Guys (especially OP), don't know how to thank you enough ! I have endured poor top end acceleration, flat spots, and constant traffic light engine stalls for the last 5 months. I have been ready to send the car off of a cliff, seriously ! However, today I had a go at this, and VOILA ! No more flat spots, revs all the way with great power, and most importantly to me - NO MORE STALLING 30 TIMES A DAY !!!!!!!! So chuffed. THANKS A MILLION !!!!!!

Oh, one thing though, can anyone tell me why my dashboard dials completely die and I lose cruise control for no reason at all ? lol. Car still runs fine etc, just dont have fuel guage, rev counter, speedo/cruise etc. Quite annoying, but not as annoying as the stalling !!!!

Cheers folks

 

For #1, the MAF if you spray it and it improves performance that means its on its way out and requires replacing.

For #2, that could be a wire harness connection or possibly a relay/fuse. Check the FSM for locations and inspect.

 

Just cleaned mine up. Just as a heads up, my 2001 SE has security torx head screws holding the sensor in. PITA. Had to go to Sears to get a set of security bits.

Doing this completely did away with the flat spot I had at 3500 rpm and eliminated the cold start stumbling. Car runs like a scalded dog .. for now at least. Thanks OP.

 

I failed by smog test at 168k on my 2000 Maxima and after going home very frustrated found this great ressource
After buying the special security torx (bough a full set for only $10 at my local car dealer - Monument Valley Auto parts in San Ramon) Cleaned the MAF as described using Brake cleaner and after driving the car for about 200 miles after ECU reset, went back to my SMOG check station and Bamm passt with flying colors!

The inital diagnostics was failing the 15MPH emission drive test as there was too much fluctuation in keeping the car to drive at 15MPH

The ERROR code was P0171 System too lean

 

I have a 5.5 gen, Last night I cleaned the mafs and also cleaned the housing with the same cleaning chemical. After performing the ecu reset an idle relearn my dte increased from 125 to 220 which I figured was correct since I had about half a tank of gas, and now my mpg and mph update much more frequently. Before the cleaning the trip meter always read 13.7 mpg 14 mph. I drove about 7 miles last night. Monday morning I have a 90 mile drive to and from work. That evening I will edit my post with more detailed results. I'm not mechanic savvy at all, I would say more or less took me 2 hours to dissemble, clean and reassemble. Great write up

 

Man! great idea! but i found your post too late, I have already disassembled the MAF housing from throttle and filter house. but then I discovered there's a metal screen at the opening of MAF housing and MAF is facing this net makes it impossible to spray cleaner directly into those two air entrance, some say it will be as effective spraying through the screen, but I doubt it.

So your post still helps, after unscrew that 2 cursed security torx bolts, I could just turn the sensor around facing open end, thus I finanlly gave it a good blow by the cleaner.

Thanks man.

 

It's not impossible, just take the MAF out and spray from the side that doesn't have the screen. Either way its still effective, you can still clean it spraying through the screen.

 

Just pick up the security bits from Harbor Freight, its under $20 and covers many various screwdriver sizes.

 

What's the difference in the two MAFs?

Product SKU: 22680-A33B005 vs 22680-2Y001?

 

I have a question; the MAF has 4 or 5 "plugs"?
I just change it and i have one of 4 and put one of 5 and it still running ok!

 

On my 2000 there is 4 pins.

Went to harbor freight and picked up a security tool set for 10bux.
Took the sensor out and sprayed it like said and BOOM. Freaking fixed my
problem at 3k it bogs like crazy. No more. Feels great having all that power back. Thanks.

Before I 'cleaned' it by taking the housing out and spraying it with carb cleaner. That did nothing.

You need to spray MAF cleaner just like in this thread.
Feels so good man.

 

Never spray carb cleaner on plastic. it will eat away at it.

 

Still haven't tried this, but soon.....

 

I've used CRC MAF cleaner on my other cars with good results. I cleaned out the MAF on my 02 I35 this past weekend. One thing was that with the cooler temps, the unit took like 1 hr to fully dry. After 30 min, there was still moisture on the plastic so I let it dry longer in the house versus the cold garage. I haven't noticed a dramatic performance increase but my mpg has increased 1-1.5 and the idle seems a little smoother.

 

Did it, everything went well, no side effects, did last year around Christmas but forgot about this thread, did it exactly like the write up....

 

i have a 00 i30 and it idle rough throwing two codes p0171 multiple cly misfire and p0300 bank 1 i was leaning towards replacing the upstream 02 sensor however after reading this seems it might help ... so i have two questions this part is fragile right and expensive how often does this part need to be replaced after someone messes with it and is it possible for a dirty maf to throw both of these codes!

 

You speaking about the MAF sensor?

 

Nice pics and explaination thanks !!!

 

Does anybody have a link to order the Torx screwdriver (shipping to Canada) that fits the 2001's MAF screw? Never seen it in my life Desperately want to clean my MAF

 

T15 standard size

 

Hi-

Great write-up. I had a friend clean my MAF sensor, but I ultimately needed to replace it. When I went to replace it, I found the 2 lower bolts holding the MAF housing to the air filter box to be very difficult to reach. I ended up removing both the battery and the air filter box in order to unbolt the MAF housing. I'm curious how you all managed to get to those 2 lower bolts without also removing the air filter box.

