Why K&N Air Filters Are Bad For You
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- Опубликовано: 13 сен 2022
- Customer complained of an illuminated check engine light and poor performance. It didn’t take long to discover the root cause. Why? Why? WHY!!?? Please just say no to aftermarket air filter/intake systems that claim to improve performance and fuel mileage. They don’t.
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I've been telling folks for years that those filters suck.
Haha. Me too. But I’ll take their money I guess.
Me too. But they all buy into the hype. Just gotta love how they think sucking hot air from the engine compartment is better than the factory air box which typically gets air from outside 🤦♂️
I had a customer come in with a K&N filter just as dirty . I told her to bring me a new filter , she tried to get me to clean it because she paid like $60 for it and said it's "washable" . I know what K&N claims but I wasn't falling for that. At the end of the day it got a new $15 filter . Also, washable filters only work.... if you wash them! lol
Even when clean they always seem to have either too much or not enough oil on them.
@@Milkmans_Son You have to reoil after washing with K&N Air Cleaner oil. Takes 30 seconds to spray.
@@haywardsautomotive6156 I'm aware of that. I was referring to the unfortunate souls out there who weren't blessed with the same intelligence and good looks as you and me.
@@Milkmans_Son HAHA
Same thing with house washable filters but people think they are better. I called them constantly dirty filters. People who got into selling these crappy filters have made a ton of money from people who work 7 days a week. The central air conditioner needs to breathe. Vacuuming the vents, and replacing the tubing if needed and then vacuum the inside of the intake space where the filter goes. Get the fiberglass filters and throw them out every month or spend more on Fil. filter's and throw them out every month or 2. You will find your house stays cleaner. Take a flash light and go around your house at night and see all the dust! Same thing I side your car and under the hood on you car.
🦊🩺🚗
Even if you clean and oil them, the oil and gauze can collect on the MAF and cause the same problems.
I thought K&N was dead long ago, i don't know anyone that has one.
Standard filters are cheap enough and do the job.
Oh no. They are alive and well. The problem is many performance minded folks think it’s a good idea, install them and throw away the OE assemblies and then never touch them again. Then this happens. Maybe worse here since we have temperature extremes and many of the intake systems aren’t designed for that. This one had loose fittings along with the clogged and disconnected filter so it hadn’t been right for who knows how long. Certainly not the best choice for this particular customer.
Agree, at least that one had a box around it. I remember a friend complaining that his car was slow off the mark. I found the airbox was missing with a cone filter just behind the radiator and above the exhaust. Told him to go and get the original filter box etc.... what a difference.
Any filter in that condition is going to give you issues.
Well said. My doctor says the same thing about my gut.
The drop in filters are now close to $100 for some cars. People think this is a maintenance free filter guess again. I'll stick to buying my $14 wix and changing it every 15k.
How about stating that person came in with a filter that wasn’t properly installed and dirty to begin with. Let’s start there. Any dirty not properly installed filter will do that
Hell from iowa. Nice to hear from you!!!
well, it's your opinion.. 6 says this & 6 says that.. that fikter was neglected & incorrectly installed.
Clean it, install it, clean the MAF sensor & bill them
Title is a bit misleading... this is a cold air intake, not the drop in air filter. Cold air intakes already void your warranty, the drop in filter doesn't. Also um, that filter has not been cleaned in ages. As for the MAF sensor... if having the cold air intake installed is starting to show error codes for that, *the sensor is on its way out*. Nothing wrong with the cold air intake. The sensor is an electronic device, and they will fail eventually. A cold air intake is a tube of metal, with a filter. As long as the filter is properly maintained (which it was not), it is impossible for the cold air intake to be the source of the error code.
like anything else you have to maintain it (the filter) I've had one on my truck for years with no problem. I will say that the mileage benefit (MPG) was not what I hoped for but I like to hear the rumble when you get on it!
They sound amazing! For people who keep up with them I’m sure they work fine. I forgot a lot of gear heads watch my videos. I don’t run them cause I’m too lazy to be honest.
