So, I changed my maf sensor the other day. The car starts and idles fine for a few mins then rpms seem to drop and car dies. It doesn't matter if the engine is cold or at operating temp. Just seems odd that it holds perfect idle for up to 5 mins then it starts to act up. Also if I rev the engine past 2k rpm and let it fall back to idle it dies every time. I tried idle relearn process, maybe did it wrong. Any ideas?

 

2000 5 speed. Btw.

 

MAF is always my first guess. Give it a clean at the very least and see what happens. Be gentle.

 

I did carefully clean the sensor with crc maf cleaner, making sure not to touch any part of it with the spray straw. I suppose I could swap it out with my wife's 01 max. See if it fixes the problem. The new one I bought was the cheap AutoZone part. Possibly defective right outta the box. I'll let you know if it changes anything. Thanks for the reply though. This website and .org members have been extremely helpful.

 

Most people agree the aftermarket MAFs are junk. You can buy just the sensor (Delphi iirc) off amazon for about $100. Be advised I ordered it twice and got the wrong part both times.

Since you have easy access to another one that is known to work take advantage and swap it out. Takes minutes.

 

What is your cold running idle rpm and also what is your rpm after 4 minutes or so. My bet is it's the iacv. If it's sticking, that would explain the 2k rpm to stall situation. It "closes" when you give it gas and opens at about 1000rpm or about that to control idle when off throttle, hence why if you bring the rpms low enough in first you can idle forward in traffic without stalling normaly.

 

Idle when cold is just barely over 1000rpm, maybe 1100. After 4 minutes or when warm it's right at 700rpm. It doesn't bounce or fluctuate at all, very smooth. Just looses rpms after a few minutes of running at operating temp.

 

Just saw that it was a cheap unit, swapping in a working sensor to test it seems like the best option.

 

Clean TB, relearn idle and see. If it didn't have this issue before, then the replacement maf is highly suspect.

 

^^^^^^this^^^^^^^