K&N 204 filter recall

[nivag]

Just a heads up if anyone has got one fitted from the dodgy batch, https://www.knfilters.com/recallkn204
You'll probably want to swap it ASAP and not have what happened to me back in June on my Speed Triple.

Split K&N oil filter - Triumph Forum: Triumph Rat Motorcycle Forums

I was lucky my friend was behind me and got my attention before the next hairpin.

Was also grateful there was a Yamaha dealer not too far away that had a OEM FZ6 filter in stock.

PS - hope you're all well, seeing as I haven't posted for a while. My FZ6 is still going strong :thumbup:

 

[Motogiro]

Holy! Thanks for this important heads-up! that k&N is also used on many other bikes. I use the 138 but I will keep an eye on it.:Flash:

 

[Motogiro]

Wow! After reading more from links at the Triumph Rat site I'm defo getting rid of the K&N on the next oil change. I've never seen an oil filter fail except from an impact.

 

[nivag]

Here's my filter if you haven't clicked though. You can clearly see where it's lifted.
oil3 by urbannivag, on Flickr

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

It appears the connection between the nut and housing let loose.

Two questions,

(1) Is there an actual re-call?

(2) And how tight was that filter tightened, did you or someone else tighten it?

I ask in that in appears someone might have got too tight with the nut.

Other filters don't have a nut, just the filter and "cup tool".

As I re-call, that "nut" is just spot welded on (I used to use K&N's exclusively).
I currently use a K&P filter: Technical Information | K and P Engineering


Glad your buddy caught that BTW, could have been REAL BAD...


.

 

[nivag]

It's a recall, from their website

IF YOU HAVE VERIFIED THAT YOU HAVE A KN-204 OIL FILTER INSTALLED ON YOUR MOTORCYCLE OR POWERSPORT MACHINE THAT HAS ONE OF THE SEVEN LISTED DATE CODES, THEN DO NOT OPERATE IT, UNTIL THE OIL FILTER IS REPLACED.

I fitted it and it was only hand tight. The nut only helps removing it as it's in a pig of a position on the Speed Triple.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Thanks,

For others, it's specific filters with date build codes, etc:

https://www.knfilters.com/recallkn204



.

 

[Motogiro]

These are the codes to look for on your K&N 204 oil filter


3H, 4H, 5H, 6H, 7H, 8H or 9H,

Interesting that they note the safety concern: If there is such a leak, oil could come into contact with the rear tire or rear brake of the motorcycle on which the filter was installed. If this were to occur, it could lead to a loss of control or a crash. Therefore, K&N is offering to replace the affected oil filters at no charge. This offer of a free replacement also applies to those covered KN-204 oil filters that were purchased for use in an application other than a motorcycle, such as an ATV or PWC (personal watercraft).

I thought it important to also note. That when you loose engine oil your engine can seize leaving you with an instantly locked rear wheel. This can result loss of control of your bike especially if it catches you by surprise or leave stopped and stranded in high speed traffic lanes.

I can't help but wonder what the difference in procedure or equipment was that contributed to this failure. Maybe there are inherent failures when welding the nut to the thin casing and each filter is supposed to be tested for leakage. Maybe the testing was bypassed by a tired employee or maybe the material for the casing was produced from different specification.

For me, it would be nice if K&N told us why there was a failure and the action taken to fix this. Many of us use this more expensive filter for it's convenience as well as performance claims because we are enthusiasts, interested in the difference/advantage of the filter. We're not just people that went to the local Jifquick oil change place that will hammer and chisel an oil change for us. For this reason, by character, we might be more interested and considerate of the facts that lead to this more dangerous possibility in face of the fact that it is more perilous to a rider than a driver. I think most people are more forgiving and loyal to honesty than the feeling we get from the robotic legal corporate response we too often hear today.

For the people that have had a breach and lost oil in this manner it might also be nice have them pick up the oil change that goes along with it.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

K&N was all I ever used for literally decades....Never an issue in over 200,000 miles...

It was a Friday or something and someone wasn't paying attention / fell asleep / ...ed up...

Glad to see them address it ASAP and for nivag to post it here.

 

[Motogiro]

Yes I've had good experience with the K&N 138.

The recall however is listed as between the the dates of March 1, 2016 and September 30, 2016. I can totally relate to having a bad day at work.

This was 7 months worth of bad days that produced possible faulty oil filters. I Wonder how many engines or filter applications that equates to. How many people aren't aware of the recall?

This is Sept 2017 and the filters were manufactured from March to Sept of 2016. These posts are the first that I've heard of what appears to be a significant recall.

I'm curious!

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I didn't notice the dates, but agreed, that's a LONG time.

I have two on the shelf but their WAY older than that....

The nut appears to be to be spot welded on and I'd guess, it was set way too high...

That cup isn't terribly thin so a considerable increase with the spot welder apparently occurred..

 

[Motogiro]

I didn't notice the dates, but agreed, that's a LONG time.

