* CAUTION * Warrantee voided due to K&N Air Charger - Page 3

Fatfreeone · 08-10-2004, 02:25 AM

I think this is why im going to wait for Nismo to come out with some parts.

Titanman · 08-10-2004, 04:45 AM

So the moral is: return your truck intake mods back to stock before taking to the dealer.

keane · 08-10-2004, 06:24 AM

Sorry guys, Iam on Nissan and the dealers side on this. Anytime you mess with "performance" modifications you take your chances. I would wait for the warranty to be up before I did any of this stuff. K&N should come through for you, though. It does sound like the problem could be traced to them, unless you did the over oiling thing.

keane · 08-10-2004, 06:35 AM

Austin:

Very well said!! I don't think we have that act up here in Canada, but it makes sense to me.

Titanoholic · 08-10-2004, 07:28 AM

My local nissan dealer (Bremerton, WA) installed a K&N Air Charger cold air intake system and dual exhaust system on their floor model Titan, which is for sale and under warrentee. How can they make the same mods and sell it as brand new with full warantee?

MO Titan · 08-10-2004, 07:31 AM

Because they did the work! They know it was put in correctly and they stand behind their work.

kevinoutdoorsman · 08-10-2004, 07:39 AM

I will jump in with my 2 lincoln pennies, I spoke to my service mgr and a
Nissan tech, if you put in anything other that Nissan genuine parts and they
mess up your vehicle, You VOID Your WARRANTY PERIOD!!

No questions asked.... Again I'm just a salesman however, the K&N is oil
soaked if the intake pulls in oil droplets(esp coming from cleaning and re-
oiling filter too much) they will get on the Mass Air flow sensor and fry it.

If you put in a Napa Paper filter and paper from the filter gets to the Mass
Air Flow sensor, it can short it out.... Nissan Air filters have a steel mesh
built in, they have never seen one fail... Bottom line change them more
often at least once a year or more if in/on dusty areas. I had one on my
Toyota Tacoma, I wont put one on my new Titan KC. Just be forwarned
you may be fine. I won't spend the extra $50-60 for K&N. I noticed very
little diff in my Tacoma(only made it more noisey).

Why mess with a good thing!!

Kevinoutdoorsman

rvsixer · 08-10-2004, 07:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MO Titan

Because they did the work! They know it was put in correctly and they stand behind their work.

And if it was done incorrectly, or by poor design it damages the truck, Nissan will not pay for a new engine or whatever (and rightly so, its up to the consumer to read the warranty before purchase). So unless you have a written agreement with the dealer to cover any and all damages arising from said aftermarket parts and work, you will be left holding the bag.

BigPete · 08-10-2004, 07:54 AM

Let me try to respond to the various questions that were asked. I need the truck for my business. I was in the middle of a job in another town about 45 minutes away from home and I was leaving for vacation the next morning. The truck has some minor body damage and was going to be dropped off to the shop that night. While at a light, the truck just stalled and would not start. I had no choice but to tow it to a dealer close to the body shop so they could get everything done while I was away.

The reason why they dropped the tank is they said the truck wouldn’t start and the gas gauge read empty. (I know it was towed in with 3/4 of a tank) They put in two gallons and the needle shot up to 3/4. The service tech felt that “maybe” something was knocked loose in the tank and they wanted to check the floats. They did tap into the serial port and received a “hot air” error code but that was all. It wasn’t until the tank was inspected and found to be ok did they look at the air meter. A new stock box and new meter was put in and the truck started.

My choices were to have them put a new air meter in the K&N (no 12 month warrantee on new part) put the stock box back on and install a new air meter or have the car towed away. I had no choice in the situation. The truck would not run and I had to pay something to get it fixed. I was told that they would reduce the charges to $900.14 and waive the diagnostic fee to drop the tank and inspect it.

It seems that once I told them I would appeal their decision of not covering it under the warrantee and pursuit it through litigation they got very defensive. The service advisor just dumped the call the service manager who again very defensive and would only give very open statements. At first I was told that since the truck had been “modified” being the K&N CAI, the warrantee would not apply.

I opened a case file with 1-800-NISSAN-1. Nissan’s position is that it would not be covered and wanted pictures of BOTH the K&N and the Banks. A follow up call to the service manager was made. I was now being told that due to the “extensive modifications done to the vehicle it will not be covered.” I asked him specifically if it was the fact that the K&N was installed on the vehicle the reason for the non coverage. He said, “Don’t put words in my mouth. I feel like you are trying to corer me into saying something.” (not sure how one can do that by simply asking a question…) He said, “the warrantee is not being honor NOT solely because the K&N was used but the fact that you took a OEM part (air meter) and placed into a modified part (K&N CAI) and the sensor failed) I asked him to demonstrate and document how the sensor failed because of this. He replied that he did not “crack the sensor open” and that after a new one was installed the problem was corrected. I asked him if there was any debris noted on the sensor or if the sensor was cleaned. He again said that he did not open the sensor and that the sensor contains internal parts. The K&N was installed over 1000k miles ago and worked without any problems. If it was installed incorrectly, the problem would have occurred right away.

