Quote:
Originally Posted by Shankenstein
I understand you guys would like to start a riot... but they used a material that is pretty good for exhaust tubing. The parts that are exposed are 304, and will stay shiny. The parts that are not exposed are 409 and will develop a rusty surface coating.
My RAV4's custom exhaust was done with 2.25" 409 SS with a 304 tip. Same exact situation. I'm a mechanical engineer, and I chose everything to be this way.
I've had it for 8 years now, and there's spotty rust on the 409 sections and the tips yellowed a bit. No holes, besides the gaps in the welds. Heat affected zones (from welding) did rust sooner than straight pipes. This is normal.
If there are holes, then you should simply request AFE provide you with the certifications for the materials used in that lot. They have records, and as a loyal customer, it's fair to help them hunt down the cause of a premature failure.
Check the wall thickness and material specs. If there was a clerical error in using too thin of piping or the wrong material ... get a replacement and try to ensure that they have a QC policy AS MATERIALS ARE DELIVERED. If there is an error, request a replacement, and enjoy your exhaust. If there's not an error, it's up to their warranty program to decide if your corrosion is sufficient to replace it. It's an engineered product, not a perfect product. It will wear, and if it's premature... they will replace it, to keep their reputation.
Raising hell on a forum is a last resort. If they are falsely representing a product (which they're not) or under-engineering a product (no evidence of that), then you should try the friendly resolutions first. If you have holey pipes and they refuse to warranty their products or provide justification for their materials... go ahead with the riot. There's plenty of steps to consider first though.
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On their website, they only mention the 304 stainless steel. They do not clearly say that the rest of the exhaust is made of an other type of stainless steel.
I can understand that an exhaust can have rust spots. The OEM exhaust has some, it is "normal", but if you'd see the pictures, you will understand how it is not normal to be that rusted after only 3 months.
I really want to help them for sure! If they had told me "Send us more pictures, we will investigate on this and keep you posted, we are sorry etc." I would have been pleased and patient. But their answer was "wow"....like if they didn't care. Just "clean it yourself", no replacement, it is normal. I mean, I had trouble twice with my BC coilovers on my Yaris, BC was so great with me, their service was awesome. They investigate, they sent me new shocks etc. They helped me fast and provided me with a very good service. I understand that some products could have issues, it is normal, especially for new models.
I mean, the price of the Takeda exhaust is the same as the Borla or the HKS and more expensive than the Nameless....I mean, you can hope for a pretty good product?! If I had paid $400, I would just live with it....
My husband is also a mecanical engineers. He loves cars. He loves the best products for our cars. He don't care about the price. He thought the Takeda was the best choice because he found it more nicely designed and the price was matching the other choices. He read the description of it on their website, mentioning the 304 stainless steel.
Even if the stainless was cheaper for the rest of the exhaust, beleive me, from what the pictures are showing, there is no way it could be normal
I really hope AFE will work WITH me, not against me. But if they chose not to help and ignore, I will not argue with them 3-4 months, loosing my time as my lease for the car ends in 2 years.