I actually do take this with a grain of salt because it is from k&n. But the language is suggestive that they could possibly know a thing or two about their product. But then again so do pharmaceutical companies. lol
MASS AIR FLOW SENSOR INVESTIGATION
No dealership or service provider, when contacted, has ever been able to provide us with evidence to support this "myth," and in fact, our investigations have revealed that even authorized dealerships are simply speculating and do not have the test equipment necessary to know whether the sensor has failed or why. In the last 7 years, we have had more than 300 actual sensors sent to us by consumers with documents showing dealerships claimed our product had caused them to fail. Microscopic, electronic and chemical testing revealed that none of these sensors were contaminated by K&N oil (K&N Detailed MAF Sensor Test Results). What is perhaps the single biggest clue to what is going on is that over 50% of these sensors sent to us were not broken in the first place for any reason.
Click here for more information on how this may happen.
The oil treatment on our cotton is very small (usually less than 2 ounces) and is a critical component of our filtration technology. There is nothing unusual about the use of oil as a tacking agent to improve air filter efficiency. In fact, certain Ford Motorcraft and Fram disposable air filters are treated with oil. This makes us wonder if it is only the oil treatment from reusable lifetime air filters that is alleged cause a vehicle problem? The idea that oil comes off our filter throughout its life is truly ridiculous. Just like oil treated disposable air filters, once our oil is properly and evenly absorbed through the cotton, no oil will come off, even under extreme engine conditions. We have even conducted a test with an over oiled K&N air filter in which we flowed 1,000 cubic feet of air per minute for over twelve hours (few cars or truck could generate even 500 cubic feet of air flow). The use of an absolute filter confirmed that no oil came off the K&N filter tested, even in these harsh conditions.
We have tested many MAF sensors claimed to be damaged. We can fully diagnose their condition and likely cause of failure. For a full discussion of our MAF sensor test protocol and findings, see K&N Mass Air Flow Testing Results and Findings.