Do you expect your factory intake to fail in under 4 years?
I only drive the car in the summer, it's stored all winter and too be honest the bypass valve was purchased for paranoia as I rarely drive the Accord in the rain since I have a company car. But I have been in a few and the bypass valve did add piece of mind.

But it shouldn't fail in 4 years, do you expect your CAI to fail in 4 years? I wasn't too happy with the fit of the AEM gen 1 CAI intake; I think the design is a bit flawed IMO for installation, and now I'm very unhappy that the Bypass valve broke. I've had the car 5.5 years now. No other major mechanical part is reasonable to fail in that time, save for wear items, brakes, wipers, tires, etc.

Do you consider an AEM bypass valve a wear item? For the money spent in December '00 I clearly didn't expect the unit to fail, ever. If I knew this info now, I would have likely not purchased an AEM CAI or bypass valve. A k&n re-usable drop in filter and no reasonator box is likely a better more reliable intake solution for a free breathing engine.

I've been trying to call AEM tech support all day to discuss the matter with them, I just get voice mail. I'd gladly mail the failed valve and invoice of purchase and a letter. I think a failure of this nature is serious.

I think the material used to design the unit may need to be re-evaluated. I shouldn't have to by a new bypass valve every 4 years, no one should. If the newer units being made are of a different material that's more durable then great, I'll take a chance on one. Also I can't find any type of warranty info for my AEM products, do any AEM products come with a warranty? I don't think I misplaced any documentation, I've saved almost every reciept ever for my car.