2k3 MAF Failure - FINALLY
 

Hi guys,

I posted several times in the past about my MAF being pretty robust. Since my 2k3 was new, it never seen a stock airbox (except for the drive home from the dealership). I installed that frankencar intake with APEXi Filter that night i bought my car from the dealer brand new!!

now after 66K (kms), it finally let go! I am surpsied to say the least. I thought the 2k3 mafs were the strongest (although my 2k2 maf never failed with the stock airbox).

it failed with no warning aside for the past two weeks where i lost power between 3-4K RPMS. Today i went to start it, and it would not idle. Got it fixed in no time with my favorite dealership Dermac Nissan.

Anyhow just wanted to tell you 2k3's can fail too!

:thread:

If I recall correctly, 2k1 MAF has the least issues.

I've been having a MAF/idle problem with another vehicle of mine(not due to oiled air filter) and have read that a frequent cleaning of the MAF with a no residue electrical cleaner should be used often with an aftermarket oil filter.

ED, congrats on the new MAF.

I'm getting a new MAF from Dermac as well. My 2k2 maf has never seen a stock airbox as well and it has lasted almost 90,000km's. I'm hoping Dermac will give me a newer model MAF since I've heard they are more reliable than the original 2k2 MAF's were.

I've had two maf's go on me. Both times was because of the Stillen intake I had gotten. Went back to stock, then just to K&n panel filter, and now to frankencar mid pipe with SW-1 (secret weapon R) filter (needed some power back). So far so good. Fingers crossed.

Well after driving my car for a day, the car no longer has stupid lag between 3K-4K RPM'S and i can actually chirp 2nd again (SURPISED)..

I blew 2 2k3 MAF on the frankencar/apexi combo...37000 miles on the meter.

WOW.. then i must have been purely lucky...

I got 66K (kilometers) out of my MAF with frankencar/apexi combo since car was new.. HMMMMMM...

I'm still waiting for Nissan to approve and ship me the new MAF under their part warantee as it blew 2 weeks after being installed (~600 miles). I paid $400 for that 22680-am600 that lasted only 600 miles. I'm currently running the 2k1 MAF.

Stalling, sluggish, no high end power......whats up??? HELP!!!
 

just got a black 2k1 MAX SE 20th anv. MT

i installed a Weapon R Secret Weapon intake with a MARA muffler. the first ride from the garage-home was awesome, great power improvement, great sound. then after a few days, my check engine light turned on. it showed two codes

P0171---- running lean (bank1)
po174----running lean (bank2)

then the car started to lose power at high rpm, around 4500-5000 ( and its not the Vais, i checked it) ... so i reset the ECU and even after about a week still same ****. on top of it the car is now stalling at every stop light.. i even cleaned my throttle body and still nothing. whats my problem......
-MAF?
-coils?
should i put the stock intake back?? :( i was thinking about doing the Feul cut TSB.. by the way do they charge for TSB's or are they free??

any help is appreciated.
Rob

for those of you who blew your stock MAFs.....when you installed the BERK/FRANKENCAR intake...did you un-plug the MAF wiring plug? .orger (MaximaDave) told me at one of the meets that he never blew his MAF with 3 different intake setups....but at the same time he told me when he installed all 3 intakes, he never unplugged the plug that went into the MAF....I did the same and after 6k miles on my 2k2....no MAF issues (knock on wood)....

i'm not sure if this is true...maybe MaximaDave can come in this thread and let us know more about it

mafs suck.

I never unplugged the plug on the maf and mine blew.

5/5.5 gen MAF sensor failure seems to be purely up to chance. I unplugged mine when I installed my Berk, and I've had it unplugged once more since then when I took my Berk intake off to reach the throttle body. So far, no MAF failure, but it has only been a few thousand miles since I switched from stock to Berk.

I've heard some people say you can clean the MAF sensor and the metal screen in front of the sensor. I've heard other people say that you can't clean it, or you'll make it fail. Does anybody know the real answer?

I unplugged my MAF to put on my Injen today.. MAF blew right after first start-up. I did everything correctly, handled the MAF with extreme care, and still it crapped the bed at only 37,000 miles. Only thing i'm worried about now is how long the new MAF will last when I get it.

Has anyone tried a MAF from another company? Maybe a GM LS1 MAF sensor?

I installed my Berk intake today with no problems. I guess will be anticipating the day my MAF fails, though.

It would work as long as you could meet the following requirements:

1. It would have to fit in the tube that holds the stock MAF sensor (or somewhere else along the intake path).

2. It would either have to plug in or be modified to plug in to the stock harness.

3. It would need require the same operating voltage as the stock sensor.

If it would work with some splicing, then i'd try it. I have nothing to lose at this point. It's too bad aftermarket companied like Granatelli don't make MAF's for the VQ35.. I'd be game for a replacement that will actually give me some gains, versus a stock one that will blow if I look at it wrong.

