That document does not say that the warranty is voided if you don't use kia brand oil filters. also, Kia does not manufacture oil filters, they have specifications for the manufacture of the ones they use. If your oil filter meets the same specifications, they can't just motormouth their way out of a warranty. Most states prohibit dealers from doing that. And certainly their saying something and a judge agreeing are two completely different animals.

 

Either way I’ll stick to using oem oil filters lol

 

I wonder what the legal distinction is between could and may.

 

good question I’m no lawyer I just fix cars for a living

 

Slightly stronger expression of risk. Most will just look at them as synonyms.

 

I try not to own brand-new cars, so rarely have to worry about the warranty but when I do I stick with OEM everything (keep receipts and take photos if I do change my own oil). Not worth the potential hassle of fighting the battle over OEM parts and specs.

My Dad bought a new Subie Forrester a couple years ago, I was home visiting and he asked if I wanted to change the oil (he's older, doesn't work on cars anymore). It was very low mileage but was at six months so just needed oil and filter, nothing else. I passed on that since it was brand-new so he took it to the dealer. Damn glad I passed, it actually had a rod cap work loose a few weeks later and start rattle and banging around in the bottom end.

The dealer was talking about repair, my Dad said he just wanted a new car or at least a new motor but the dealer hemmed and hawwed. Until the dealer called the factory... THEY told the dealer to just give my Dad a new car and not to touch the old one, and they actually arranged to FLY it back to Japan they were so eager to find out how that had happened. Good on Subie, imagine if that happened with a LR... they'd update the software and send you back out again

 

Wait, what? Did they really fly that car back to Japan? I don't even what to think the fate that awaited that engine when it got there.

 

Nothing compared to the fate of the poor worker who torqued the cap bolts. Cue images of ancient samurai torture techniques...

 

Update, did some research before my next oil change. The K&N HP (aka Gold) series is intended for high-performance applications... so racing or extreme duty like climbing the rockies while towing the grand teton. It's designed for very good flow, and very high pressure tolerance.

K&N doesn't publish their micron filtration ratings but it's pretty clear that the HP line is not going to do as good a job of filtration due to the very high flow/pressure requirements. My brother-in-law (ex-mechanic and racer) said that he'd use an HP or similar on the track but swap it out with something else for daily driving.

The PS series is more for daily drivers, so presumably better filtration but probably still better flow at the expense of some filtration compared to other brands. I'm OK with that since I do tow in the mountains (sustained higher rpms). This is what we should be using, if you want a K&N. I'm reasonably confident in K&N, but there's something to be said for another quality brand which publishes their numbers.

Looking at my past orders, the ones I've been getting are the PS-7016.

 

A filter company that doesn't publish specs for its own filters is highly suspect. They are either 1) relabeling filters they are purchasing from another mfg with unknown specs, or 2) know exactly what their filtration rating is but not publishing because it would put them at a competitive disadvantage. There is no good excuse for this except they have a problem to hide.