My terrible experience with aFe POWER ... Check Engine Lights & Poor Customer Support

[L-GX550-P]

Hey everyone! Some of you may have seen my posts and videos on the aFe POWER products I have. It's been an ongoing and frustrating experience to say the least. Here is a video that sums up everything. Still waiting for a response back ...

 

[Lex-Us]

sorry to see the issue you've had. Don't have a lot of sympathy though. You said you're an engineer. You of all people should know then, the millions of dollars these car companies put into the R&D. Cold air intakes and map tweakers are mostly hype. Maps are generic and mostly add fuel and air. Yes, there are oem parameters that could use refining but, a plug and play map tweaker IS NOT the way to do it. If you know anything about EFI live, you know what I mean.
AFE is a very large company that really doesn't care about you personally. You are one of thousands. It's unfortunate but, the way a lot of companies are.

 

[BoostedGX]

I left a comment on your vid …. Another corporate company releasing a bad product….. hopefully someone releases a better product

 

[munkeeboi]

Sorry about hearing about your problems, but it comes with the territory with car modding. The moment you put aftermarket mods on it, you have no one to blame for any issues caused but yourself. Sucks that parts companies can't all stand behind their product, but their goal is moving the product and hoping that at least 50% of the people are happy with it.

Sounds like the Scorcher is the issue and not sure why you won't just uninstall the Scorcher because it seems like you were raving about the air filter set in your other posts.

I've had zero issues with my AFE intake.

BTW, the scorcher is not a tune and should not be compared to one. It's a bypass that tricks your ECU. If you want a real tune, check out VFTuner. Their transmission tune is pretty darn good as well

 

[YellowLab]

Lexus spends billions on engineering; a couple of schmucks in Corona - not so much....

 

[L-GX550-P]

sorry to see the issue you've had. Don't have a lot of sympathy though. You said you're an engineer. You of all people should know then, the millions of dollars these car companies put into the R&D. Cold air intakes and map tweakers are mostly hype. Maps are generic and mostly add fuel and air. Yes, there are oem parameters that could use refining but, a plug and play map tweaker IS NOT the way to do it. If you know anything about EFI live, you know what I mean.
AFE is a very large company that really doesn't care about you personally. You are one of thousands. It's unfortunate but, the way a lot of companies are.

You are correct. It always falls back on "You get what you pay for". I was very skeptical about it at first but I guess I am comparing this also to a $3k proper tune on my other cars. The parameters taking into account for adding power will not be the same by just using a Map and TMap sensor like the Scorcher unit.

 

[L-GX550-P]

Sorry about hearing about your problems, but it comes with the territory with car modding. The moment you put aftermarket mods on it, you have no one to blame for any issues caused but yourself. Sucks that parts companies can't all stand behind their product, but their goal is moving the product and hoping that at least 50% of the people are happy with it.

Sounds like the Scorcher is the issue and not sure why you won't just uninstall the Scorcher because it seems like you were raving about the air filter set in your other posts.

I've had zero issues with my AFE intake.

BTW, the scorcher is not a tune and should not be compared to one. It's a bypass that tricks your ECU. If you want a real tune, check out VFTuner. Their transmission tune is pretty darn good as well

I came very close to unplugging it one day and gave aFe the extra benefit of doubt that they will come up with a resolution quickly ... These are just cut and paste products. I'm not sure why they can't just release the dyno numbers on the Sport and Sport+ modes.

The intake and turbo inlet are good mods. They sound amazing is the main thing. My M3 doesn't sound that good spooling up.

I definitely will look into the VFTuner. Does the transmission update eliminate any of the hard shifts? We drive the truck aggressively and I found that it does not do it as much after it learns your driving habits.

 

[YellowLab]

I came very close to unplugging it one day and gave aFe the extra benefit of doubt that they will come up with a resolution quickly ... These are just cut and paste products. I'm not sure why they can't just release the dyno numbers on the Sport and Sport+ modes.

The intake and turbo inlet are good mods. They sound amazing is the main thing. My M3 doesn't sound that good spooling up.

I definitely will look into the VFTuner. Does the transmission update eliminate any of the hard shifts? We drive the truck aggressively and I found that it does not do it as much after it learns your driving habits.

Have you removed this from your vehicle - as in tossed in the trash, or are you still trying to fix it?

 

[munkeeboi]

The VFTuner tune costs just as much as the Scorcher unit. I have not had any transmission issues after the tune. There is a thread if you search for it.

Not sure what you mean by aggressive driving. Are you granny shiftin' and not double clutchin' like you should?

This could have been solved by removing the unit and ending your consumer relationship with them. There are many products out there but it seems like you want to make this AFE thing work despite all the downsides you have experienced. You have proven that they don't have to release dyno charts for people to buy this.

I just find it funny you started with "this isn't meant to bash anyone or give negative publicity" and then proceed to bash and post negative feedback for all to see. Not a personal attack on you by any means, but calling out the humor as I see it.

