Well, after Steve Gibson's post here on 1/19 that "We will work with each Typhoon owner directly---" to solve the design problems with this intake system for the Fit, I would love to tell you all how they have worked directly with me to solve anything. Can't. Because they haven't. Not a word from either Mr.Gibson, or K & N's Business Manager, James Yim.

I promised to post info. about any developments, and I had to develop another fix for my intake. The heat shield box rests directly on the radiator cap, making it impossible to remove the cap. Engine movement and vibration will cause the paint on the heat shield and the chrome plate on the radiator cap to wear away causing corrosion to both, and some day I will need to change the radiator coolant, so will need to remove the cap.

To fix this built-in problem with the K & N system, I cut a "window" in the left front corner that joins two sides of the K & N heat shield, directly behind the radiator cap. This is a slot that is 1/2" tall, extending 1 1/4" horizontally across the front side of the heat shield, and extending 3/4" across the other side that faces the engine. This provides clearance for the "ears" of the radiator cap to pass through the slot as it is turned and removed.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot- the right upper corner of the heat shield was cutting my under-hood insulator just like it did for 4dr4life!. So I bent the upper right corner of the shield to provide clearance.

I assume that the warnings in this thread have been clear enough so that none of you need photos to see how to do this new "fix" yourselves, because you did not buy this problem. Will post anything new if it happens.

 

Don't get carried away- we've seen only words, not actions.

 

As manxman said we are waiting patiently for a fix for this kit. No word back from the rep I keep in contact with, maybe there just having a hard time locating a FIT to bring back in . I switch back to using my stock air box w/K&N drop in till they get back to me/us. I will post any information that I get from James.

 

*Update*

Sorry for not posting this sooner but I got word from James over at K&N:

"Thanks for keeping in touch.
We have brought in 1 Fit for the past 2 weeks. What we found is that the issues encountered are all true…but…

Our original Prototype Master Tube, Heat Shield and brackets all fit perfect, and fit the car as intended, with no hood clearance issue, radiator cap, and tube issues.

What we discovered is that the problem lies in the Production parts and their build tolerances. Most parts still in inventory were off a bit, causing the kit to fit extremely poorly, and forcing the heat shield forward, causing the radiator cap to hit at ¼ turn. When you have one part made slightly off, the other parts are designed to counter it with slots for adjustment. But when 2-4 components are made slightly off, it will cause the entire kit to fit inaccurately, as it did on our production versions. We have since removed all current inventory, and rebuilding all parts within the Original Prototype Master. New Cut Fixtures had to be made to secure the correct tolerances. Anyone having these issues, should contact K&N’s customer service for revised parts…although I don’t expect new production components to be available until at least 2+ weeks from now.

Funny, if you were to bring in your car, and have us install a production “boxed” kit,” we would of caught this issue…it is unfortunate, for a launch of a new product to have these issues, but certain applications, don’t leave too much room for adjustments. We do check our parts, that is called First Article Production, where production builds 3 QTY of everything to fit, before the Mass Production Run is made, and we did fitcheck the 3 first article kits. As for the kit itself, we still stand behind it and its’ design and the knowledge we have learn from over 15 years of intake kit design, that it is one of the best intakes available for the kit.

Thank you for your continued support. Please check back within 2 weeks for your new tube.
James "

 

4dr-

Thanks VERY much for the update- this is very good news for K & N, because they have admitted their mistake and are in the process of fixing it. Interesting, in a negative way, is the fact that they casually mentioned this only to you but not to this newsgroup. Over 900 views of this thread have cost this company not only sales for Fits, but shifted attention to their competitors regarding quality and ease of installation and service.

Equally interesting, at least to me, is the fact that my letter to James Yim has gone completely unacknowledged and unanswered. Yes, I intentionally beat them up in my warning to our members, with good reason. It saved at least a couple of guys from making the wrong purchase just in time. Maybe 900 or so of them.

Trust me, my letter to Mr. Yim was written politely, with respect, with engineering accuracy, and in a spirit of helping to avoid further harm to their own reputation. I did not demand my money back or make threats of any kind.