Had a 2012 Jeep Sahara that had the absolute worst throttle response and mpg was not that great. After Driving across country twice I decided wtf , got a k&n air filter with an enclosed cold air intake and it definitely improved the engine performance especially when pulling a trailer. On the highway there was a 2-3mpg increase and when you're driving across country it adds up 👍👍 throttle response was a little better but that was a poor design by keep that some aftermarket chip can fix better than k&n could. I can't recall the exact mpg as it was 2012-2014 when we were traveling. I wanna say stock we were getting 14-15 and with k&n it was 16-17 depending on which part of the country we were in. Makes a big difference flat or mountain 😂 especially with that shitty jeep engine. Oh my god I hated driving that jeep. Sure it looked great but under the hood it was an epic failure. I think they improved the engine from what I've been told from newer Sahara owners. Even added a turbo model 🤯
I've always use them and never had a problem with them it's all about how u take care of it and I will always use K&N air filters and oil filters
Have you ever had a contaminated MAF sensor? I agree that if you are going to run them you need to maintain them. My general experience has been that it rarely happens. They do sound cool!
@@ThecardoctorTV no never had a issue like that and I use it on my 02 trailblazer that hase 219000 miles and still runs like a champ
Wonder how a stock filter would work that loose and dirty? LACK OF MAINTENANCE.
Yes!! I should have said it that way. I Spaulding have to walk it back after. Haha
Yea i hate these garbage things. They dont even add any real HP or TQ I have some junk KN system I have to take off my broken truck ill put the OEM system back on sell the old system to someone who knows no better Paper works best
It’s hard to imagine that the factory tested system they spent millions of dollars engineering for that particular vehicle isn’t going to provide the most efficient filtration while balancing the requirements for maintenance intervals. It’s not like this daily driver is a race application. It does sound cool when you punch it!
@@ThecardoctorTV Yup. Back in the 1980s when they designed my TBI chevy old truck it was not the best setup but a simple bowl under the metal factory air cleaner accomplished the same thing and HP /TQ gain the KN system provided. These Oiled filters also reek havoc on MAF sensors. I have to find all the hardware to put the stock air intake back on and some knucklehead maybe will give me 200-250 for the intake.
any filter that dirty is no bueno... and judging by the looks, the owner doesn't put much thoughts on that.
They cause mass air flow sensor codes.Seen it with a Chevy Tahoe once,tossed the K&N and put in a regular air filter including replacing the mass air flow sensor.
And that’s probably due to improper and poor maintenance for the most part. The design doesn’t lend itself to the average vehicle owner.
@@ThecardoctorTV had too much oil on it
They work great on na engines if you maintain and use them properly....even better than the paper versions in dusty conditions. A stock setup would cause the same codes/issues if the elbow came off the filter box.
Great points. I was having a grumpy pants day.
the owner failed to clean the air filter.
Remove the filter for more HP 😅😅 the dusty air cleans the valves and rings as you drive maybe LOL
Now we are talking brother Steve. Haha.
Been using K&N filters more than 20 years , Never had problems sir... The person who car has issues seem to have basic maintenance as the culprits... With Care ,That Air Filter IS AWESOME, & Much Better Than Paper Filters..
Agreed. My frustration is with the “proper care” part and not really the product itself. Since i run a repair shop i don’t really see the cases you speak of…only the lack of care and maintenance common to average vehicle owners who shouldn’t be modifying their intake system to begin with. I have one on my personal truck and it works great for me. Thanks for watching!
There’s no such thing as cold air intake on a hot summer season no matter what you wanna tell yourself to go to sleep lol
How is that a K&N problem exactly? The cone element fell off the CAI brace so it is an installation and maintenance failure and can occur with any CAI with a cone element. Blaming K&N for improper CAI installation is ridiculous.
I had to blame someone and they were an easy mark. Just kidding. You are correct. Dont buy one unless you can do the maintenance and install properly. Dont see that very often.
@@ThecardoctorTV So why don't you change the title to be accurate instead of falsely blaming K&N. Something like "Why CAI are bad for you"
I've been using K&N drop in air filters for over 35 years and never had a single problem, or any evidence of dust or dirt in my air box/intake systems.
That's a user issue, not k&n''s fault.
I clean mine every fortnight and use a pre filter foam wrapped around it. 3 years and have never had issues or fault codes related.
Also never comes loose as it's removed and reinstalled when its time to clean.
I can appreciate where you're coming from though as most don't maintain anything regularly which is the real issue in my opinion.
Thanks for understanding. I know they aren’t all bad. The frustration is with how they are maintained in general. I don’t typically see cars in my shop owned me people who know what they are doing. And for the majority of my customers I would say they need more simplicity in their lives if you get my drift. Please forgive me. 😀
So every time you play fortnight you clean it?