The truck was paid for by way of American Express so I have at least a few months of going back and forth with the dealer during the disputed charge. I was told by a rep at K&N that a verbal denial of a warrantee claim is sometimes reversed when challenged in writing.

I am giving the dealer 30 days to respond before notifying the FTC and issuing subpoenas all the way up to include the mechanic, service advisor, service manager, dealer owner and K&N in small claims court.

BigPete · 08-10-2004, 07:55 AM

Let me try to respond to the various questions that were asked. I need the truck for my business. I was in the middle of a job in another town about 45 minutes away from home and I was leaving for vacation the next morning. The truck has some minor body damage and was going to be dropped off to the shop that night. While at a light, the truck just stalled and would not start. I had no choice but to tow it to a dealer close to the body shop so they could get everything done while I was away.

The reason why they dropped the tank is they said the truck wouldn’t start and the gas gauge read empty. (I know it was towed in with 3/4 of a tank) They put in two gallons and the needle shot up to 3/4. The service tech felt that “maybe” something was knocked loose in the tank and they wanted to check the floats. They did tap into the serial port and received a “hot air” error code but that was all. It wasn’t until the tank was inspected and found to be ok did they look at the air meter. A new stock box and new meter was put in and the truck started.

My choices were to have them put a new air meter in the K&N (no 12 month warrantee on new part) put the stock box back on and install a new air meter or have the car towed away. I had no choice in the situation. The truck would not run and I had to pay something to get it fixed. I was told that they would reduce the charges to $900.14 and waive the diagnostic fee to drop the tank and inspect it.

It seems that once I told them I would appeal their decision of not covering it under the warrantee and pursuit it through litigation they got very defensive. The service advisor just dumped the call the service manager who again very defensive and would only give very open statements. At first I was told that since the truck had been “modified” being the K&N CAI, the warrantee would not apply.

I opened a case file with 1-800-NISSAN-1. Nissan’s position is that it would not be covered and wanted pictures of BOTH the K&N and the Banks. A follow up call to the service manager was made. I was now being told that due to the “extensive modifications done to the vehicle it will not be covered.” I asked him specifically if it was the fact that the K&N was installed on the vehicle the reason for the non coverage. He said, “Don’t put words in my mouth. I feel like you are trying to corer me into saying something.” (not sure how one can do that by simply asking a question…) He said, “the warrantee is not being honor NOT solely because the K&N was used but the fact that you took a OEM part (air meter) and placed into a modified part (K&N CAI) and the sensor failed) I asked him to demonstrate and document how the sensor failed because of this. He replied that he did not “crack the sensor open” and that after a new one was installed the problem was corrected. I asked him if there was any debris noted on the sensor or if the sensor was cleaned. He again said that he did not open the sensor and that the sensor contains internal parts.

The truck was paid for by way of American Express so I have at least a few months of going back and forth with the dealer during the disputed charge. I was told by a rep at K&N that a verbal denial of a warrantee claim is sometimes reversed when challenged in writing.

I am giving the dealer 30 days to respond before notifying the FTC and issuing subpoenas all the way up to include the mechanic, service advisor, service manager, dealer owner and K&N in small claims court.

sasilverbullet · 08-10-2004, 08:34 AM

My .02 on this...bigpete - please don't misunderstand the next comment, I'm all for you on your claim. And from looking at your side of the story, it seems like the mechanics didn't know how to troubleshoot your problem. The MAF would have been the first thing I would have checked. But...

I've owned many vehicles, from Subaru to Porsche and everything in between. Always follow age-old chinese proverb - NEVER modify your vehicle until it's out of warranty!!!

Skeeter · 08-10-2004, 08:52 AM

Does this have anything to do with the standard K&N drop in filter?

sasilverbullet · 08-10-2004, 08:57 AM

It can. If you over-oil a standard K&N, it will screw up the MAF sensor.

rvsixer · 08-10-2004, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skeeter

Does this have anything to do with the standard K&N drop in filter?

Not sure of the use of the word standard here. The standard OEM filter is not a K&N. The K&N drop in filter is a non-standard aftermarket part.

awgriffey · 08-10-2004, 09:03 AM

From what I understand, the K&N CAI unit could void your warranty, while the K&N drop in only can not. This is the info I got off K&N's website, and from the parts guys at my local dealership who dropped the filter in my Titan.