobody goes under my hood other then Stampede Toyota! My K&N was replaced with a Denso air filter..

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by Darell_n
They did you a favour.

That's what I thought too. Does K&N do anything ever since 90s except let more dirt into the engine?

Or are we still believing the thousands of engineers from car manufacturers are still bad at their jobs?

[Thaco]

+1 for doing shit myself

[vengie]

Originally posted by BensonTT


To tell them is one thing but would the guy doing the vehicle follow thru? lol

Yes, it's a simple conversation. In fact here is your script.

"Hello! I want you to please note the air filter I have in my vehicle is a K and N filter that I clean regularly myself. This is unfortunately my second filter as the last one went missing in the last few months. Can you please ensure your tech performs the service but leaves the air filter alone?"

Speak in an upbeat and positive tone.

If you want, check the filter once you leave. The world isn't out to screw you, if you communicate effectively with people, it's amazing what you can get.

[rage2]

Originally posted by Xtrema
Does K&N do anything ever since 90s except let more dirt into the engine?
He didn't notice it for 2 months...

Honestly, I think the only advantage to using a K&N filter nowadays is you save money by cleaning instead of replacing it, but that might be offset by the cost of a broken MAF replacement down the road.

[heavyD]

The dealership did you a favour. What exactly are you expecting to gain from a drop in K&N filter? More power? Nope. Better fuel economy? Nope. Considerably more dirt passing through into your intake? Yes. Possibly fouling your MAF sensor? Yes.

[redblack]

Denso>K&N

[heavyD]

Originally posted by redblack
Denso>K&N

If you have to go aftermarket I would go with an AEM Dryflow but otherwise the OEM filters are the best choice for vehicles making stock or mildly tuned power levels.

[Sugarphreak]

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[16hypen3sp]

So should I toss my K&N filter out on my Ram and go with something else? What do you guys recommend?

I just put the thing in and it's got maybe 45 mins of drive time on it. I guess I should have asked before I did that.

[BensonTT]

Well I know for a fact I get better mpg with the K&N filter.. Only reason why I notice that my air filter was gone because i was getting horrible gas mileage all of a sudden.. So I thought maybe it was time to clean the filter.. Opened it up and it was gone.. :banghead:

[D'z Nutz]

OP, you did the right thing coming online and complaining to us instead of calling your dealership and talking to them about it.

https://media.giphy.com/media/dFChw60HIhtny/giphy.gif

[BensonTT]

Originally posted by D'z Nutz
OP, you did the right thing coming online and complaining to us instead of calling your dealership and talking to them about it.

https://media.giphy.com/media/dFChw60HIhtny/giphy.gif

Post was made on a Sunday.. Dealership not open.. I will call them today. Thanks for your post thou :)

[heavyD]

Originally posted by BensonTT
Well I know for a fact I get better mpg with the K&N filter.. Only reason why I notice that my air filter was gone because i was getting horrible gas mileage all of a sudden.. So I thought maybe it was time to clean the filter.. Opened it up and it was gone.. :banghead:

An air filter cannot make much of a difference in fuel mileage. Automakers spend millions every year trying to shave a mpg off their car and if it was as easy as swapping air filters we would see automakers spending millions on filter media technology to which they don't. It's possible a small difference but K&N has no proof to support any claims as per their website;


1. How will a K&N filter affect my vehicle's fuel economy?

K&N does not make any claims or advertisements regarding fuel economy.

The timing of your fuel mileage probably coincides with changing seasons and winter gas.

[mzdspd]

Originally posted by killramos
Sounds like they did a regular service that included replacing your air filter. They don't particularly care what kind of filter is in there. If it was on their checklist to replace then that's exactly what they did.

If you didn't tell them otherwise that's not their fault. They can't read your mind about what parts of the service to perform or not.

I think that the concept of this being malicious or kids stealing "cool" used air filters is a bit of a stretch.

:dunno:

Do you request for BMW to not check your tire pressures?

Don't want anymore of those leaky tires!

[BoS_DC2]

Originally posted by Darell_n
They did you a favour.

:werd:


Honestly though, you don't have to check it all the time.

Just kindly advise your Service Advisor next time to add a line on the work order specifying ** Customer has K&N Filter, do not replace **

[mr2mike]

With the excess power you'd be lacking having OEM air filter in there. I'm surprised you didn't notice this sooner. :devil:

[googe]

Originally posted by heavyD


An air filter cannot make much of a difference in fuel mileage. Automakers spend millions every year trying to shave a mpg off their car and if it was as easy as swapping air filters we would see automakers spending millions on filter media technology to which they don't.

Not really true. MPG isn't the priority, cost is. They only want more MPG if it doesn't cost more in parts. An extra $30 or so on filters is a massive expense, and they require maintenance.

There are many parts on a car that could be swapped with lighter equivalents if MPG were the priority, but it increases cost. No manufacturer would trade $3 for .5-1 mpg or a handful of HP, let alone $30 or so, unless they were trying hard to hit a regulation requirement or marketing number. They haggle over cents on every part.

[killramos]

Originally posted by mzdspd


Do you request for BMW to not check your tire pressures?

Don't want anymore of those leaky tires!

Yes them breaking a valve stem then denying responsibility is exactly the same as this :rofl:

I let them service everything, however I expect the car to be in working order when they are done.

However take responsibility for what you want done with your car when it's in for service. I don't let them wash the car for this reason.

[Cos]

.

[16hypen3sp]

Originally posted by Cos
Just don't over-oil it. You have it now. It wont KILL anything but they definitely aren't going to give you 5 extra HP. If you over-oil it, the oil droplets come off and stick to the MAF. That is what people are talking about MAF killers.

Thanks for the info.

[Proyecto2000]

Originally posted by BoS_DC2


Just kindly advise your Service Advisor next time to add a line on the work order specifying ** Customer has K&N Filter, do not replace **

I have the F Sport intake / filter and every time that I go to Toyota I tell the advisor and he writes Lexus F Sport Filter DO NOT REPLACE on the work order.

[Hallowed_point]

Originally posted by Cos
Just don't over-oil it. You have it now. It wont KILL anything but they definitely aren't going to give you 5 extra HP. If you over-oil it, the oil droplets come off and stick to the MAF. That is what people are talking about MAF killers.

I serviced the K&N panel filter off my camaro a couple years ago, and shortly thereafter I had a check engine light relating to my MAF. I was very careful to let it dry completely and only use a light mist of the supplied filter oil. Those maf wires are extremely sensitive to any oil exposure. I think most people cause trouble by servicing oiled filters too early. The instructions state that as long as you can see daylight through the filter to leave it be. That was a nice $200.00 lesson haha ;)

As far as the comment on increased silica, the levels were well within the normal range when I did a blackstone labs test on my oil after running a K&N for ~ 3 years. Perhaps a cone filter would cause a higher reading? :dunno:

[That.Guy.S30]

Originally posted by BensonTT


To tell them is one thing but would the guy doing the vehicle follow thru? lol

Yes. It's on the work order. You tell your advisor, he puts it on the work order. The tech reads work order and problem solved.

Maybe you need a better relationship with your dealership.