I know what you ppl are thinking, but no, I didn't do it on purpose. Took my car to Tires Plus about 1500 mi. ago to get an alignment. They took a while, but I didn't notice them open the hood or anything at the time. Anyway, I open up the hood today and notice that my K&N filter (Berk intake) was pulled off and just sitting there in the engine bay. I'm pretty sure it's them b/c the filter was clamped on tight and there's no way it just slides off like that. Plus, they stuck on a "Tires Plus Coupon" sticker on the battery that wasn't there before I went.

So, considering I drove around in all kinds of weather for 1500 mi. w/o any air filter, how much damage could have been done to the engine? Is there anything I should do in terms of maintenance now that I know about this? I was pretty shocked to see no filter on there like that. F Tires Plus..

 

If someone did that to my car I would be seriously pissed off, I would give them a good scare just for the fun of it. You know, get a friend to act like a lawyer and start barking criminal charges at them (DON'T REALLY DO THIS, ONLY I WOULD ATTEMPT SOMETHING THAT STUPID). Secondly, check for damage or unnecessary wear on the intake parts. If you find any go find a real lawyer, if you can't afford one(I'm not saying you can't) just take them to court yourself. You should be able to handle a small matter such as this yourself. (Don't go to court unless you find a big problem)

 

Oh yeah, don't take off the sticker (evidence).

 

hmm...sounds awfully suspicious as to why they would go under the hood.....It might be worth while to go back to the shop and question them about this, at least you do have a sticker to prove they were there. I agree with AcerX, keep it out of court if there isn't a major issue, you should be able to speak with the acting Manager to plead your case, and hopefully get some sort of compensation



<------ **even Newbs have an opinion**

 

Something about this doesn't sound right. The filter was cone type right? Didn't it make any knocking noises or anything if it was just sitting in the engine bay not clamped to anything? Why would they remove it and put a sticker on the battery. If I were you I'd go to the shop and tell the manager the same exact story you told us.

 

It was a cone filter and I did hear some faint rattling noises but I didn't think much of it b/c over bumps my exhaust rattles too from hitting the cross member. The sticker was some $5 coupon for buying a battery from them. I have no clue why they would remove it but I've heard some stories of places like TP and Firestone messing w/one thing while fixing another. Who knows, I'm just p!ssed. I guess I'll talk w/the mgr this wk when I get a chance. Just was wondering what kind of damage such a thing does, there was some fairly big particles stuck against the MAF screen.

 

And if they try to pull some bullcrap about you putting that sticker on yourself just show them your receipt and say one word...fingerprints. Oh yeah, don't touch the intake(front of) or the sticker.

FYI: Not sure if the fingerprints would actually still be there.The only reason I'm stating these extreme situations is if something major does come up.

 

So, 1500 mile intervals between oil level checks, or just blind luck that you opened the hood?

If you checked your oil on a regular basis, you would have found out sooner.

 

isnt it true that driving around with no air intake means there can be crap (dust, bit of other crap) that can enter your engine bay?

AcerX is CSI material

 

Check weekly: oil, brake fluid, coolant level, power steering fluid, and tire pressure(I do that every two weeks)

Also check transmission fluid about every 2 to 3 weeks.

 

There is a MAF screen but it looks very fragile. So if a small rock or bug were to hit it moving fast it would more than likely break through.

 

Just put it back on. Driving w/o it for a few miles won't do anything.

 

There was a thread on altimas.net recently that stated a similar situation, basically he bought the car and didn't know how long the fitler had been out, BTW it was the stock fitler, not aftermarket cone, so harder to spot. that sucks.

 

One thousand five-hundred miles is not a few. 15 miles is a few.

 

What are his choices? And who drives 1500 miles w/o opening their hood ONCE? Don't people check their oil level anymore?

 

how often do you check under your hood? miles wise......

 

With our old cars? Every time I gas up, I check the oil and take a quick look. So every 340-ish.

 

gotcha, i should do that more often, i just get lazy or its too cold out. day after i got my oil changed, found 5 caps under the hood......

 

Five??? Its only supposed to be filled up with 4 caps worth.

 

The fifth is from the .25 qt in 4.25 qts. on the VQ30. Just to the top of the lines on the dipstick. I check mine every weekend, so around 200 miles.

 

My bad, I was just afraid that you meant someone did it for you and poured all five quarts in the oil pan.

 

actually, 4 were from the oil, one was from the windshield washer fluid, it was a bigger white cap atleast. so yes 5.

 

I stand corrected....

 

i sit when i type, but thats just me.....hehe jk

 

I do. Hell, my last three cars have all run flawlessly for 120k+, and I typically haven't touched the cars between normal maintenance (except tires, tend to be a little more obsessive about tire pressure). Note though, that I have maintenance done inside the usual mileage recommendations (e.g. oil change every 3k). And I WATCH whenever maintenance is done, to make sure it's done correctly.

Guess it's whatever habits you have - I had a trashed pickup in high school that I had to monitor and maintain constantly, since then haven't been much into DIY car stuff. I'll do the brakes, filters and maybe plugs, but that's about it.

 

Went to the place, mgr denied it saying the heat must have caused it to slip off. ?'ed him about the sticker, he claimed they do put those stickers on but none of his guys would actually attempt to ruin someone's car intentionally by pulling off a filter like that. Offered me a free oil change the next time I come and that was about it. As expected.

Obviously I put the filter back on the min I saw it was off. I don't check my oil regularly, but do get it changed every 3k religiously. I opened the hood today to try and figure out why my DDE's weren't working [again].

NmexMAX, so did the Alti guy experience any major problems?

Btw. thanks for the suggestions, will make sure to be a bit more diligent abt this kinda stuff for my car's sake.