Thanks for the replies. I have an 02 Max and a 98 Firebird. So I might take a peek at them later. I have 120,000 miles on the LS1 with no failure. I have a K&N also. I think other people use the LS1 sensor for some reason. I think it might be Grand Nationals. Maybe 5.0 MAF will work? Those would probably be cheap on Ebay used.

Just trying to help,
Gears

ahh i'm getting scared! at 40k stock so far, better not crap on me when the cattman cai goes on next week

Bing Bing Bing

Always try the least expensive fix first. :) This has worked for me in the past on several model cars (Ford, Lexus, GM, Nissan).

Unplugged mine when I installed my Berk/K&N... had it for about 8k miles now with no issues... seems that MAF failure is pretty random (unless your filter is doused with oil) since it even happens to people who are stock....

I'm at 65k on my 2k2-original maf,franken car w/k &n since purchased- i've had a 2k1 maf in my trunk as a spare, wordering if i'll ever need it

What do you use to clean your MAF, and how do you do it? I've got several no-residue cleaning products that I use when I strip down my computers periodically. It's alcohol-based stuff. I've also got some pure acetone. Would that be ok?

I've used brake parts cleaner and a q-tip and electronics cleaner and a q-tip (lightly wiping the filament looking part). Both have worked well.

How many miles on your car?

I put on 67,000 kilometers of HARD driving on the car with a Frankencar intake and APEXi filter since brand new...

I was wondering when the MAF was going to go, and it finally did. I could live with the MAF blowing every 70K ;)

BTW.. i am wondering if my MAF failure was attributed to excessive vibrations. I do not have a bracket installed on my frankencar therefore the intake itself is loose. My bracket snapped at the 20,000kms mark. Poor design if you ask me, since the engine is constantly moving, i dont understand the purpose of a solid metal bracket to hold the intake, therefore i never installed another one.

The Apexi filter isn't even an oiled filter. I always hear people with Berk and Frankencar intakes talking about how scared they are that the K&N filter oil will foul the MAF sensor, but I've seen a few notable MAF failures lately that involved the OEM filter or an Apexi-style dry filter. Your problem COULD have been caused by excessive vibration. I know that the B15 Sentra crowd has trouble with MAF sensor failure due to vibration if they don't brace their intakes properly. My Berk intake came with a similar brace to the one you're describing. It's just a little piece of metal that is supposed to hold the intake still. I know that the engine moves back and forth a little because the motor mounts aren't solid, but my metal brace seems to be in good condition. On my intake, I think the silicon couplers and the metal brace itself offer enough flexibility to prevent anything from breaking when the engine moves a little.

so many maf problems

We arent the only ones, I blew a maf on my OLD 96 Protege 1.8L as well

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gears & Crosses
Has anyone tried a MAF from another company? Maybe a GM LS1 MAF sensor?

My LS1 sensor uses three wires. The MAF on my Max has five wires coming from it. The LS1 sensor is larger, but it is not so large that it couldn't work. I haven't measured either one, I just estimated so far. The GM sensor appears to be built much sturdier.

Any comments on the different number of wires between the two?
Gears

Wanna hear some irony? I'm still on the supposed "bad batch" of 02 maf's.

I'm approaching 30k miles, i've had an injen on since around 12k miles. I bought this car new as well.

im in need of a new MAF, can i ask where you guys bought your from. i have no idea where to look. Thanks

i dont think i'm ever getting an aftermarket intake :(

i dropped my MAF while tryign to uninstall the stock piping it was connected too.. i was soo scared.. i even broke off a piece where it screws in.. that was 30k miles ago..

my idle sucks..but ive been tot he dealership leik 7 times and they never mention it.. so i guess its normal..

let me tell u.. when the maf fell (i was pushign the maf down) it was liek slow motion.. i almost cried.. when i installed it back in i prayed that it would work.. im so glad it not broken *knock on wood*

i need a MAF soon too.... loosing power around 4-5 rpm...

I don't have the money for a MAF yet so I hope i wont get stranded somewhere

Call DaveB... his number is in the FAQs...

If you can rev up to 4-5k rpm, I doubt its your MAF... if the MAF fails, ya won't be able to go over 2400 rpms....

Well I was just wondering from a response from my thread.. the gears get sticky.. and it takes a while to shift to the next gear (riding up to high rpm and not shifting)... wasn't sure if it was just a warning sign for my MAF to go bad since someone said it wasn't a tranny issue....

Here's my thread... what can the problem be then?

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=400299