Hello,
I'm doing some research for my son who wants a cold air intake for his Mazda 3. He has the 2.3 litre engine and was told that using the AEM intake caused a engine trouble light to come on. Is this true? If so, is there a quick/easy fix to correct this?
The AEM website claims to outperform all other CAI's on the market. I've also heard good things about the INJEN intakes, but they are about $40 more. I can get the AEM for $194. Thanks!

 

Or you can do what a lot of us did and save alot of cash by buying an ebay CAI and geting a K&N filter for it. The filter that comes with the CAI is junk but I priced the K&N at Vans auto and a cone filter will run me 36.00.

36.00 on the EBAY CAI
6.00 on the cupplings LOWES has them, you'll probibly only get on with the kit
and 36-40.00 for the K&N
78-82 bucks and they do the Exact same thing!! Will save him 100.00 bucks!

 

the original poster seems more worried about the CEL then the price difference of the ebay intakes ans a aem or injen..

but as forthe original question regarding the CEL, if installed correctly i dont see why it should throw a check engine light, but im sure someone with more experience with the mazda 3 can chime in, with more detailed advice..

 

The CEL that some people are expeirnecing after installing a CAI is mostly due to installation error. The MAF sensor is extremely fragile, and a little spark can short circuit the little thing. Also, the wiring harness need to be removed from the battery box because the wiring is a little tight.

A thing to keep in mind when installing a CAI. Unplug the NEGATIVE terminal of the battery BEFORE doing anything.

If you got the AEM, the wiring will be a little tight after installation, remove the clips attaching the wires to the battery box to loosen it up a little.

Oh, another thing, the AEM currently out now does NOT fit an auto.

 

...I had an AEM CAI on my 2001 Neon. I now have an AEM SRI on my P5. I never had an issue with it on either of the two cars. Some people on this forum may debate me on my choice of intake, but I will readily admit that AEM makes an excellent product that delivers a noticeable gain. If you install it right and don't mess up the MAF or IAT sensors or forget to plut them in when you put in your intake, there will be no worries.

 

Fobby is right...ijust installed the AEM CAI on my 3 over the weekend and as long as you unclip the wiring harness from the battery box and are careful with the MAF and BP sensors, you will be fine. The reason some people got the CEL from the AEM CAI is because they did not unclip the wiring harness and there was pressure being put on the MAF sensor because of the tight wiring.