@@AFatherToTheFatherless that would be funny if I wasn't a full grown adult who thinks gaming is for kids.
@@ryanfp5657 lol well you did say every fortnight you clean it
@@AFatherToTheFatherless thats fair enough mate.
Though fortnight actually means 2 weeks and had nothing to do with a game before it.
I don't know about K&N, but that's an unbelievably dirty air filter. You can't blame K&N for that (or not attaching it to the engine). Moral of the story, be careful buying a used truck.
Just changed the air filter in my 10 year old Camry! I change it every two years, so i have put 5 FRAM air filters in the car for a grand total of about $60.00. If i remember right, I think they wanted about $95.00 Cdn, for a K&N back in 2013, plus you need to buy a cleaning kit for the thing every 2 years, so i saved a bundle not using an K&N
Ihave a drop in K&N ($80). disposable filters are $20.
I drive over 30K miles/year
That means $40/yr in disposables, for 7 years=$280. Or $80 + cleaner/oil ($20)=$100 for the K&N.
I buy K&N for cost savings, not HP.
Here in aus, k&n filter cost 30$ and of all three cars I own the cheapest factory filter is 45$.
It's not a black and white issue depending on where you are.
I know. I was on a rant. I get frustrated with the same customers I’ve been telling to remove them for years and they just keep coming back like this. I bet you need good filtration down there! Thanks for watching my vids.
@@ThecardoctorTV you have been a source of wisdom for a long time so there's little you could do to turn me away aside from maybe telling me to buy an E.V. in australia.
People who don't maintain would benefit from the video as that's what they will get as a result and may save their car or wallet.
I have a similar filter that previous owner has put there. And well looking for an original airfilter container (don't know the english word, swedish here) for my SAAB 9-3 AERO 2000. :)
i always hated those filters....alot of atvs ive come Across have them
idk how people get talked into how great these are ....
R.I.P car doctor
Reports of my demise are grossly exaggerated
I agree...
show the inside of that intake. K&N's dust engine's
Watch project farms video test. I used to believe they were good too and used them in all my vehicles. Maintained them properly. But they are horrible at actually filtering which is the purpose. Not worth the unnoticable performance gain. I switched next day. Need my engine to last not get a couple extra horses I won't even notice
Part of the problem is KN actually says it works better the dirtier it gets if I remember correctly. Not convinced of that lol.
Well then this one was operating at its peak performance levels. Haha.
Good luck 👍
I need it.
PLEASE HELP
I’ve got a 1976 Chevy Itasca RV on a Chevy p20 chasis. After I got a new alternator put it my gages spin crazily, they ALL spin besides the battery gage one I’ve noticed. I’ve gotten it looked at by 2 mechanics and the wiring is fine according to them, they say it’s the cluster panel itself but I struggle to understand that as they were working perfectly fine before the new alternator. Also there’s a green wire, it was connected to something then I discovered it burned off at the end. At this point I’m wanting to just figure out what’s wrong myself, any advice at all? Do you have a platform I can contact you at to show you what I’m talking about ?
Test the charging system for the presence of AC voltage. Maybe a bad diode in the new alt.
Any filter that filthy wouldn’t be good no matter what you have if they cleaned it wouldn’t have a problem
Best filter is the factory one period they are designed for your specific engine.
I'm no pro mechanic like you, but I've never been a fan of K&N air filters. I always refused to pay the higher cost. I maybe don't change mine often enough, but every spring and fall I do change them.
Tim I don't know if you're old enough to remember the old oil bath air filters, but I do. Having to give them a bath, usually in gas, and then adding oil to the filter housing. BOY WHAT A PAIN....I thought the throw aways were a Godsend, no more bull of cleaning.Hated the oil and gas replacement type elements. as well. Spin on and throw away are so much easier and cleaner to work with. Now some of the OEMs have gone back to just the paper elements for oil filters. I don't call that progress. One customer has a K&N on his Tahoe and every time he comes in with driveability problems, I replace it with a OEM style. He takes the K&N with him, cleans it up?? and the next time he's back, there the sob is, installed again. He never learns.
Haha. Yes, I worked as an equipment oiler for a large landscape company and many engines had oil bath air cleaners. What a mess. Needless to say much of the waste ended up on the ground. We have come a long ways but it seems we still come up with bad ideas from time to time.
