Does anyone know why some MAF sensors have the external diode, others don't? Almost every online photo I've seen shows this part soldered to the external terminals. My sensor doesn't have it, and I recently came across a photo showing the comparison. Was this a mid-year change? Are the two sensors interchangeable?

 

The MAF sensors for 5-Gen Maximas do not have the thermistor, and the MAF does not compensate for intake temperature changes (done through other means). In 5.5-Gens, the thermistor is integrated into the MAF and the MAF presumably takes account of intake temperature.

The 5.5-Gen MAF is a lot more expensive than that for 5-Gen. If I had a 5.5-Gen, I would be tempted to run with the cheaper MAF and see what happens ............

 

Thanks for the explanation! Maybe the thermistor could be moved over to a Gen 5 MAF when the 5.5 MAF is being replaced. The thermistor itself probably doesn't go bad very often. It would be interesting to try it and see.

 

Just do a bit of searching.
There are many threads discussing this subject, for example https://maxima.org/forums/5th-genera...r-02-mafs.html.