cheesehead

I purchased a 2002 Max SE 6 speed about a month ago and now have about 1500 miles on it. As my first upgrade, I dropped in a K&N air filter the other day and that same day about 3 or 4 short drives later (20 or 30 miles) the "Service Engine Soon" light came on. I referenced the owners manual which vaguely says that that light has something to do with the emission system and that it is not an emergency until it starts flashing. I also looked on the K&N website and found a couple of remarks in the FAQ section which stated that the emission system may show that there is a malfunction due to the increased airflow, but that the OEM computer should reset itself or, if it doesn't, to disconnect the battery for 15 minutes which should reset the computer. Well, the computer hasn't reset itself and I disconnected the battery for 15 minutes, drove the car for more than "a few trips" as the manual suggests and the light is still on . (Coincidently, before you decide to disconnect the battery, remember that EVERYTHING that relies on memory in the car will reset itself, seats, stereo, garage door opener, clock of course, etc. etc. - kind of annoying.) Assuming that this is being caused by the K&N air filter, I reinstalled the factory filter and started the engine but with no luck. Has anyone else experienced this same problem? If so, what caused it and what did you have to do to remedy it?

y2kse

iTrader: (1)

It's possible (although unlikely) that oil from the K&N filter coated your MAF sensor. But your solution is amazingly simple. Just put the factory filter back in and take your car to your dealer. If it turns out that oil on the MAF sensor is the problem, plead ignorance. And please let us know if that, in fact, turns out to be the problem.

lcf

iTrader: (6)

isnt that lying?

y2kse

iTrader: (1)

The short answer is, "YES".

cheesehead

Thanks for your reply. I am considering that, but I was hoping that it was possible to fix it without having to visit the dealership. I've had some service done at the dealership already (well, supposed to have some work done, they ordered the wrong parts ) and it was such a pain as they required the car to be left there the entire day. It seems that, unlike every other dealership I've dealt with, they couldn't specify a block of time less than an entire day in which they would be able to get to the car.

y2kse

iTrader: (1)

I wouldn't mess with it, cheesehead. That's why you have a warranty.

luniz97

i got no mods and took it into the dealer they couldn't figure it out

02MaximaSE

Take it right back to the dealer, BTW, You dont even have to remove the K&N filter , The dealer cannot void your warranty for a "drop in" filter, it clearly states that its a direct replacement for your air filter, they cannot void the warranty because of that, if they could, then that means they can void your warranty for putting in non OEM Gasoline !! or a NON OEM oil filter! The air filter is a regularly replaced item, its not like you replaced the whole air intake system. It should state on the K&N box or agreement papers that it doesnt void manufacturer warranties.

y2kse

iTrader: (1)

Ordinarily I'd agree with you, 02MaximaSE. But why run the risk of a hassle at the dealership when replacing the K&N filter with the OEM filter takes all of two minutes? I mean, you know what I mean?

02MaximaSE

yeah i know heh. the dealer will also find some say to screw us up like them saying my k&n messed up my cd player? heh

hittingthewall

y2kse

iTrader: (1)

Well you finally posted something, hittingthewall. But unless the only thing you meant to post was my reply, you didn't say anything.

Go back to your post, click on the Edit/Delete Message button, and try again.

SR20DEN

iTrader: (7)

It very well could be oil on the MAF. I already killed one with an over oiled K&N cone filter (2k2 Max). The unit was about $500 but it was covered under waranty. All I did was put the stock airbox back on and they ordered the part. I didn't lie to them and they didn't ask. I merely stated that the car wasn't running and I believed the MAF had gone south.

By the way, if you only install a panel filter on a 2k2 Max you should expect a 0 hp gain. Speaking from dyno experience.

hittingthewall

Sorry, I was going to reply, changed my mind and hit the wrong button. I then tried to delete but got an error board. What I was going to say was that if you want to build a relationship with the people that you want to take care of your car wouldn't it be better to tell them exactly what might have caused the problem rather than trying to hide any possible cause? I see a lot of people complaining about the quality of service but nobody says anything about the customers who have no qualms about trying to deceive service departments. If dropping in an aftermarket air filter is going to have no effect on the warranty, why not just leave it in?

