I just got some interesting info about MAF failures. As I was talking to a good friend of mine who an independent mechanic. We were having "car talk" I was telling him about MAF failures I read from the forum. He told me what was the cause of it. Well number one, those who uses KN filters that have a wet oiliness on it. Well...as it turned out that it get sucked into the honeycomb sensors over the course of time and it cause the error. So....what you have to do in order to keep that from happening is that you have to keep it clean every oil change. By doing so, you have to get a cleaner, it's a spray, similar to a carbuteor cleaner, and spray on the sensor and and clean it off and let it dry. Secondly if you were going to stick with a stock filter or better, don't spray it or wet it with some oil. It's better to have a dry filter. So if it's pain to take the MAF assembly to clean the sensor, then I would stick with dry stock air filter. Sorry it's long but I hope it's some useful info.

 

Thanks, but this is widely known already.

 

Good to know, thanks.

 

The stock Nissan filter is oiled.

 

This is the biggest load of I've ever heard. People have been using K&N filters, over-oiled, under-oiled, etc.... for decades! I think it's a combo of a couple things...

1. mainly the breather line that people return back to the midpipe deposits oily fumes in the intake, which can flow back onto the MAF

2. Crappy MAF design

Also, how do you explain the many MAF failures that the Apexi DRY filter has produced?...

I would NEVER spray any "cleaner compound" on the MAF. Hell, I wouldn't even breathe on one, those things are so damn sensitive!

G

 

I agree with soundmike and 02MaXiMa_GLE. Your argument doesn't hold weight for a number of reasons...

#1 - The Nissan OEM filter is oiled
#2 - We've seen MAF failures run the full spectrum, from completely stock intake and filter to K&N panel filters to aftermarket intakes and even Apexi dry filters.
#3 - The number of people who use K&N filters in their 5th gen with no MAF problems is far greater than the number of people who do.

 

Some of you may be correct but it doesn't prove that it is the MAF design is flawed. I know that Nissan filter are damp. I noticed it when I changed with a different brand of filter that's dry. Nissan filter doesn't look like good quailty. I have never had a MAF failure. I don't see how an intake would blow back into the maf since you have air coming from the opposite direction. Nissan are not the only one known for these problem, GM cars have those same problem due to people putting filter that have dampness. There's nothing wrong with a damp filter. Think in the same instance with Halogen bulbs, why you can't touch it with your bare finger, because your finger has oil. If you were to turn on the lamp, what would it happen? It will overheat and shatter because of skin oil came in contact of the glass. So you have to clean it if you came in contact with your finger. The point of the argument is those sensor need to be cleaned regularly if you were to use a filter that's damp with oil.

 

If you want to know why the OEM filter is oiled, it's because of the damn breather return line... the oily engine fumes make their way to the filter. GM cars have their own issues... who cares really?

The bottom line is your mechanic is WRONG about the filter. My firend has put 130,000 miles on his K&N Stillen intake on a 1995 maxima... not a single MAF problem. Yet people with 5th gens had their MAF die with the STOCK filter... what does this teach us?... well Nissan DID screw up with the new MAF design.

And how do you explain the MAF failures with the Apexi DRY filter???

Don't get me wrong... We appreciate you trying to share the info your mechanic gave you... but it's just INCORRECT.

G

 

Give the guy a break hes trying to help us out. Also not all of us know this information.

thanks for the information

 

not to mention that Murano's, Alty's and Infinity's
are having MAF failures as well- the MAF's on the VQ35 (whether they're the same or not) were poorly designed

 

[QUOTE=FanaticMadMax] I have never had a MAF failure. [QUOTE]

you just shot yourself in the foot with that one, your maf will explode.

 

[QUOTE=chinaonnitrous1][QUOTE=FanaticMadMax] I have never had a MAF failure.

My opinion, based on observation only, is that the MAFs fail because of a poor electrical design which can't take repeated WOT.

 

I'm not busting his chops... Just trying to protect everyone else from any misleading information.

G

 

This issue has been widely discussed. Almost every point made here is valid. But NO ONE, I mean NO ONE, can PROVE that any ONE thing caused the MAF failure. A list of POSSIBILITIES of the culprit(s) are:

1) Excess oil from air filters
2) Excess oil from engine return line
3) Manufacturing defect (averages to be about 1 in every 100)
4) Poor MAF design
5) Cheap manufacturing materials
6) Lack of manufacturing quality control
7) ECU
8) Poor wiring harnesses
9) Incorrect voltage/ground passed through MAF
10) Higher volume of air than design allows for
11) Excess vibration

The MAF sensor in the 5th gen is a Hot-Film style sensor made by Hitachi. It's sold as a JECS sensor with a JECS part number to a Nissan dealer. JECS is owned by Hitachi. The film inside the MAF sensor is designed to withstand certain parameters and conditions. If these parameters and conditions are exceeded, then failure can happen.

But to say that any ONE thing causes the failure is wrong. We are not sure WHY they fail. We can only speculate. And I know this first hand, as I am on my 6th sensor. Each one died from a different reason. So explain that one.

1st died because of K&N oil deposits (22680-6N200)
2rd died because of too much air flow (22680-6N201)
3th died because of excess voltage (22680-AM600)
4th died because of manufacturing defect (22680-AM600)
5th died because of excess vibration (22680-6N201)

The 6th one is 22680-AM600. This is the sensor that is "supposed" to be the corrected, working one. As shown above, it can still blow.

 

I think its a nissan conspiracy. They know it blows easy... they still released the MAF's for how many years now in a number of different cars. They over charge on the daymn part itself. Last time I checked at the nissan dealership they wanted $480 for that piece of crap. Thank goodness for DaveB.

 

thats for the whole MAF, the sensor itself is around $80 i believe. and studman, when u take the car in for warranty can you request which MAF you want or will they only replace it with the exact same part #?

 

Only if you are a 2000-2001 owner. The 2000-2001 sensor didn't have the Intake Air Temperature sensor located on the MAF sensor. The 2002-2003 has both. Currently, there is no Nissan part number for just the sensor itself for a 2002-2003.

Well, the 22680-6N200 has a replacement part number in the parts catalog. The replacement number is 22680-6N201. As of about a week ago, the 22680-6N201 was not superceeded by the 22680-AM600 (in the parts catalog), but there is a TSB out for both the 22680-6N200 and the 22680-6N201 to be replaced with the 22680-AM600. This TSB also includes re-flashing of the ECU.

So, no, you can't ask for which one it's to be replaced with, as the dealer can choose from the 22680-6N201 or the 22680-AM600.

And FYI... the 2002 models shipped with the 22680-6N200 originally. During the middle of the production year, Nissan switched to the 22680-6N201 sensor. Then, in the 2003 production year, they used the 22680-AM600.

The 22680-AM600 is the strongest of them all, but can still fail.

 

Exactly. And every dealership i went to before contacting daveB told me that I couldn't buy the sensor seperate... that I had to buy the "whole thing"

 

My 2K2 was built 3/02 and came with the 22680-AM600 MAF. I'm glad it does. I have an Inen with a K&N filter and have had no problems.