update: i had the P0171 code, cleaned my MAF as the instruction, reset the ecu. and for a few hundred miles I was on cloud nine, had more power than i had in month, mid-range was present and more powerful than ever, no hesitation/no stalling...... BUT THEN, my SES light came back on and my car started running sh!tty again. MAF died completely. Switched it out with the MAF from ebay (the $78 one), and now i'm back in heaven again!!
Thanks for the instructions, cleaning didn't completely solve my problem but it definately a good start to diagnosing my P0171 problem and figuring out if it was the MAF or the o2 sensor. The mechanic told me to replace the front o2 sensor, I would have been pissed if i did that and i still had the same problem.

 

Can anyone tell me how to do an idle relearn?

 

ok, so i've been experiencing lagging performance lately on my 03.. it takes ALOT longer to get through the gears under WOT.. the computer isn't throwing any codes, but i kind of just assumed it was the MAF.. i threw in a MAF i had from my old 2001 maxima yesterday, and it felt good down low, but had some serious hesitation/bogging at 4.5-5k rpms.. i put the stock MAF back in after 10 minutes.. so do i have to buy a new 00-01 MAF and just throw in the wire from my stock MAF?

 

how can you use 5th gen MAF on 5.5th gen Maxima? they are different.

 

humm i dont see my resistor.... that's problem...anyone know where i can find a replacement for it?

 

plz, read the whole thread.
00-01 Maxima (aka 5th) has seperated temp sensor.
02-03 Maxima has temp sensor on the MAF.

 

oops i read it after. sorry. thanks for the reply though

 

people do it all the time cause they're cheaper... you just have to take a wire from the 5.5 gen MAF and put it into the slot on the 5th gen MAF and you're good to go: http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...r-2k1-maf.html

one question.. i had a limited amount of time when i was switching the MAFs and i couldnt see how to take the wire out of the 5th gen MAF.. it looked like it was attached pretty securely, and i couldnt get it out with my fingers.. is there a secret or tool to get that thing out?

 

i would not suggest clean this maf at all this will work on some mafs not the new maxima ones. I have tried it on two separate mass air flow sensors and about a day after cleaning it the maf failed. I ended up buying the 01 maf and upgrading it, this i would suggest car runs like it is brand new again.

 

Props on the write-up jasonmax...I had been having hesitation problems with my 5th gen since november and I couldn't figure out wtf was wrong with it. At first I thought it was my tranny, but that was ruled out when I was turning my car on and it just would shut off unless I pushed the accelerator to keep it from shutting off. Also, if I really stepped on it, it would just stay at a certain rpm and not upshift. One mechanic told me it was my tranny mount? Another told me it was my tranny and yet another told me it was prob an ignition coil, bad spark plug or a misfire in one of the pistons. Getting so many diff. opinions I decided to borrow my friends odb computer and got a P0171 code. Google'd and and got "System too lean". I google'd that and found that it was a dirty or faulty maf. Found this reply on the org and decided, heck, why not give it a try? Worst case, ill just buy a new maf from nissan or be stuck in the same place I was b4. I got the CRC maf cleaner, followed your steps and BAM, instant improval. I took off and hit 100 which I hadn't done in a while. This post prob saved me over 4 grand. Worked like a miracle

 

I've cleaned it twice, still working fine.

 

Same here.

 

Cleaned and still working, no problems yet. Thank you

 

jus tried this, waiting for it to dry
love this forum...stuff like this is soo helpful, thanks alot

 

I have discovered that this MAF cleaner cleans pretty much anything. You could just about detail your engine bay with it! On the back it says it's safe on any sensor and electrical connectors. Does anyone use this stuff for purposes other than cleaning the MAF? What have you found?

 

I used it to clean the crap inside the connectors.

 

In instances such as this I wonder if more harm than good is done. What would be an indicator as to why it is that you would perform this procedure?

 

noob question but ... if I upgrade my 00 MAF to 01, would the SES light come on?

 

I'm feeling quite studly after having fixed my own car. I know close to nothing about car repair, yet--SUCCESS!!! I am now celebrating with a Goose Island Ale as I write this . Below are some details that might be useful to others considering trying this out.

But first, THANKS A TON TO JASONMAX for the awesome pics and descriptions...very kind of you. Thanks also to others who've given us an update on their situations and details of trouble points. You guys have potentially saved me a ton of money. Previously (maybe a year and a half ago), I'd had to get the infamous ignition coils/spark plugs switched out...I'm now wondering if it was an MAF problem back then as well.

Recently again, I'd had the same problems that everyone here is describing with the rough idle at start up, and at stop lights with the occasional complete stall. Also, at times I'd totally lose all acceleration on the road.
The problem was off and on since probably maybe half a year to a year ago, where it was usually only at start up (going and coming from work--as the car had been sitting for a while). It was not too bad though, and would usually go away within the first few minutes of driving. It had more recently, (in the last few weeks) gotten progressively worse until the last few days, it had been almost undrivable (was having trouble getting up to speed on the roads--the car would sometimes not drive faster than 20mph).

I'd read this thread and decided to give it a try but ran into a few walls. Here's a detail of some of those walls, as well as some descriptions that might be useful to others:

1. Discovered that the size 15torx was the wrong tool in my case--my MAF is mounted with "security Torx" as some of the others on this thread commented on. I had to go out and get a SIZE 20 SECURITY TORX bit ...which worked fine. I got this at a local autoparts store (called Lee Autopars--not sure if it's a chain).

