tC1 AEM ETI Issues, Potential Recall
05-30-2012, 05:32 PM
#1
tC1 AEM ETI Issues, Potential Recall
Just a heads up story about what I went through over the past couple of weeks.
I purchased an AEM ETI CAI for my 2010 tC last year. Everything was great until last month. I had intermittent stalling, surging, and just overall ornriness from the car witn no CEL.
I did all of the basics, cleaned the MAF, throttle body, checked all connections, until I put on an OBDC. The OBDC said that I was running rich on bank 1 and 2, and that I had a stuck O2 sensor.
I have a 100k Toyota warranty and took it to the dealer to see what they had to say.
Lustine Toyota in Woodbridge, VA was great. No charge at all. They just wanted to see what was causing this issue. The Service Manager said that because it wasn't a "cheap system" he really wanted to just get to the bottom of the issue, and asked me to take my car home and put back the OEM intake system and bring it back.
So I went home, and about 2 hours later, went back to Lustine, and they sadi that the issue was solved. They gave me all diagnostic paperwork to submit to AEM.
Again NO CHARGE. Thank you Lustine!!!!
At this point you can imagine that I am not very happy, and even borderline confused as AEM is supposed to be a leader in this industry, si I gave them a call.
Their service and support line told me that they are having a "serious issue" with their ETI controllers, and that they are all going bad. They could ship me another, but that may be bad as well. My option was to wait until they re-designed the ETI, or a refund.....
I asked the support person if there was a non-ETI type of intake for the 07+ TC and he said no. I then asked about a short intake, and again was told no.
I then asked for him to email me his info so that I could scan a copy of my receipt (if I could find it) and we could start the return and refund process.
Once I rec'd his email, I noticed that his address domain was @ K&N filters. I called back and asked how or if the 2 were the same company and was told yes. I then asked if they would swap for a Typhoon system and was told yes. Interestingly enough, they also stated that AEM makes the TRD system w/o the ETI, but that wasn't an option either.
Basically a huge run around, but the BIGGEST part of this story was when they were playing with me, I asked if this "issue" had been published to any forums. I was told no, and they would prefer it not to be.
So let this be a heads up to anyone with an ETI that is having any stalling, stammering, gagging, choking issues.
Not trying to start any widespread panic, just letting the members know.
I purchased an AEM ETI CAI for my 2010 tC last year. Everything was great until last month. I had intermittent stalling, surging, and just overall ornriness from the car witn no CEL.
I did all of the basics, cleaned the MAF, throttle body, checked all connections, until I put on an OBDC. The OBDC said that I was running rich on bank 1 and 2, and that I had a stuck O2 sensor.
I have a 100k Toyota warranty and took it to the dealer to see what they had to say.
Lustine Toyota in Woodbridge, VA was great. No charge at all. They just wanted to see what was causing this issue. The Service Manager said that because it wasn't a "cheap system" he really wanted to just get to the bottom of the issue, and asked me to take my car home and put back the OEM intake system and bring it back.
So I went home, and about 2 hours later, went back to Lustine, and they sadi that the issue was solved. They gave me all diagnostic paperwork to submit to AEM.
Again NO CHARGE. Thank you Lustine!!!!
At this point you can imagine that I am not very happy, and even borderline confused as AEM is supposed to be a leader in this industry, si I gave them a call.
Their service and support line told me that they are having a "serious issue" with their ETI controllers, and that they are all going bad. They could ship me another, but that may be bad as well. My option was to wait until they re-designed the ETI, or a refund.....
I asked the support person if there was a non-ETI type of intake for the 07+ TC and he said no. I then asked about a short intake, and again was told no.
I then asked for him to email me his info so that I could scan a copy of my receipt (if I could find it) and we could start the return and refund process.
Once I rec'd his email, I noticed that his address domain was @ K&N filters. I called back and asked how or if the 2 were the same company and was told yes. I then asked if they would swap for a Typhoon system and was told yes. Interestingly enough, they also stated that AEM makes the TRD system w/o the ETI, but that wasn't an option either.
Basically a huge run around, but the BIGGEST part of this story was when they were playing with me, I asked if this "issue" had been published to any forums. I was told no, and they would prefer it not to be.
So let this be a heads up to anyone with an ETI that is having any stalling, stammering, gagging, choking issues.
Not trying to start any widespread panic, just letting the members know.
Last edited by MR_LUV; 10-24-2017 at 07:08 AM.
