nelson83099

Ok so i just bought my Z two weeks ago. I bought it used from a dealer and it came with the AEM CAI. well yesterday it was raining pretty good and i was driving my car down the highway and it started bogging down and then all of a sudden wouldn't go over 2500 rpm's. So i was able to get it to the dealer for service. They jsut called me and said that the airflow sensor went bad b/c water got sucked up in the intake. And it is not covered under the $1500 warranty i purchased with the car. They said being it is an aftermarket intake nissan will not cover it. I said that it was on the car when i bought it from them but they said it doesn't matter. So this fix is costing me about $600. Do i have any argument to get this covered under warranty?

DavesZ#3

iTrader: (26)

Nope, absolutely none. Warranty only covers OEM parts, not aftermarket.

The primary risk of a CAI is water ingestion. You're lucky the problem wasn't that serious.

nelson83099

I didn't think i had a chance but i was looking for a loop hole or something lol. CAI is coming off when i get the car back... So frustrating.

dynamic21

I had this problem. After hours of driving in the rain with the AEM CAI the engine won't rev past 2500 rpm's and you're in deep sh*t if you're on the freeway. It happened to me on the 55 here in So-Cal lol. I pulled over at a Coco's, waited 5 minutes, re-started and everything was fine. I just make sure not to drive in the rain for long hours.

rockinbboy

iTrader: (1)

Well if the intake came with the car when you purchased it at the dealer, and if you purchased the warranty - shouldn't it cover whatever the fix?

I see the OEM parts only coverage issue, but if the car came like that already from the dealer....

I feel like there should be some coverage. I mean come on..2 weeks after purchase from dealer and car goes into limp mode due to rain? Nobody will want to park their car just cause there is some water you can't drive through.

TJGILROY

iTrader: (6)

QUICK HINT....advanced or autozone sells MAF sensors and you can put them in 5 minutes for half that price....stealership will get you everytime.

AdvanZed

QUICK HINT... Junkyard! And pocket it. Free? lol just kidding but really call a yard.

Entaille

iTrader: (16)

1500$ warranty eh .. tell them you'd like to cancel the warranty since it isn't covering the car worth a damn anyways, since they sold it to you with that CAI on there. they will refund the unused portion so you should be getting the majority of it back. you don't have to go through with it, just a tactic to try if you want them to own up to it.

agreed with what TJ said as well .. don't let the dealership take your money.

TJGILROY

iTrader: (6)

dude, what the hell is the use of the warranty if it doesn't even cover what parts they sold to you....if they sold you the car with the damn CAI on it, that should be under their warranty....

lesson learned on extended warranties and dealerships though...not worth it...i bet all they are going to do to is put MAF cleaner on that sensor and say they put a new one in, that way they can pocket all the money and earn stealership points.....lol

KornerCarver

iTrader: (2)

I look at this situation a little differently. Everyone knows, or should know, that a major problem with cold air intakes is water ingestion. Driving in heavy rain with a CAI is a no-no. I don't see how the dealer would be responsible for this repair just because the CAI was on the car when it was purchased.
The owner should take the same precautions when driving whether they installed the CAI or it was on the car at the time of purchase. I think they could almost claim abuse as the reason to deny warranty coverage.

nelson83099

Thanks for all the input. I got my car back and its runs good. $491 later though.. It's just aggravating being I had the car for only two weeks and I'm already having to fix something. (They were nice enough to take 10% of the original cost) Granted I am to blame to an extent. Buit tomorrow i will be changing out the Intake Lesson learned
What will brighten up my day is when i get home i see a couple of packages from UPS

TJGILROY

iTrader: (6)

^^ to each his own....they should have just put a stock airbox in before they sold it...
op...is it the short ram airtake or the one that slots behind the bumper because i could see where that would pose a problem in heavy rain...

oh yeah and never ever take your car to a dealership when out of warranty, they are there for the money and more money and that's all...

mD2MHK

iTrader: (5)

BRO, DO NOT LET THIS GO! you purchased a USED car with additional warranty rendered from the dealership, NOT NISSAN! The dealership sold you and agreed to warranty your vehicle with its existing parts whether it is oem or not. same goes for CAIs and even (for example) shotty sunroofs that they install themselves and MUST warranty. please go back and fight!

KornerCarver

iTrader: (2)

I suspect that if the cold air intake itself had been defective, the dealer would probably have fixed it. The problem is the Z was driven in hard rain and ingested water. I don't know of any warranties that cover that kind of damage, not even the manufacturer of the cold air intake. Water ingestion is very common with the low down cold air intakes.

TJGILROY

iTrader: (6)

short ram!!!!!!!!! go short ram!!!!!!! LOL

davidv

iTrader: (2)

Sorry no.

ALO8

iTrader: (5)

dealers usually sell cars with aftermarket parts for less because they know it drops the value of the car. Situations like this is the reason. Dealer can't offer warranty damage due to aftermarket parts so it turns away a lot of customers

davidv

iTrader: (2)

I understand the frustration. Some of us have been here since christ was a corporal. We are aware of potential long (filter under the front bumper) intake problems.

meatwad321

iTrader: (1)

next time why dont you buy The AEM Air Bypass Valve
. they come with a 1 year warrenty thats what i have on mine and i have no problem yet...and it rains a lot in florida

daybluz

I do believe you have a case, you payed for an extended warranty, you are no mechanic, you do not know what a CAI is(what the hell do they think the average consumer should know?) If you bought a new 350z you could drive it in heavy rain, you didn't know a CAI was installed and hydro lock or bad sensors could occur on a car that supposedly has a damn warranty. This makes me angry and it doesn't even affect me. Go in there and tell them you reviewed this with your lawyer and are willing to go the distance. Did they tell you it was inspected and all was fine?(I would hope they did if they are selling an extended warranty) This just $h1ts on my d1(k and i cant stand crooked places trying to boost numbers of having quality service.

/rant(the hatred continues though)