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K&N Void Warranty

35K views 206 replies 68 participants last post by  timmbo 
#1 ·
Just saw this on YouTube. Poor guy has a blower with bad bearings and now his entire warranty package is void due to a K&N air filter. Would be nice if someone could help him somehow. Good to know for the rest of us if we ever have the same issue.

 
#6 ·
It's just never a good idea to alter a car with Mods or add on's as long as it is in warranty period. Unless you don't care and want to assume the cost of any problems that occur. All the pulley changes and tunes that happen on a frequent base's around here comes to mind. Superchargers are expensive. and they will use any thing they can to get out of paying for repairs. They always have. Back in the good ol days as people called it. when you bought a muscle car you didn't get a warranty.With people openly talking about racing and breaking things, don't be surprise if Dodge drops the warranty on the Cats in the future. We can be our own worst enemy!
 
#12 ·
I know it is stopping me from ordering one.

I do Not want, and cannot afford to be in the same situation.
 
#15 ·
I don't think a K&N can damage a supercharger but I have seen MAF sensors affected when the oil they use gets on the hot wire portion of the sensor. I also believe its a waste of money to second guess the engineers design of the air filter which is very efficient so why mess with it .
 
#16 · (Edited)
This is wrong on a whole bunch of levels. I don't like to throw around the MM Act but this looks like a textbook case. The burden is on the manufacturer to prove the non-OEM part caused the failure. In this case they didn't even check under the hood. You summarily flag a VIN for an air filter? They're probably seeing bad superchargers piling up and are looking for something to pin it on. No wonder Dodge is losing business.

Oh yes almost forgot...When my SC was replaced I had a Green filter installed. They didn't say boo about it and even reinstalled it.
 
#17 · (Edited)
They need to prove the air filter caused the issue and if he's telling the truth, it didn't. These cars will retard timing if air or fuel is off to save the engine or anything else from going boom. It's been documented many times that other superchargers have turned into metal blenders because of bad manufacturing. There is no way a stock tuned cat will self blender the super charger because of a CAI.

He needs to lawyer up and get some extra for going through this.
 
#18 ·
I'm friends with this guy on instagram. Total bull shit what Dodge is doing to him. They better step up and fix his blower. I mean for shit sakes a filter replacement or even if he did have a whole intake set up. This Causing bad bearings in the blower. Get real. Such B.S. Dodge....

Fix your shit!!!
 
#20 ·
I'm friends with this guy on instagram. Total bull shit what Dodge is doing to him. They better step up and fix his blower. I mean for shit sakes a filter replacement or even if he did have a whole intake set up. This Causing bad bearings in the blower. Get real. Such B.S. Dodge....
Just curious...how does he know he has bad bearings? Is it making the sound at idle that we are posting on here? I recently took mine in to my dealer and they told me the sound is normal! While I don't agree with them, I will wait and see if it get worse or decides to eat itself.
 
#19 ·
Is a Mopar owner forced to have the Dealership perform oil changes so you can prove that the correct, approved oil was used to prevent FCA from denying your engine warranty?

Is FCA going to deny engine warranty because you did not keep all your receipts from your fuel purchases and you "probably used the wrong octane", which caused the engine failure?

Where does it stop?
 
#24 ·
This is a concern for me. I actually want to keep my car stock for the time being. But I'm also retired, own a lift, and am handy with a wrench. Why should I pay the local schlubs down at my sketchy dealer $100 to change the oil? I use the right SRT Pennzoil, I use the Mopar filter, and I know the job is done right. I bought my car out of state. Is the local dealer going to pitch a fit if I have a problem? Is my warranty to be denied because I did my own oil changes?

Of course being retired and having the time to do my own maintenance means I'd also have the time to find a really good lawyer, so... I guess we'll just burn that bridge when we cross it. :)
 
#22 ·
K&N letter is pretty straight forward. Shouldn't take a dealership very long to figure it out. As for the regional manager providing the denial on his VIN, that should take a lawyer just a few minutes to untangle and make them both some money.
 
#23 ·
K&N CEO sees this as a crushing blow for his business. A lot of engineering went in to the design of the filter/air intake system on this car. Likewise, K&N does a lot of engineering on it's products. Here is the rub. Dodge's objective is to protect the engine while preserving as much flow and hp as they can. K&N's objective is to move more air and increase the hp/sound level which in turn sells their product. Their engine protection concern is secondary to their marketing and sales figures, UNTIL, something like this goes down and threatens their profit margin. While I'm no automotive Engineer, my 45 years of experience with cars tells me that if you flow max air, you are probably going to sneak by a greater amount of particulates into the engine. I was here on the forums in early 2015 when CAI manufacturers were touting 30 hp gains which proved to be a LIE. Multiple trial tests by forum members proved that the stock intake system performed the best.
My two cents.