Mr. Yim's comments contained in your post validate every point that I made in this long thread. It's really STRANGE that now I need to ASK them for the new, properly made, parts that I thought I had originally ordered and paid for. The phrase "shooting yourself in the foot" comes to mind here. To me, K & N is running out of feet to shoot.

Again, thanks for the post 4dr4life!

Dave

 

I waited the suggested two weeks after 4dr4life! posted his letter from James Yim at K & N promising parts to solve the problems with this intake system. To request the promised parts, I sent a faxed letter to Steve Gibson on 2/21/07.

Steve replied via Email that James Yim, Typhoon Systems Business Manager, has been transfered to some other position. The promised parts are not yet available. He had no prediction as to when the manufacturing problems in the Honda Fit Short Ram Intake system will be fixed, nor when I could expect a replacement for my defective intake system.

I promised Steve that, when I receive a new Typhoon intake system that is easy to install with clear, accurate instructions, and works as advertised, I will ask our moderator to close this long, negative thread because it would serve no further purpose. I will then start a new thread with a DIY installation of the new system.

Steve said that I was the only person to ask for the replacement parts, which probably means that I am the only person, besides 4dr4life!, who has bought this system and its problems. If so, that's a GOOD thing, and it the reason why I started this thread. Will advise this group when there is a change.

Dave

 

Steve Gibson:

It is now well over 60 days since you promised on this forum to "work with each Typhoon owner directly" to remedy the manufacturing problems with the product that we purchased, and guaranteed that "owners of this system would not be left with non-functioning" systems.

So far, not one single action has been taken by you or your company to fulfill these promises.

In order to get what I paid you for, do I need to bring in the help of the California Dept. of Consumer Affairs, the Better Business Bureau, or a law suit for fraud and false advertising? Letting a judge merely read this thread would make my case.

What are you going to do about this and when are you going to do it?

In addition to myself,over 1300 viewers of this thread would like to know the answer.
Wow! 1434 now, and still climbing, Steve.

 

Glad I read this thread. I was ready to pick one up, now it looks like the T1R system will be my choice, though it'll have to wait.

 

wow, from my experiance, most people that buy this will not complain about the wacked fitment. ive seen so many messed up fitting K&N typhoons on STi's that i just stop trying, i just modify it so it fits somewhat decent.

 

Good choice- wish that I had made it.

Dave

 

I will fight anyone who cheats their customers, and have won, every time, in the past. My previous K & N systems have not been this much of a problem.
Their web site still shows the Fit Typhoon systems as a "Buy Now" item. By reviving this thread when there is something new to say, I keep other people, like DangerMoose, from getting screwed.

 

Thanks again. I have always loved K&N's drop-in filters, and have already got one on hand for my Fit (which I pick up today).

The T1R costs more moolah, so I'll hold off on the investment for now.
Maybe K&N rights this by then.

Really sorry that your experience has been such crap. I can imagine your frustration.

 

Thanks for the support. I used to be a happy customer of K & N, but my frustration in this case comes most from the sheer stupidity of K & N allowing this situation to go on and on- they keep giving me reasons to expose their stupidity. It also demonstrates how small their market is for Fit intakes. Their sales volume of intakes for Ford F series, Chevy Silverado, Dodge truck , and all of the Detroit SUV's would not allow them to get away with ignoring pissed off customers. They can ignore pissed off Fit owners because there are so few of us.

I hope that you can afford the T1R system sooner than you think. I did not buy the K & N mistake simply because it was cheaper than the T1R. There just was not enough good press about the T1R when I made my choice. If K & N does not send a proper fitting replacement Typhoon system, and I have to sue them for a complete refund, I will win and will spend the refund on a T1R system, then make my own heat shield for the T1R.

 

DangerMoose-

I completely forgot the most important part of your post- congratulations on picking up your new Fit today!!

Dave (married to a Newark, NJ native).

 

Thanks again, Dave.

I was looking at the K&N Typhoon because I am very brand-loyal, and also because it was a fair bit less, figuring I'd have a good experience based on my other good K&N experiences (and those of others I know). The T1R's good press was enticing, but I felt comfortable sacrificing all the noted good things about the T1R knowing the Typhoon would likely deliver a quality experience.