05-31-2012, 01:33 PM
#3
Senior Member
SL Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Tacoma area
Posts: 723
I guess I’m confused. I thought a cold air intake consisted of basically a pipe, some rubber couplings and a filter. Also the mounting for the maf sensor. What is this controller? I can understand the rubber breaking apart or the filter rusting over if covered in cheap stainless but unless the pipe is sized wrong normally those don’t crack.
05-31-2012, 02:46 PM
#4
Hopes this helps clear some confusion on his post: http://www.aemintakes.com/air_intakes.htm
Electronically Tuned Intake (ETI) Systems
AEM ETI Air Intakes
The Next Generation of Intake Technology
Once again AEM is raising engineering standards with an all new series of innovative air intake systems. With a revolutionary ETI module and fully integrated design, we have eliminated the need to detune or stage an intake tube diameter as it crosses the MAF sensor. The sensor is electronically adjusted to read proper air density instead of using physical tube designs intended to “trick” the MAF reading. The result is bigger horsepower and torque gains.
TECH TALK:
Most modern fuel injected cars use a Mass Air flow (MAF) sensor to determine the air flow rate into the engine and meter fuel according to input from the sensor. The relation between the voltage output of the sensor and mass air flow is adversely affected by a shift to a larger diameter intake tube because the airspeed is reduced. This causes the MAF sensor to “under report” air flow causing a lean condition or triggering a Check Engine Light. To accommodate MAF sensor reporting, many intake systems reduce the diameter of the intake tube near the MAF sensor to stock or near stock size because of the need to maintain the correct air speed for the sensor to report the correct flow rate to the ECU.
AEM's ETI Intake Systems use an alternative design approach that allows the intake tube to maintain its diameter, resulting in more air flow into the throttle body. The ETI Intake System allows AEM to tune an engine for even more power by avoiding any tube down-sizing that will reduce overall airflow and horsepower. Instead, the ETI electronically communicates with the MAF sensor to ensure an accurate amount of fuel is being delivered even though the tube is larger in size than the stock system. This means the vehicle maintains the calibration as intended by the factory while enjoying the benefits of our custom designed aftermarket intake system.
Electronically Tuned Intake (ETI) Systems
AEM ETI Air Intakes
The Next Generation of Intake Technology
Once again AEM is raising engineering standards with an all new series of innovative air intake systems. With a revolutionary ETI module and fully integrated design, we have eliminated the need to detune or stage an intake tube diameter as it crosses the MAF sensor. The sensor is electronically adjusted to read proper air density instead of using physical tube designs intended to “trick” the MAF reading. The result is bigger horsepower and torque gains.
TECH TALK:
Most modern fuel injected cars use a Mass Air flow (MAF) sensor to determine the air flow rate into the engine and meter fuel according to input from the sensor. The relation between the voltage output of the sensor and mass air flow is adversely affected by a shift to a larger diameter intake tube because the airspeed is reduced. This causes the MAF sensor to “under report” air flow causing a lean condition or triggering a Check Engine Light. To accommodate MAF sensor reporting, many intake systems reduce the diameter of the intake tube near the MAF sensor to stock or near stock size because of the need to maintain the correct air speed for the sensor to report the correct flow rate to the ECU.
AEM's ETI Intake Systems use an alternative design approach that allows the intake tube to maintain its diameter, resulting in more air flow into the throttle body. The ETI Intake System allows AEM to tune an engine for even more power by avoiding any tube down-sizing that will reduce overall airflow and horsepower. Instead, the ETI electronically communicates with the MAF sensor to ensure an accurate amount of fuel is being delivered even though the tube is larger in size than the stock system. This means the vehicle maintains the calibration as intended by the factory while enjoying the benefits of our custom designed aftermarket intake system.
06-01-2012, 01:23 AM
#7
I put on my K&N. I am much happier than with the AEM full system. Nice quality. Cool "heat barrier shield". Fit and finish was superb. Nice grunt, and super easy to install.
Back to Lustine next week for another diagnostic. The OBDC s still showing clear.
Back to Lustine next week for another diagnostic. The OBDC s still showing clear.
06-21-2012, 03:03 AM
#9
Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Edmonton Alberta Canada
Posts: 1
I had to pull mine off tonight and go back to the stock air box and I will be calling AEM tomorrow,hopefully I can get a refund.
Mine was so bad it was bucking at highway speeds and would not idle,I am a tad concerned about any damage to the ecu or other parts.
How has everyone that has removed the AEM ETI and gone back to stock been lately?
Thanks for the info, I will use it when I call AEM.
Mine was so bad it was bucking at highway speeds and would not idle,I am a tad concerned about any damage to the ecu or other parts.
How has everyone that has removed the AEM ETI and gone back to stock been lately?
Thanks for the info, I will use it when I call AEM.
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