Concerning the OP, I can sympathize with what he is going thru. Hope someone can help. Does sound like a vindictive regional Manager killing his entire warranty on the car. What does a CAI have to do with a tranny or rear end? Sounds like a Lemon Law case or at the least getting an Attorney involved.

Where in TN are you located?
 
#25 ·
Wouldn't they have to prove that the K&N was the reason for the bearing going bad in the supercharger in order to void warranty? I believe that is the Magnusson-Moss Law.
 
#30 ·
Hi all, this is my car/video. So a few things. As mentioned in the video, I purchased this car out of state. When I had taken my car in for the leather seat sagging like so many people have, this rep rejected it. I had to get SRT involved and argue with whoever I could (very politely and calmly). They said I caused the leather to sag. So, Im sure this REP already doesnt like me, but unfortunately he is the REP for every dealer within range of me. Nothing hidden in the story. Someone pointed out on one of my videos that my blower sounded really bad. So i made a video, and asked peoples opinions. everyone said holy crap, that sounds terrible, take it in or that sounds worse than mine when i got mine replaced, etc.


So, i never noticed. my last SRT8 had a blower on it, a vortech, and it always sounded like that. So i guess as the sound gradually grew more and more, I just never really noticed it, or thought "hey, it didnt use to do this", since the sound was familiar. So i took it to the dealer. They walked out, looked at it. Went inside the shop, got on the computer and flagged my vin, as mentioned in the video.
Im sure this is a result of two things, first, yes, i "modified" my car by putting a different part on it. However, we all know, that didnt cause the sealed bearings to go bad, that dozens and dozens of others have experienced as well. Secondly, this guy is pissed I went over his head and raised hell on the leather repair, and, the car was purchased out of his territory and now he is paying repairs on it out of his numbers.

Ive spoken to K&N and they are more than willing to get involved if need be, but have to get a few more ducks in a row first. Obviously this isnt there fault.
The big issue for me is, first, air filter, or even an air intake wont damage the bearings. period. they are sealed. Second, this prick went into my vin and flagged the warranty nationwide, without anyone actually diagnosing the issue or what caused it. that is whats horse shit. And SRT says they cant help, his ruling is the "law" No tune, no pulley, no juice, nothing.
 
#33 ·
The big issue for me is, first, air filter, or even an air intake wont damage the bearings. period. they are sealed. Second, this prick went into my vin and flagged the warranty nationwide, without anyone actually diagnosing the issue or what caused it. that is whats horse shit. And SRT says they cant help, his ruling is the "law" No tune, no pulley, no juice, nothing.
Unfortunately you are correct. SRT can't help on this one.

It's dissappointing that there is a bad relationship established up front and it will likely take a lawsuit to get this fixed.
 
#32 ·
nobody even looked at his car, can't blame an air filter for sealed bearings...people run at the track with no filter at all.....any problems with theres?....now everyone who has a bwoody, k&n, or Lmi are all gonna panic....this is a personal vendetta...people have been running back to the dealer for every little squeak......
 
#34 ·
and a small update that has transpired since all this went out yesterday, i called the dealer to try to talk with the service manager that their basis is totally wrong, on many points. But they requested I bring it in next week to have it officially diagnosed "trust me, we would love to get it fixed for you and prove to the Rep that the filter didnt cause the issue", but...trying to look at it from all angles and see if that could somehow f*** me further
 
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#37 ·
As DGatzby says, prepare for your meeting next week. Look into the Lemon Laws in TN. Get a list of those here who have had SC replacements. ( I think the sagging leather and SC replacements are the most common warranty items) See if there is an Attorney that specializes in this type of situation in the Nashville area, spend a little money getting legal advice. Good luck to you.
 
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#39 ·
Yeah, this totally sucks. What I don't understand is what the dealer really has to lose if this was replaced under warranty. Don't they get paid anyways? For sure, sounds like they have it out for you brother. I'm going to use this situation as a lesson that if I ever need to take my CAT in for anything, I'll be putting the stock box back in first, so if they ever try to pull that shit, they will have to prove I had something else on there. That is my only mod to the engine anyways. I hope you get resolution on this.
 
#40 ·
Bad bearings on these superchargers is becoming prevaliant, Reminds me of the current R28 and R29 recalls on vipers and at this point everyone is sure there was a bad job making the motors for a while in vipers and FCA is voiding warranties just because of Arrow PCM's (That dealers even sell when you buy the car).

This is why my cat is still stock, I know M&M Act very well but the hassle of this makes M&M not worth it when your car will sit in a garage for months while you have to hire a lawyer as this isn't a lemon law case.
 
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