Thanks to many posts on this board I was able to successfully determine why my car was running crappy. I see there are still a lot of people with similar problems, so I thought I'd share my experience.

Car: 2000 Maxima SE, Auto, 92 K miles, bought at 89K with no records of previous maintenance.

Symptoms: SES came on right around 90K. Car was running just fine, so I thought it was a service reminder that triggered the light. At about 91K I started to experience occasional hesitation when accelerating. I immeditely thought it was a spark issue, as in a bad coil. The condition worsened over the next few weeks. Now I experienced driveability issue when at highway speeds. When giving the car gas it wouldn't pick up as expected. I'd have to feather the gas pedal to find a throttle position where the car would pick up. The idle was choppy for the first minute after startup. If I tried driving immediately after a cold start the car would drive quite poorly. Leting it warm up for a minute helped quite a bit. I occasionally experienced bucking when starting from a standstill. Basically when taking off I'd give some gas and the car would hesitate for a short while and then take off abruptly. Makes you look like an idiot that don't know how to drive...

I went to Autozone and got the following codes diagnosed: P1320, P0171, P0174. P1320 was described as Ignition system misfire. The latter codes indicate lean conditions in the left and right banks. After reading numerous posts here I determined that it is likely the MAF. Looking at the MAF it appeared to be the factory unit. After calling around to a few local dealers I was able to get one for $100. Not to shabby, and no waiting for it to be shipped.

It took me about 45 minutes to replace. I wasted some time trying to get the old one out without removing the airbox. Once I got smart and removed the airbox it was a piece of cake to replace the MAF. When I started the car up it immediately ran pefect. The SES light stayed on for 2 days, 32 miles, and 3-4 trips. This morning when I went to work the light was off. Yeah!

Rakso
'00 Max SE (stock)
'96 Stealth R/T TT (#57 of 57)
'95 Stealth R/T TT (modded)

 

Hey, rakso, good post. I've gotten the P1320 code, but my light hasn't come on for about 2 weeks. Now that you mention it, I have seen some slight hesitation when I first accelerate, but it doesn't happen all the time. Now, I have an extended warranty that covers me up to 100,000 miles (I have 73,000 right now). I was reading my warranty, and it does cover ignition coils, but the car is still running fine, so they wouldn't do anything about that. I'm not really experienced "under the hood," but I want to check my MAF. If you could, please tell me where can I find this under the hood and what I am looking for so I can take a look at it. Chances are, it's prob still the factory unit. I just want to nip this problem in the bud before it becomes a problem. Thanks for the input.

Trent

 

where did u buy that MAF?

 

Local dealer in Minneapolis, MN. The first one I called wanted $135 and would not budge. Called another one and told 'em I was looking for best price in town - got $125 non negotiable. Called a third one and told 'em I wanted to buy locally rather than ordering from an out of town dealer. He asked what pricing I already received from other local dealers, and I said I'd tell him after he gave me his price. Got it for $100 + tax. Not too shabby.

The new one is part number 22680-2Y001. It has a small green dot on top. I am guessing this is to visibly identify it.

 

You can't visibly tell if there is anything wrong with the MAF sensor. The part number is stamped on the side of the plastic tube so so if you can locate this you can at least tell if it has been replaced. From reading many posts on this board it seems that any MAF with a part number other than 22680-2Y001 is quite prone to failure.

To answer your question, the MAF sensor is located between the air box and the throttle body. This is all on the drivers side of the engine bay, next to the strut tower. It is a round plastic tube, about 2.5 inches outside diameter. There is a sensor in the middle of the tube that is connected to a grey connector.

My experience with failing MAF sensors in general is that the condition first manifests itself in a subtle way, and progressively gets worse. Generally the SES light comes on long before you can tell that there is anything wrong. In your case I wouldn't worry too much until the next time the SEL comes on. At that point I'd take it straight to the dealer and let them deal with it since you have the warranty.

Good luck!

 

Thanks, rakso, I appreciate the info!

Trent

 

I went to the dealer to get P1320 checked, they're replacing all 6 coils under extended warranty. My extended warranty covers coils. I also asked them about the lean condition codes. I was told that it is cause by "slow o2 sensor" or something that has to do with an ECM reprogram. He said to bring the car in to get that fixed if it comes up again. I got the lean code 3 times but hasn't come up yet.

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....=1#post3291437