In any event, the MAF sensor has been replaced and the car is running great! Thanks, again!

 

The air box has to come out regardless and the battery does not have to be removed

 

Question. Will cleaning the MAF on a 2003 maxima 3.5 requires you to relearn the car computer system?

 

If you have to ask, I would not attempt to do this.

 

If you follow the steps outlined in this thread properly, no.

 

Gotta do this on my new max...with the next air filter change

 

Quick question guys, IN the 02 max fsm, the specs of the maf at 2500rpm should be from 7.0 - 20.0 m/s. My question is what if im holding my foot steady and the it fluctuates? I was checking my maf and the reading fluctuates from like 14 - 19 gm/s

 

Just cleaned my today. FYI - my 2000 i30 had Security Torx size #20. Bought the #15 and it was too small - the inner middle hole was too small to fit over the middle post of the screw. I know it's never been changed before so the #20 was stock on mine. The #20 was the perfect size. Getting the actual sensor out was difficult (couldn't get a good grasp on it). Rotate it clockwise as previously posted for better grip and with a twisting back and forth upward motion she finally pulled free. Probably will post back after it's done drying and post test drive results. Hopefully it will correct some ping/knock I am noticing and weird "dead spots" when accelerating at certain RPMs.

 

Follow-up post. Well, after cleaning the MAF using the posted procedure, my '00 I30 w/ 63k miles was running even rougher. The initial reason for cleaning MAF was engine pinging at certain loads, loss of power in certain RPM ranges and erratic tranny shifting (felt like it was slipping - no longer crisp shifts – thought my tranny was going out). All those symptoms became worse, much worse after the cleaning, which now included hesitation or stumbling off the line. Called local Infiniti dealership and he overnighted p/n 22680-2Y001 - $136 - yea I know - probably raked over the coals on the price but driving the car the way it was running was dangerous - almost got t-boned pulling out at an intersection and my car shuttered and would not get up to speed. The part I received was the sensor already mounted in the housing - don't think Infiniti sells just the sensor.

My old sensor was p/n 22680-AD201. New sensor (p/n 22680-2Y001) has 5 contacts, old had 4. New sensor was slightly longer than old. Yanked out the air box/filter assembly and installed new MAF w/ housing. While I was at it, I re-foamed some of the intake and airbox inlets as some of the original foam 'weathersealing' had deteriorated and crumbled - wanted to make sure there was no obvious vacuum leaks and everything had a tight seal. Outcome: Night and Day difference! Car runs like NEW again. No more pinging - tranny is tight / crisp much more responsive, no more stumbling off starts and no annoying 'dead-spots' anywhere in the power band. Really, really made a huge difference. Guess the old MAF gave up the ghost. I will reiterate that I was careful cleaning the old MAF and just used the CRC spray being careful not to touch anything and allowed it to dry for a couple of hours...

Instructions that came w/ the new part referred me to a TSB instructing me to reprogram the ECM and some other stuff. Hoping that having negative lead off battery cleared the memory. Don't see any need to go to the dealership to have this done because the car is running like a champ again. I know my mileage will get better. It's been around 19-20 mpg in the past - in town driving. We'll see.

 

Thanks for your detailed instructions on how to clean the MAF. With the help from your pictures.....I noticed mine didn't have a resistor on it and that's why my car had a check engine light. I put a resistor on, the check engine light is gone, I passed smog and my car runs great! You saved me $390 for the part! I owe ya! Thanks so much!

 

Ok so I have an 02 I35, Is it safe to say when cleaning or replacing the maf, that The ECU tps, idle relearn does not have to be done if the battery is disconnected??

 

No need to disconnect battery. Just pull the plug on the maf first. Then disassemble and clean.

 

ok good sounds pretty simple. Tried it today, didnt have to do a reset, car started right up!

 

I just got my first 5th gen 2k2, lots of spuddering on acceleration at low speeds, high speed I didn't notice bog, I'm going to try cleaning first and see where that gets me before I jump into a new maf, anything else could be culprit? Plugs are good and coils are new

 

Anyone know where I can get the screws that hold the MAF in the tube?

I looked at a Nissan parts diagram and it appears they don't sell them separately, only the entire assembly.

If you can get them through a dealer, would anyone happen to have a part number? If not through a dealer, would anyone happen to have the specification of the screws?

One of the screws on mine is rusted badly, and I can tell I'm going to destroy the screw head when removing it.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

I'm glad I ran into this thread today, I cleaned my MAF sensor last week and it didn't help so I ordered a new one, I'm about to install the new one, how do I reset the ECU? or is it necessary? Link?...I'll report back in about an hour

 

Any pick and pull wrecking yards in your area? I'd check there first.

 

If the O ring is good, then it's a tight fit, anyway. One screw will hold it more than enough.

 

So I got the sensor out this morning and mine does not have the resistor shown in the pictures. It looks identical to the photos posted by the OP, but the resistor is GONE. Could this be a slightly different model sensor, or did the resistor disintegrate or fall off (in which case obviously I need to get a new one)? I'm the original owner and so far as I know the MAF has never been serviced before. Thanks in advance for the responses.

 

The resistor is the intake air temp sensor. If you have an 00 or 01 the sensor is separate in the intake but the little pinch holders will be there. So, no problem if the car is 00 or 01.