Hanging around the water cooler the other day, the topic turned to Preventive Maintenance. One person mentioned that they routinely "clean" their MAF sensor when changing the air filter.

Admittedly, although I have never included such a relatively simple task in my PMI routines in 40 years of taking care of my cars (admittedly, MAFs are a relatively new addition to my car history) his idea made some sense to me.

I am looking to this august body to see if anyone else has routinely performed this task and thoughts of merit.

 

Never did that after every air filter change but I have done it once a year at least.
Might make sense. I have 20.000 km on my car and changed the filter at 15.000 , so to tell you the truth I did not check it yet. But I will.

 

I have not. The only time I have ever had an issue with MAF was when I was using a K&N filter for a short time.

I imagine they have some special spray, but I would make sure that it is intended for MAF sensors.

 

There is no mention of cleaning or inspecting the MAF in the maintenance manual at any mileage. However if you are running with an oiled air filter instead of the stock paper filter then the MAF might require some attention from time to time because of oil residue buildup.

 

I would use this because it does not leave any residue.
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/c...5110/7070079-P

 

They do not mention it because they do not expect you to put in a K&N filter in there.

Even just using the normal paper ones, over time the MAF will get dirty.

Plus as I know and trust my Nissan dealers they just want to charge you a ton of money when it fails.

When I had my 96 Maxima they quoted me $500 for the MAF.
Went to a JY and got 3 of them for $60 .

 

I think its a good idea to clean it about once a year. The nissan dealer actually told me to spray it with brake cleaner then wipe it clean. Umm idk about that but i just used a can of compressed air and its fine. Only time ive had issues was with the stillen sri with k&N filter cone. I dropped in a k&n rectangle filter and have had no issues.

 

Some say yeah some say no, I have never done it on my Z, Max or any prior Z's or Max's. Here how from a 5.5 gen, 7th gen should be similar https://maxima.org/forums/5th-genera...10-w-pics.html

 

I used to have to do this on my 2005 denali, the way the engine was designed oil would get in the maf. Disconnect it, take it out, spray with maf cleaning spray from autozone, let it dry and put it back in. In the Yukon it would make a big difference, I did if every other oil change. On that truck there was an IAT sensor in the maf that when it got dirty would affect the trans shifting, not sure if it needs to be done on these motors tho it couldn't hurt.

It's the same thing as electronics cleaner spray btw which RadioShack has

 

I cleaned the MAF on my 96 Maxima once around the 130,000 mile mark...that was it in 235,000 miles. That car had a JWT Pop Charger and then a K&N drop in filter for most of those miles. Never had any MAF problems, even though those filters used oil. On my 2002, I never did it. My son has it now, & we replaced the MAF a little while back. The car went 215,000 with the original MAF. I guess I can take a look at mine to see how it looks...but I'm not too worried about it.

 

I gave it a shot a week ago. Simple enough process. I am reticent to proclaim improved performance/mpg as the weather has mitigated the need for the AC to run but I went from 23mpg on the previous fillup to 29.3 on the latest. It does seem that I am back to "normal" but as the AC is no longer running 7X24 and the engine does subjectively "feel better" I will try this again if I notice performance degradation next spring. Only then will I declare this a "win."

 

I'm just going to assume that you meant 23.9 instead of 29.3

 

Nope, 29.3. AC has always been a big drag on my ride.

 

That big drag equals $10 savings on a 15 gallon fill up if gas is $3.50 a gallon.

 

29.3???? This car is waaaay too much fun to drive to get 25 mpg, let alone 29!!! My right foot is just too heavy - LOL

 

I generally have my Cruise On...I really don't think I have ever gone more than half throttle since just after break-in. I get enough excitement when the cruise is off and I am fighting the tourist traffic in Orlando!

 

I'm gonna need to see photographic evidence of a 29.3 mpg average for this car lol.

 

+1

 

Most all of LtLeary's drive is hwy driving although, so he isn't right footn' it like most fellas!

 

I used to drive a Sentra from Dover to DC and back everyday until it got totaled. I got well over 30 mpg. I bought the Max shortly after that and doing the same drive (mostly highway) I could only muster 26 mpg a couple of times. I cruised around 75 and when the roads opened up, so did the Max! It was just so smooth and effortless and fun.

Sorry for getting the thread off topic. Back to the MAF cleaning...