Hey brother
2014 Chevrolet Silverado V6 my son drove the truck after the flash engine light was flashing for two days and then the truck shut off and he had it towed. I went and checked the truck out and ran a scan on the truck showed P305 and P 300. I found cylinder one and cylinder three coil packs bad so I changed all the plugs and the wires also they were fouled and very dirty and looked to be original. I checked to make sure that I was getting spark and I was. I tried to start the truck and it would just turn over with no start. I checked the mass airflow sensor and sprayed it out with mass airflow sensor cleaner. I also change the camshaft positioning sensor. Still no start. Any ideas
@@Watersedgeministry fuel pressure? Bad pump?
@@ThecardoctorTV no fuel pump working, checked pump pulled plugs again and were wet with fuel.
Thought maybe washed out flooded, going to let dry out a day with plugs out. To see what happens, but I’m really stumped
@@Watersedgeministry flooded, diesel contaminated fuel, compression problem, etc
Well this might be one of the most inaccurate statements I've ever heard considering K&N filters aren't made to save you gas mileage or anything like that their performance air filters for sports cars people think they can put them on their everyday drivers and get better performance not better gas mileage but maintained like that of course they do no good but this is an inaccurate statement that you would put a k&N filter on your car to get better gas mileage because that's not what they're meant for just saying 🤣🤣🤣
I have one on my modified truck and it’s worked well.
Its not the filters fault 😂...omg these people.
First he already said its not even connected...so the installation job was poor and its been running without a filter for who know how long.
Second there are critters living under the hood so Im not even suprised if there are dead rats inside the intake.
LOL...its funny how its obvious whats wrong but then they have to blame the filter 🤣
People have been running these filters for years and have cars at 200,000 or 300,000 miles no problem...its your choice to use it or not LMAO
K&N The non performance filter.
When I bought my '04 Chevy Trailblazer, it had a K&N cold air intake on it. One of the first things I did was tp make a trip tpU-Pull-It and get a factory air box and intake. Pulled that cold air thing off and went back to OEM. The TB runs perfectly!
K&N Air Filters have been run on dirt modifieds since the 60's b/c they can be clogged with dirt and still feed big blocks turning >8000rpm. The reason K&N air filters or any other oil sprayed get a bad name is b/c people install them and think they don't have to clean them which if you took a dry filter & did the same thing it would be clogg ed also. K&N air filters are for certain people that actually clean the filter with K&N cleaner, dry and spray LIGHTLY with K&N oil to allow it to attract dirt to the filter. I ran DIRT modifieds and EVERYONE was running K&N filters for a reason...maintain them & they outflow paper filters. Keep them lightly oiled & clean the MAF sensor & they last forever. I've been running the same K&N air filter since 2006. That filter was ridiculous, and the engine bay reflected how they maintain their vehicle. If they did that to any other filter, you'd get the same results only sooner.
You make a good argument. I am sure you are 100% correct. I just wanted to stir up some stuff. Haha Do you keep the cleaner and oil at your shop and do the service for your customers? I don’t do a lot of oil change/maintenance services and focus on repairs so I haven’t done much of that sort of thing over the years.
PS- I have one on my truck. Haha
@@ThecardoctorTV yes I have 2 cans of each in my flammable storage locker but all my customers except a few run OEM style filters. I'm still recovering from my stem cell transplant but hopefully I'll be back at it in 6 months unless I'm 🦦 🎣
So do you throw away your nasty air purifier filter at home or wash it and clean up the unit? I'm not so quick on blaming the filter. However with all due respect, I know for a fact you are much more knowledgeable than me on this and respect what you say.
No, I’m just an angry hasbeen mechanic. Maintenance is obviously the issue here. If people took as good of care of their K&N as I take care of my body then everything would be fine. Haha
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@@ThecardoctorTV Thanks for your reply Tim. Could you please let me know what cars you own currently? Maybe we do have some other great items that fit with your cars. If not ,I totally understand~ Thank you so much
Like Eric says "aftermarket crap". But if you keep it clean then all is well.
Just say no to posting clickbait videos
🤣🤣🤣
The idiot that owns the vehicle obviously hasn't cleaned the filter as prescribed by the manufacturer. That's the way to optimize it's operation, thus increasing its effectiveness and reusability! Come on man ! You must know this !
No idea why someone with a newer vehicle would dismantle an enclosed "cold air intake" designed by engineers and replace it with something that sucks hot air from under the hood 🥴 my 2018 Silverado as most new vehicles do , have a nice air intake set up.