I'm going to change the MAF sensor and swap over the thermistor tomorrow morning. I made an appointment with the local Nissan dealership to get the ECU reflashed but said dealership is 15 miles away. Am I going to do any damage to my engine driving that far without a reflashed engine?

 

No

 

yeah you shouldnt have any problem driving it. Are you having them do an idle air volume learn also?

 

No, is an idle air volume learn necessary? The documentation that came with the sensory only said that an ECU reflash was necessary.

 

No you should be fine...

 

I just installed mine last friday, haven't had the ecu reprogrammed. I had a hesitation between 3000 and 4000rpms, and now that is gone. Other than that, I didn't really notice any performance gain, not sure if the ecu reprogram would do much, though. I'm just not quite ready to spend the $80 or so it costs to reprogram it.

 

Yeah the reflash is necessary if its never been done. Its good to do an idle air volume learn, when replacing a maf but i guess its not necessary. See if the shop will include it when you do the reflash, its not hard to do or take much time, you just need consult 2.

 

Ok, I'll ask.

 

The ECU reflash is NOT always necessary. I've been driving for 3 months without getting it reflashed and the car is driving beautifully and I'm getting great gas mileage.

 

i don't believe in that ECU reflash crap... it's probably just an easy way for nissan to make $100.. can't you "reflash" the ECU yourself by leaving the battery disconnected overnight or something like that?

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but leaving your battery disconnected overnight and getting the ecu reprogrammed are two different things. I believe when you reprogram the ecu through the dealer, you actually get new software that is supposed to mesh better with the new MAF.

 

ECU reflash is not necessary if you change out your MAF. Your ECU will re-learn the new MAF over time anyhow.

 

supposedly.. im skeptical of that.. as long as there's no SES light and your car runs fine, you're good to go

 

I think some of the confusion here is between and ECU reset vs. and ECU reprogram (update software). I think leaving the battery disconnected, or going through the whole, turn the key on and off and step of the accelerator certain number of times in X number of seconds is all the ECU reset, which I believe clears any saved driving data in the ECU. The reprogramming is an actual update in the software.

I had the software update done to my `03 about a month ago because I had a hesitation when stepping on the gas per TSB NTB03-022 (replacing MAF wasnt required for my 03). It got rid of the hesitation and had a slight but noticeable increase in power. I got it done for free because my friend is a nissan tech......but I would spend the $80-$100 to get it done if I had to.

 

I changed my MAF back in August of 2007. I was having serious knocking and pinging eventhough I've used nothing but Premium in it since I've had it(since 60K). The pinging instantly disappeared as did the SES light. I was ecstatic. But after about a week, the SES light came back on. The pinging however, went away for good. When I received the MAF, it stated that the ECU HAD to be flashed. I slacked off on that until last week when I finally broke down and took it in. $85 later, the light was off, the car was running great. But I've seen the light off for short periods, so I wasn't completely satisfied and was half expecting the light to come back on. And it did.
Another thing the car does is that it also "shudders" or rough idles or hesitates a bit, but only after I've started it cold and warmed it up and used it and take it out again while warm. No idea why. While rough idling, when I try to accelerate moderately hard, the SES light flashes for about 20 seconds and goes back to constant. I've also noticed that the hesitation goes away when I accelerate hard like when merging on the freeway and keep it hard for a few seconds more. The light however, stays on all the time. Occasionally turning off as if to take a break from being on and then returns at one of those hesitation moments.
I'm going to get the MAF replaced again and hope and pray that it takes care of the problem. It's under warranty(unless APW shafts me) so before I start throwing any more $$ into parts, I'd like to start off fresh with a new one.

 

Not at all

 

your car will be fine