I have two on the shelf but their WAY older than that....

The nut appears to be to be spot welded on and I'd guess, it was set way too high...

That cup isn't terribly thin so a considerable increase with the spot welder apparently occurred..

That is exactly my first thought. The spot weld current might have been too high or the material may have changed as an example the wall thickness of the can was changed or the material used was of a different quality/property and the spot weld setting possibly needed adjustment.

Again [MENTION=4668]nivag[/MENTION] Thank you for bringing this to us! :rockon:

 

[thisisbenji]

One of my riding buddies had one of these let go when we were hitting the twisties on his RSV4 about three weeks ago. Oil completely covered his rear tire almost immediately. Luckily he didn't go down. I'll never run a KN204 again, it's not worth my life, and their recall effort is too little too late. These have been banned from racing organizations for awhile now.

I should also say that this defect coincided with k&n changing suppliers from hiflo to some other Asian manufacture. If you set a pre-recall filter next to a current filter you can see that there's nothing similar about the two except that they both say k&n204. The filters are not even the same size.

 

[Motogiro]

This is from a Corvette forum in 2015. I don't like to see anyone at K&N hurt but.... I rather not see any of us hurt, body or engine..... Obviously there can also be damage from oil pressure irregularity that we don't see because our oil warning light is for oil level and not oil pressure.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c5-tech/3734355-k-and-n-oil-filters-suck.html

More:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83bZYmDyZEs

 

[Motogiro]

Technical Information | K and P Engineering[/url]

I'm now thinking about the K&P that Scott has. [MENTION=6338]TownsendsFJR1300[/MENTION] Scott, Is the cup wrench that I saw at the K&P Engineering site specific to their filter body or is it one of the standard cup wrench for filters?

At least with this filter I can always trust what I see and it beats not knowing what happened in a board room that fouled up internals because some one figured out a way to give us inferior product to make more profit.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I'm now thinking about the K&P that Scott has. @TownsendsFJR1300 Scott, Is the cup wrench that I saw at the K&P Engineering site specific to their filter body or is it one of the standard cup wrench for filters?

At least with this filter I can always trust what I see and it beats not knowing what happened in a board room that fouled up internals because some one figured out a way to give us inferior product to make more profit.

I believe the cup wrench is specific to the filter (never tried another cup-didn't need to as the K&P cup fits correctly and WILL NOT SLIP. Your spinning a cast, thick aluminum filter housing (will NOT CAVE IN and holds it shape) which also acts as an oil cooler.

The much thinner Yamaha, x-brand, etc (W/O the K&N nut) thin metal cup, well, you've seen the threads punching filters / channel locks, etc to remove (on occasion)...

It is expensive initially but over time, not buying filters for several years, it's paid for it self and then some (since 2010 or so)

Cleaning is easy, access to the insides to inspect for crap is a simple twist of the inside filter..

 

[nivag]

One of my riding buddies had one of these let go when we were hitting the twisties on his RSV4 about three weeks ago. Oil completely covered his rear tire almost immediately. Luckily he didn't go down. I'll never run a KN204 again, it's not worth my life, and their recall effort is too little too late. These have been banned from racing organizations for awhile now.

I should also say that this defect coincided with k&n changing suppliers from hiflo to some other Asian manufacture. If you set a pre-recall filter next to a current filter you can see that there's nothing similar about the two except that they both say k&n204. The filters are not even the same size.

My mate who works in the trade mentioned the same thing about them changing manufacturer and these failing.

 

[Motogiro]

I'm also seeing the K and P Engineering oil filters with the nut machined on the unit. It also looks like the facets are still present for a cup type wrench...
There are other factors to this filter like even volume flow even when in cold conditions that are supposed to far exceed conventional paper type filters. They are pricey but they are worth it. Let's see I pay about $15 for a K&N I can get a K & P for $94 on Amazon Prime. The math totally works for my bike!
[MENTION=6338]TownsendsFJR1300[/MENTION]

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I'm also seeing the K and P Engineering oil filters with the nut machined on the unit. It also looks like the facets are still present for a cup type wrench...
There are other factors to this filter like even volume flow even when in cold conditions that are supposed to far exceed conventional paper type filters. They are pricey but they are worth it. Let's see I pay about $15 for a K&N I can get a K & P for $94 on Amazon Prime. The math totally works for my bike!
@TownsendsFJR1300

They updated them then. That nut wasn't available back then and my filter(s) (had 2, for my FJR too), was about $125-130 EACH.

And yes, reading the spec's, flow rate, it far exceeds paper filters.

You can also literally feel the outside of the filter cooler on the outside, vs near the block, IE, it does in-deed cool.

If it's good enough to go on airplane engines, I suspect it's good enough for a bike engine...


(I saved my old K&N filter-(low miles), should I wreck/sell, etc the FZ6, the K&P comes off and goes on the next Yamaha..