 

[L-GX550-P]

Have you removed this from your vehicle - as in tossed in the trash, or are you still trying to fix it?

Not yet, want to pick up a second hand unit?

The VFTuner tune costs just as much as the Scorcher unit. I have not had any transmission issues after the tune. There is a thread if you search for it.

Not sure what you mean by aggressive driving. Are you granny shiftin' and not double clutchin' like you should?

This could have been solved by removing the unit and ending your consumer relationship with them. There are many products out there but it seems like you want to make this AFE thing work despite all the downsides you have experienced. You have proven that they don't have to release dyno charts for people to buy this.

I just find it funny you started with "this isn't meant to bash anyone or give negative publicity" and then proceed to bash and post negative feedback for all to see. Not a personal attack on you by any means, but calling out the humor as I see it.

The reason why I didn't want to go with VFTuner is to have a flash count. I have other cars that I flashed within a year but just was hesitant with the truck.

Aggressive as in daily heavy foot driving and high speed highway use with the boost fully on.

Well it was my personal experience that I am sharing. My video isn't going to cause a Stop Sale of their products. It's only to share with the community on what I experienced. My expectations were probably way too high. That is the problem when you drive properly tuned cars and try to replicate that experience in a daily driver.

 

[YellowLab]

Not yet, want to pick up a second hand unit?


The reason why I didn't want to go with VFTuner is to have a flash count. I have other cars that I flashed within a year but just was hesitant with the truck.

Aggressive as in daily heavy foot driving and high speed highway use with the boost fully on.

Well it was my personal experience that I am sharing. My video isn't going to cause a Stop Sale of their products. It's only to share with the community on what I experienced. My expectations were probably way too high. That is the problem when you drive properly tuned cars and try to replicate that experience in a daily driver.

I think the information you are proving is great. If anything, people benefit if the know after sales support sucks. Maybe I’m just old school - but adding in after market items to enhance engine performance and risk having Lexus tell a customer to take a hike/warranty is void seems beyond not worth it.

I’ve owned Porsches for years. Sure you can tune up a 911. But if you look at the core design and engineering - you can literally drive one day in and day out with zero issues for decades. Everyone wants more performance and no drama - but the latter goes out the window once to you start messing with the balance of these highly engineered systems.

 

[L-GX550-P]

Very well said! At the end of the day ... nothing beats OEM setup for its range of applications and longevity. Once you start messing with things, including a proper tuned vehicle you are diminishing one category or another.

I'm reading up on the VFTuner and will most likely make the switch to that or run just the intakes only.

 

[YellowLab]

 

[Lex-Us]

Very well said! At the end of the day ... nothing beats OEM setup for its range of applications and longevity. Once you start messing with things, including a proper tuned vehicle you are diminishing one category or another.

I'm reading up on the VFTuner and will most likely make the switch to that or run just the intakes only.

In my experience, you'd be better off not trying to install any kind of tune. I've deal with tuning for years on diesel trucks. My truck was a little over 1000hp. It's a very fine line to get it perfect. Most of the time, there's a problem. It takes a lot of logging to get it right.
Not sure why anyone finds it necessary to try and get more power out of their GX. As I said, coming from 1K HP, I thought my GX would be a dog and need something to pep it up. I found on the way home from the dealer, it's twin turbo set up has an unbelievable amount of power for it's size. No need for more power. That can be had in something better built for power ..... IMHO

 

[L-GX550-P]

Some people like myself ... always want to squeeze a little more out of their vehicle. I understand it will never be perfect and this is probably why factory tuning is so conservative.

I am happy to report that I did get a call from aFe's VP and one of there technical developers. We had a good conversation and they truly recognize the issues I experienced. I took the Scorcher blue unit off and sent it back for a refund. They offered to make it right again once a solution is developed.

 

[YellowLab]

Some people like myself ... always want to squeeze a little more out of their vehicle. I understand it will never be perfect and this is probably why factory tuning is so conservative.

I am happy to report that I did get a call from aFe's VP and one of there technical developers. We had a good conversation and they truly recognize the issues I experienced. I took the Scorcher blue unit off and sent it back for a refund. They offered to make it right again once a solution is developed.

Good news - glad you were finally able to talk to them

 

[nartmot]

I am glad they took care of you. I definitely try to avoid supporting companies that do not stand behind their products.

Since we are on the subject, one thing I am interested in learning more about is the performance of the filter media. With the Pro Dry S media, AFE claims 99.2% filtering efficiency which they say is best suited for street and light off road use only. You can upgrade to the Pro Guard 7, which is a claimed 99.7% for real off-roading, but I cant help but wonder if the reduced airflow would bring the performance of the CAI back down closer to stock. Is it even worth it then if you off-road? I feel like I am answering my own question but interested in hearing everyone's thoughts.