K&N Cold Air problems

I installed a K&N cold air intake on my V6 Tacoma earlier this week and I regret it. Hopefully not everyone has or will run into the same issues I did.

The instructions aren't the best in the world but they aren't the worst. If you have experience working on vehicles it isn't too hard to figure everything out and getting the parts you need to keep relocated.

There were two main issues I ran into on the install, the first being the relocation of the secondary air pump. If you follow the instructions and use the mounting points they give you the harness for the pump won't reach where it needs to be plugged in at. The only existing holes I was able to use put the breather for the pump directly above the power steering fill cap, which makes adding fluid impossible without unbolting the air pump. It's a pain in the a** but I was willing to deal with that.

The second issue came with the MAF. After doing some reading I have found I am not the only one that had this issue. However the MAf issue isn't unique to the Tacoma, it's spans various platforms, but it is sporadic in choosing it's victims. I was just one of those lucky ones. After trying to relearn the idle, replacing the old MAF sensor with a new one, and checking for vacuum leaks the truck still wouldn't run. The motor sounded like it was starving for air, I unplugged the MAF and the truck would start and run but was in "limp mode."

So in the end I ended up installing the factory air box and ditching the K&N, I'm not saying this is a universal issue but I figured I'd share my experience with you all and see if anyone else has run into this issue. Good luck!

 

A lot of users here avoid K&N like the plague. Watch for the oil on the filter getting on the MAF. I've personally got a K&N drop in filter and haven't had any issues with mine. I also check and clean my MAF though. That may have been your issue. I wouldn't think so though since it happened rather quickly after you put it on unless your MAF was already dirty and the filter just finished it off.

 

I thought of that and that's why I tried the new MAF, but after that didn't work and I put it back to stock, I installed the old MAF and everything worked perfectly.