2. Like Kevin319, I couldn't work the socket loose from the MAF no matter how hard i tried. I tried using the advice of ryant (wedging the screw driver against the tab, pusing it, and simultaneously pulling up on the socket)--to no avail. I ended up just pulling up the MAF while still connected to the wiring/socket thingie, and spraying the sensor down while still attached. I laid out a t-shirt over the engine so that I could spray the crap out of the MAF sensor, so i wouldn't have to worry about getting the stuff everywhere. The sensor looked pretty clean to me, although I might have seen a slight bit of some residue on the shiny surface in the tunnel (it's hard to tell since it's dark in there), and maybe a bit of black/dark residue on the metal pin/wire thingie inside one of the holes (i have a 2000, so there wasn't any wire thermistor thingie on the outside of the housing)

3. I stood there under the hood, holding the MAF in my hand, letting the thing dry for maybe 5-7 minutes (clear, sunny, breezy, day) and then re-installed, hooked the battery back up, and restarted the car.

4. At first the car bucked and stuttered and seemed like it wasn't fixed at all. It even stalled on me. I tried backing out of the spot, but got no power, so pulled back into the spot and let it idle for a while. I was convinced that the problem was entirely something else and was pretty much resigned to take the car in for another costly service. The idle was rough going between 1,000 and 500 rpms, the car shuddering. After letting it sit in idle for a few minutes (which in the past seemed to help *slightly* with the problem) i decide to take it around apartment complex to see if I'd see any difference in how it ran. After about the second or third stop sign i'd noticed improvement. After maybe 4-5 minutes of driving there seemed to be no problems. I took the car out on the open road and everything came back--it was driving like new again!

5. I'm wondering whether just unhooking the battery was not enough to reset the ECU, and it needed some time to "readjust"??? after the cleaning. Or, maybe it needed a few more minutes for the sensor to dry?

Anyhoo, that's been my experience. Thanks all!

 

My joy was short lived... Cleaning the MAF seems to have helped acceleration a bit, once the car is running, but it didn't solve the problem.

Next day, I'm having the same problems with a rough/searching idle, swaying between 1,000 and 500 rpms and occasionally just dying out.

Anyone else having this problem? What could it be? I've had the coils/plugs switched out about a year and a half ago. Any ideas would be appreciated

 

I've just cleaned the MAF sensor in my 2000 maxima using contact cleaner and now it stalls on me when idling when its warm. Why would this occurr from cleaning the MAF. Perhaps the contact cleaner left a residue?

I had the battery unplugged when I did it, do I have to do something else to reset the ECU or re-learn the idle?

 

I have never in 95000 miles clean the MAF. Would cleaning it possibly help with the decrease in powah?

 

has any1 ever tried this on a 4th gen?.

 

I have done this, following another car forum. Works flawlessly. No Codes, No residue. Works as it should....
in essence we are trying to clean up small PARTICLE of dust that may be on the maf sensor...

CRC product is likely nothing but isopropyl alcohol in an aerosol can.
.

so save even more money and try with

91% iso alcohol avaliable at any place.

use a big 1 gallon zip loc bag, and fill with alcohol...
slowly place maf in there, and wiggle it around so it travels through all openings, and sensors...you can SEE how dirty the alcohol will get...
TRUST ME on this one...

rest is normal, just wait for alcohol to dry. 1-5 hours.

ENJOY! and save even more

 

http://www.vaglinks.com/Docs/VW/MKIV...eaning_DIY.pdf

 

Nice Write up. Im going to clean mine for the hell of it! lol

 

why did you use that?

 

it works for all MAFs.

 

do i have to use the special MAF cleaner? or can i use some other electrical connections cleaner i bought when i was cleaning the harness plugs to my ecu

 

I would only use the MAF cleaner, it's only $6. A small price to pay when you are risking a very expensive sensor.

The alcohol cleaning procedure above seems like it will work, but MAF cleaner dries in a few minutes, not 12 hours.

 

exactly

 

my car is starting to feel a little slugish and my milage is hurting so i think its about time to give this a try. Thanks for the great write-up!

 

Just cleaned mine 01 20th anniv, ECU reset automatic, there was no need to relearn idle.

Brilliant "how to". Thank you very much Jasonmax

 

I just did mine again, what a difference. No more stalling at idle.

 

Anybody tried to spray the CRC MAF cleaner right through the screen after the air-filter element? You might waste significant amount of cleaner but could save headaches in trying to take off the MAF and/or the pain-in-the-neck connector.

- Vikas

 

I know the cleaner would evaporate, but where would all the dirt go? Into the intake? I don't have the torx screwdriver to take out the sensor itself, so I take out the entire airbox and took off the section of tube that holds the MAF. Start to finish was maybe 10 minutes not counting a few minutes to make sure the sensor is dry. I would rather take it out to make use you get it clean.

 

This question may have been answered before, However excuse me for being to lazy to skim threw 3 pages to find it:P
Are there any risks of ruining ur maf by doing so? i've heard on other forums that this should only be tried if your maf is already shot since it could f it up all together.
True? Or just dramatic bs?

 

im going to try and do this to my car tomorrow..Thanks

 

nope, nothing happend to my car so far. actually nothing has gone wrong on my car since I bought it 2 years ago.

 

just cleaned my MAF today on 2000 max, noticed a slight improvement in throttle response... thanks for the great writeup