metal wire found in new K&N filter. WARNING

XRX · 04-03-2006, 12:58 PM

A warning about loose metal in K&N air filters.

I just bought a new K&N air filter for my 6 month old car. I opened the K&N box and pulled out the filter still in it's sealed bag, I opened the bag and had a look at the new filter. I found a piece of metal wire on the engine side of the filter! The piece of wire is the same as used in the construction of the filter and about one inch (2.5cm) long!

I would hate to image what this would have done to my engine had I just installed the filter without looking at it!

I sent an email with a photo of the wire to Rocket Industries who import the filters into Australia, and also to K&N in the US.

The response I got from Rocket Industries was;
"There is no way that that piece of wire has come loose from the filter. It is a scrap off cut from the manufacturing process. As long as there are no more loose pieces of wire on the filter then the filter would be 100% serviceable. Though if you "have no confidence in the filter" then send it back to the store you purchased it from and get a refund."

My reaction to this is, ah well it's just a piece of scrap, must be alright then!

The response I got from K&N was;
"Thank you for your interest in K&N products. I apologize for the metal in your filter. While we do have an extensive quality control procedure in place, mistakes can happen."

My reaction to this is, ah well mistakes can happen, guess I'll just rebuild my engine for something to do!

I am, extremely disappointed in their responses, considering what a large company K&N is and their reputation.

**Polyal** · 04-03-2006, 01:01 PM

ah their position is completely understandable....

you dont make mistakes?

stuff happens, but dont expect them to give you some compensation.

**Polyal** · 04-03-2006, 01:02 PM

and after re-reading your post, you found it before anything happened anyway.

So perhaps your warning should be, check the filter before installing and driving. Which would make sense anyway.

MoreHPformyXR6 · 04-03-2006, 01:04 PM

I found the same thing a piece of wire about a inch or so long b4 i fitted to my car about 4 months old just removed it & im very happy with the filter.

svo347 · 04-03-2006, 01:04 PM

Same thing with genuine oil filters, run your finger around the threaded neck, you'll be surprised at the bits of tiny swarf that you pick up from the thread when it was cut

XRX · 04-03-2006, 01:09 PM

I guess I'm most disapointed in K&N's and Rocket Industries responses, I would have thought that they would be interested in any quality issues with their products. I thought they might ask for a bit more detail from me in regards to when and where I purchased the filter from and any batch number so that they could track down any manufacturing issues.

LUXO_8 · 04-03-2006, 01:06 PM

you should always, i mean ALWAYS, inspect new parts before fitting them.....
its careless if you dont.

as mentioned you saw it, removed it, fitted the filter to your car..... this means you had full confidence in the filter.........but then you sent emails off to people.....

**Polyal** · 04-03-2006, 01:11 PM

mate I understand that you were upset....but dont forget how many of these things they make, its certainly not done by hand.

Show me one mass produced product that has a perfect record?

LUXO_8 · 04-03-2006, 01:11 PM

from memory there was a little bit in the box of my filter too.......perhaps its spare so you can repair any damaged segments

XRX · 04-03-2006, 01:20 PM

It's a bit disappointing when spent cash on something for your car that you think might be a benefit, but then you realise it could have totally F'ed your engine. And the importer and manufacturer don't give a toss! It's not like I bought some dodgy $5 Chinese piece of junk, I bought a well known brand, I though they might have been a bit more interesret in their product, and no I'm not after any compensation.

WILDTRAKPX2 · 04-03-2006, 01:37 PM

Interesting... http://www.ls1.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=51592

LUXO_8 · 04-03-2006, 01:44 PM

word for word....

Whitey-AMG · 04-03-2006, 01:58 PM

Similar thing happened to me with a set of EAGLE plug leads. There was some exposed wiring from the internal spiral wire casing beneath the silicone jacket. The exposed wire protruded just before the plug side boot. I saw spark jump from this wire one evening when it was dark and I was fiddling under the bonnet !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Crapped myself. Removed the lead took it back and had it replaced.
Eventually got rid of the whole set and purchased the Magnecor 8.8 race series.

I guess anything that is mass manufactured is bound to have some sort of defect rate. It's just bad luck when you're one of the few percent that ends up drawing the short straw............. :nutsycuck

SSBUB · 04-03-2006, 01:59 PM

yeah its in ls1.com aswell...and i will respond the same...some oil elements are nasty lil buggers and i question if they give any peformance increase...i once asked a chick in Repco and she rekon she put one on her VT and gained 5rwkw....bwwahahahahaha

XRX · 04-03-2006, 10:26 PM

I make no appologies for starting the same thread in multiple forums.

I came across a part that had the potential to wreck my engine so I thought I would let others know to possibly prevent someone wrecking their engine.

I must have misunderstood the forum concept, I always thought it was to share info, good or bad.

philstoj · 04-03-2006, 10:40 PM

Maybe you shouldve taken rocket's advice and got your money back....
Obviously you arent happy with it.
Whenever you buy anything your best to check it out before use.
I have K&N filters in both vehicles and have had no probs what so ever.

FalKeen · 04-03-2006, 10:41 PM

XRX, just wondering what else you expected from the supplier and manufacturer? The manufacturer would be making them by the thousands and the supplier has offered a full refund for the product if you were not happy with it.