I am very excited. I haven't had a tuner-worthy car in about 5-6 years since I gave up my black '96 Civic DX hatchback. The abomination of a Civic known as the 2002 sedan AT followed it when family arrived, and we currently have a Pilot and (not for long) an Accord sedan (4-cylinder, AT).

Having married a woman in the city of Newark and seen my first son born in Newark Beth-Israel hospital, I say congratulations to you!

Brian

 

Fit Freak members :

K&N has been correcting this issue since it was brought to our attention in January. We promised we will work with each owner of an affected K&N Typhoon intake directly, and not leave anyone with a system that doesn’t work as it was designed to.

As of 3/26/07, the revisions needed to make this system fit correctly are not complete. We are much closer to proper fitment than we were a month ago. We will notify the affected owners through this forum post when the changes are complete.

I urge all readers of this post who have a heightened level of concern regarding the actions being taken by K&N to correct this issue to contact me directly.

Steve Gibson
Customer Support Development Specialist
K&N Engineering, Inc.

 

I almost purchased a K&N drop-in this weekend, but based upon reading this thread, I'm glad I didn't. This isn't what I (or most people) would consider "timely" and I don't want to support any company that won't fix something of this nature ASAP. If nothing else, the negative publicity is worth making it top priority! I'll spend my money elsewhere...

 

BBMM-

Thanks man! This is exactly the way that I feel about manufacturers of ANYTHING! When you make a mistake that infuriates your customers and that harms your own reputation as "being the best of-" or "the industry leader" or whatever you claim, your highest priority had better be to fix the problem and make a show of how fast and how far you will go to make amends for your mistake.

Your reaction is what I had hoped to see. Although there are no complaints about K & N's drop-in filters, you don't want to support a manufacturer who spouts corporate claptrap on forums and just leaves the problem unresolved. If our members ONLY read the writings of the K & N personnel (Steve Gibson and James Yim), their arrogance and lack of concern is very apparent.

What Gibson is telling us is:

Out of at least six manufacturers of high-flow intake systems scattered around the world from California to Japan, K & N is the ONLY one who CANNOT, at this time, make a simple short ram intake that fits the 2007 Honda Fit. Ironically, K&N has probably been making this equipment twice as long as anyone else.


The "CANNOT" part of the last paragraph is what I do not believe. If solving this apparently monumental production problem were their highest priority, it would be solved within an hour. They have skilled tool-and-die makers, materials from hundreds of vendors, and decades of experience. But they can't make an intake that matches only two existing bolt holes, that puts a filter between the battery and the radiator cap, that does not hit the underside of the hood. HORSESH!T!!!

Thank you for seeing the reasons behind this entire thread!

 

Something about this post struck a nerve with me...

I'm pleased to see that there was a problem and we were notified in the alert.

However, I think it must be realized that we are dealing with a business here. Businesses are no better than you or I in the fact that mistakes are made. However, changes or corrections may not be as easy or as fast as you'd like. Also remember how small of a market the Fit is. It is already a low production vehicle here in the states, and not everyone is going to purchase an after market intake for it. Thus, this may make this problem less of a priority than say a similar mistake for a more popular vehicle.

Regardless if your opinion of this, many business have to make similar decisions every day. They know they cannot fix every little problem immediately so they must prioritize in a manner that has the least amount of impact to the bottom line.

To this, I simply say relax. Badmouthing a company over one mistake won't get you very far in the long run. Sometimes the squeaky wheel doesn't get the grease. It simply gets thrown away and replaced entirely. Patience is a good quality to have. If you are not satisfied with the product or the process to correct a problem, then utilize your freedom to move to another product instead and require a refund of your original purchase. Many times, I've noticed those who are patient and willing to help with corrections are rewarded in the end. The constant and most vocal complainers are simply given the minimum amount of attention to correct the issue and sent on their way.

Finally, I guess I chose to look at the big picture instead of a small detail. I happily purchased my drop in filter from K&N because I have been pleased with the products I have purchased from them in the past. I will not let one small bump in the road drive me off course.

 

Nuwin, your post is a breath of fresh air...