Cold Air Intake from JHP - Bad experience

[headhound]

Summary:
• The VCM I received did not perform as advertised and apparently has design flaws.
• I made the error of spending over $150 at shops and many hours of my time trying to make the unit work instead of returning it.
• Do not buy JHP products. They work harder to authorize credit card charges than to resolve problems and satisfy customers.

I purchased a VCM cold air intake from JHP products in Australia. There was some difficulty getting the credit card charged for sales outside the US but JHP worked with me and my bank to get the payment through. The package arrived reasonably soon after the payment was credited.

The instructions were easy to follow. If I were familiar with the layout of the engine, the removal of the factory system and installation of the VCM could have been done in under an hour.

The intake housing was relatively thin plastic. I did not measure but it seemed under a quarter of an inch.

The K&N filter did not sit solidly in the intake. It kept falling out and generated a Check Engine Light (CEL) when that happened.

I tried using the K&N grease along the edges to hold it in place. It did not work. I had to use self tapping screws through the edges of the filter into the plastic of the intake. Even after this I kept getting CELs on a daily basis. They were related to vacuum leak issues.

I went to Chandler Automotive in Chantilly, VA to help diagnose and fix the problems. They found and correct some vacuum leaks but CELs still happened.

My Pontiac dealership (Jim Harris in Warrenton VA- contact person Jason) was willing to help correct the problems so the car was left it with them for a week while I on business travel. The K&N filter was depositing oil on the mass airflow sensor and causing false sensor readings. Harris could not correct the problems vacuum leaks and had to reinstall the original intake system. My warranty would have been voided if I continued using the VCM.

I tried to return the system to JHP but was not given any credit. Their concerns were the holes in the plastic from the filter attachment and thought hot glue had been used to hold the filter.