It is expected of anyone to clean anything visible off a part before fitting it surely?!

XRX · 04-03-2006, 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FalKeen

XRX, just wondering what else you expected from the supplier and manufacturer? The manufacturer would be making them by the thousands and the supplier has offered a full refund for the product if you were not happy with it.

It is expected of anyone to clean anything visible off a part before fitting it surely?!

I thought that the supplier and manufacturer might actually be interested in a part that slipped through their quality assurance, I thought they might actually try and prevent it from happening again. Isn't that part of a good QA system, to take customer feedback?

The filter was in a sealed bag, so you would assume it is clean and ready to fit, thats what the instructions say "ready to fit". The piece of wire was inside one of the filter pleats, I used a portable 60W light to look at the filter. I would not have found it if I just had a quick look at it.

Pedro · 05-03-2006, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XRX

I thought that the supplier and manufacturer might actually be interested in a part that slipped through their quality assurance, I thought they might actually try and prevent it from happening again. Isn't that part of a good QA system, to take customer feedback?

I'm 100% with you XRX, and am surprised at the attitude of some Forum members. Having been a manufacturer and wholesaler myself, I am surprised at K&N's rather casual attitude in their response. If I was the manufacturer/distributor I'd be vert gratefull you reported the problem and say so in my response.

phat_stak_tipa · 05-03-2006, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SSBUB

yeah its in ls1.com aswell...and i will respond the same...some oil elements are nasty lil buggers and i question if they give any peformance increase...i once asked a chick in Repco and she rekon she put one on her VT and gained 5rwkw....bwwahahahahaha

yeah thats common knowledge SSBUB didnt u know that when u put a fake clubsport kit and hsv sticker and a filter on a stock v6 that u actually increase the engine performance up to that of a GEN3........

Josh_XC · 04-03-2006, 10:40 PM

eh, so its just like any product really, they all come off a production line so there will be a percentage of faulty products everything has a quality control percentage so eh, no big suprise here.

XRX · 04-03-2006, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Josh_XC

eh, so its just like any product really, they all come off a production line so there will be a percentage of faulty products everything has a quality control percentage so eh, no big suprise here.

Well I was very suprised! considering it was in a sealed bag!

Next time you find a ИИИИroach in your BigMac, just think "eh, so its just like any product really, they all come off a production line so there will be a percentage of faulty products everything has a quality control percentage so eh, no big suprise here"

LUXO_8 · 04-03-2006, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XRX

Well I was very suprised! considering it was in a sealed bag!

Next time you find a ИИИИroach in your BigMac, just think "eh, so its just like any product really, they all come off a production line so there will be a percentage of faulty products everything has a quality control percentage so eh, no big suprise here"

in that case you'd give it back and they'd either give you a refund, or give you a new item...

thats EXACTLY WHAT YOU WERE OFFERED by the speedshop..... is it not

XRX · 04-03-2006, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MADNC_8

in that case you'd give it back and they'd either give you a refund, or give you a new item...

thats EXACTLY WHAT YOU WERE OFFERED by the speedshop..... is it not

So you would'nt tell anyone about it ?

Sorry for letting you know what I found.

Josh_XC · 05-03-2006, 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XRX

Well I was very suprised! considering it was in a sealed bag!

Next time you find a ИИИИroach in your BigMac, just think "eh, so its just like any product really, they all come off a production line so there will be a percentage of faulty products everything has a quality control percentage so eh, no big suprise here"

hahaha not the best example there lol, that wouldnt suprise me at all from maccas lol.

LUXO_8 · 04-03-2006, 10:53 PM

how do you know they arent doing something about it, sorry but what do you want them to do exactly.... make an ad in the paper saying....hey, XRX told us about this so we're going to stop producing our filters untill we've fixed whatever problem there is.

you've let them know, there isnt much more that you can do, and they offered you a refund. there isnt much more they can do....

MoreHPformyXR6 · 04-03-2006, 10:58 PM

My spin on it is that if u felt so strongly about it as u do, by continuing to post. You would take a full refund as offered.

XRX · 04-03-2006, 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MoreHPformyXR6

My spin on it is that if u felt so strongly about it as u do, by continuing to post. You would take a full refund as offered.

Sorry but I am amazed that people are having a go at me for posting what I found.

Do I want peoples sympathy? NO.
Would I like to let others know so that they don't F their engine? YES.

LUXO_8 · 04-03-2006, 11:07 PM

ok, you wanted to let us know about it thats good

most of the people on this site would have inspected the part before fitting anyhow.

but thanks anyway

JADED6 · 05-03-2006, 02:11 AM

Big macs are handmade. They're not assembled by robots on a production line/conveyor in a factory. (does this mean you wont find wire or a ИИИИroach? NO) but you cant use that as an example.

As for the responses you received from rocket & K&N, they seem quite good to me. They didn't blow you off and most importantly they actually bothered to reply to your email and didn't just think, "you've already spent your money who cares" like a lot of places.
Thanks for sharing, no one is having a go at you for the fact you told us about this.
PS- I doubt the bit of wire would have buggered your engine.
If I decide to leave my free wire there I'm sure if wont get past the MAF.