SR20DEN

iTrader: (7)

If a mod you installed caused the problem then you are responsible. Not everyone has a service department that would be so nice as to fix such a problem under warranty. I don't think any of us should decieve anyone, but if I cause a problem and they don't ask I certianly don't have to tell.

irvine78

iTrader: (2)

this may not even have anything to do with your K&N filter...yes, it could be the oil from your filter, but also could be due to something else(like a catalytic converter like on my car...)...bring it back to the dealership...if a dealership service my car without any problems, your car should be a piece of cake..

sascuderi

All us K&N people would like to know if the problem is the filter

jcphamer

Cheesehead,

Speaking by experience, the EXACT same thing happen to me.... your car right now is in LImp Mode =(very sluggish)... It is due to a defective or not well made MAF.... you need to take your car back to the dealer and they will replace it... however, it will not take a day... it will take a couple of days... more like a week... trust me ... the MAF is back order.... i just got my car back a two days ago....

For me... i dont do no more mods on OBDII cars... it is not worth it... especially your car is fast enough on a stock engine... dont screw it up....

y2kse

iTrader: (1)

Hmmmm. Are you sure you landed in the right forum, jcphamer?

CoolChuck

My light came on 3 days ago. I have a 2K SE and it hit 62,300 exactly when the light came on. No engine mods. Performance is still normal. What should I check to make the light go off before I take it to the dealer and get screwed?

MaxiG

I recently installed a K&N air filter, and the same problem had erupted. I took it to the dealership (whats funny is that the light when off when i was about a mile away from it....just to make me look stupid...they checked it anyway) and it had somethin to do with the catalytic converter.....i think the light is just sayin "wait a sec, theres a difference in air flow comin through here,this cant be...nooooooooooo", but the dealership fixed it up just fine....i forgot what they did,but it took em 4 hours,i almost missed my final.

cheesehead

CoolChuck, In the process of trying to fix my problem I came across a way to do a self diagnosis by messing with the ECU at the following site:

ECU fault code diagnosis
How to get the code:
http://vbxmaxima.8m.com/ecu.html

What the code means:
http://vbxmaxima.8m.com/ecudecoder.html

This, however, did not apply to my 2K2 as the computer appears to be different after inspection. This may be the case with your 2K as well since it's also a 5th generation. If this doesn't work, I've also read to disconnect the negative terminal on the battery for a few hours. I've done all of these things as well as tightening down the gas cap until I nearly twisted it off and disconnecting the battery entirely for 15 minutes as the manual suggests with no luck. In your case, unless you can do the ECU self-diagnosis, I would take it in to the dealer, especially if you are warrantied, as your light didn't coincide with anything you did to the car and may indicate an actual problem.

TellschMax02

iTrader: (2)

Disconnecting your battery does NOT erase your home-link settings. It does reset sunroof, seats, stereo, etc.

Also, I had an over-oiled K&N filter and the SES light did NOT come on. The car just ran poorly and died out. Actually, after the dealer cleaned the MAFS (removed K&N oil from sensor), it ran perfectly...

Don't even bother with it. Take it into the dealer and be done with it...save yourself some headaches. Also, put your stock air filter back in too.

Brian

[maxi-overdose]

iTrader: (3)

u can tell if ur K&N is overoiled just by looking at the clean side of ur airbox...if it does, u will find oil deposit there. Disconnecting the battery doesnt reset the ECU, ECU is reset after the car is turned on 50 times.

cheesehead

As hopefully the final word on this subject and to follow-up as many requested, I finally took my 2k2 SE in to the dealer with the K&N left in and was told that there were multiple faults, three for the fuel evaporative system and one for the MAF sensor, none of which were hard faults. The MAF sensor fault I suspect is from when I disconnected it while blindly trying to find the problem myself, not from the K&N. The original cause most likely is the fuel cap not being properly tightened however, according to the manual, the light should go out shortly after it is tightened properly, which makes me wonder why it didn't happen in this case. So, end result, nothing is wrong with the car, the K&N didn't do any harm to the car, and I'm leaving it in. But I'm not going to do any mods to the engine as the car is plenty powerful as is for normal highway driving, its weakness is in its handling which is easy to improve and doesn't involve the car's computer in any way (at least I hope not). Plus I have to fight my wife to do anything to the car and it doesn't help when the check engine light comes on after only dropping in a different air filter.

asu174

iTrader: (11)

lol...that's funny as hell.

02MaximaSE

Glad to hear there was no serious problems. Our computer's on board are very sensitive, I hope my CEL doesnt come on again either.