Air leak and check engine light on - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

echo fan · 07-22-2009, 09:54 AM

I have a 2005 Toyota Echo with factory installed cold air intake. When maintenance was performed the dealer did not replace the air filter as it was ‘after market’. They were unable to source the correct air filter for me. I returned to the dealer I bought the car from and purchased the part they said I needed.

When I removed the old one I noticed that it did not say TRD as the new one did. The new one looked similar and did fit so I installed it.

One week later the check engine light came on and the dealer said this was an air leak but they were unable to locate one.

They reset it and once again it has come on.

Could the TRD part be causing this and if so what air filter do I need? If not what else could be wrong.

Thanks guys.

Yaris Hilton · 07-22-2009, 03:57 PM

I don't think an air leak at the filter or anywhere in front of the throttle plate would cause an engine problem. (It would let a little dusty air in is all.) I wonder if something like a vacuum hose got stretched and dislodged or cracked while they were working on it?

echo fan · 07-22-2009, 05:36 PM

Thanks Yaris Hilton. All the hoses seem fine and none were located by the lower engine bay where the filter was located. I ended up contacting AEM who manufactured the installed cold air intake (cai) this afternoon and they recommended I switch back to the correct air filter as this of course would have been tested on this model without issue. I contacted a local reseller of AEM parts and he mentioned that they see this type of thing often enough with after market cai installs but not so often with factory. Apparently CAI air filters can create havoc with the MAF. If they use an oiled filter even more so. The worse news is that although this is a factory ordered option no in the service department of two Toyota dealerships seems to understand them. The first dealer said they couldn't replace it and I may be able to find one at a parts reseller and the second dealer sold me a TRD part. In reality it seems I didn't need to change it at all. The one I ordered today was expensive and after I mentioned that to the salemen he counted with 'but this is a lifetime filter'. That's right I threw out a life time filter which can be cleaned using an AEM cleaner and reinstalled. It's not a sponge type filter that can be oiled like a K&N but rather it 'looks' like paper but it isn't and can be cleaned with a solution, rinsed and then reinstalled. Throw in the cost of the TRD filter, the charge for the code reset and the purchase of the correct filter and this has been far pricer than it needed to be - a $20 purchase of the cleaner. I'm thinking of complaining to Toyota that the dealers should know this not the purchaser but will that get me anything in return?

Yaris Hilton · 07-22-2009, 10:06 PM

I've heard that about air filter oil coating the MAF sensors.

I think "the squeaky wheel gets the grease." I'd suggest politely but firmly complaining to the service manager and telling him what you'd like him to do about the situation. If that doesn't work, escalate as far as you have to.

racerd · 07-22-2009, 10:07 PM

The fact that your CAI was NOT a toyota product (AEM) will absolve toyota of responsibility.

Yaris Hilton · 07-23-2009, 05:46 AM

If it was installed by the factory or dealer, I don't think so.

racerd · 07-23-2009, 09:57 AM

Its not clear to me who the "dealer was he bought the car from" and if there was any paperwork to show that the vehicle in question was delivered, by Toyota with the CAI as mentioned. If it was a TRD part, then yes, Toyota should cover it.. but it wasn't an oem/trd part. Which is why I stand by my last claim.

echo fan · 07-23-2009, 11:02 AM

Yaris Hilton is correct. The option was installed by Toyota. In fact the car was purchased at a Toyota dealership and the order itself was configured using the ‘build it buy it’ link at the toyotacanada.com website.

I just visited the dealer I have the service work performed by who is also the dealerI ordered my ECP plan but not the dealer I purchased from. The car is scheduled to go in next week and they were very understanding of my frustration and if they need to replace the MAF they will. Typically the warranty does not cover the diagnostics of engine codes but they will cover it in this case.