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How long does a MAF typically last for you?

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Old Jul 20, 2018 | 01:30 PM
  #1  
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How long does a MAF typically last for you?

My 96 I30 is bogging and stalling again, usually only when the engine is warm and having been driven a bit. The CEL is not on, and there are no codes present.



I last replaced my MAF sensor about 3 years ago and maybe 35k I put on it since. I used a Bosch MAF, which is the actual OE sensor and made in Japan.


There is no unusual noise or smells.
Old Jul 20, 2018 | 02:50 PM
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My original MAF went out last year. The one I have been running since then is made from $40 worth of junkyard parts I assembled myself. Working great for 16 months now. But just in case I have 2.5 spares in my garage.

Pics / rebuild info here:
https://maxima.org/forums/4th-genera...lem-fixed.html
Old Jul 20, 2018 | 03:00 PM
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I think my 98 was running the original MAF at 240,000 miles when I got it. My 99 I30 experienced MAF failure around 220,000. I think I contributed to that MAFs failure by pressure washing the engine compartment.

At that point, had no idea about how a MAF seal could leak. When it failed, I had to keep one foot on the accelerator and the other on the brake at stoplights or the car would die. It had the classic MAF symptom.

I've never purchased a new MAF. I have three spare MAFs in the workshop for the 4th gens that I purchased out of junk yard cars. One thing that I do is when I change the air filter, I clean the MAF and rotate it with one from the workshop. I put one in the car that may have been cleaned a coupe of years earlier.
Old Jul 20, 2018 | 05:00 PM
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I have a 99 SE with the original MAF still working fine. And I've never cleaned or serviced it!


Watch.... No I cursed myself. LOL


EDIT: 210K

Last edited by KP11520; Jul 20, 2018 at 07:29 PM.
Old Jul 20, 2018 | 06:35 PM
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98 with 240k miles, and boosted. Original MAF
99 with 115k miles, and heavily boosted. Original MAF
Old Jul 20, 2018 | 06:40 PM
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For those of you who have replaced your MAF, at anytime did you or the previous owner have an oiled air filter on it? I have first hand experience with my father-in-law's suburban and oiled air filters causing a MAF to go bad.
Old Jul 20, 2018 | 09:05 PM
  #7  
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My car didn't have the original MAF when I bought it. I have no idea what filters were used on it, but I suspect the cheapest ones. I also don't know how long the old MAF was on the car.



I used a lightly-oiled filter the Fram Tough Guard (yellow). It is not heavily-oiled like K&N
Old Jul 20, 2018 | 09:21 PM
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Originally Posted by The Wizard
For those of you who have replaced your MAF, at anytime did you or the previous owner have an oiled air filter on it? I have first hand experience with my father-in-law's suburban and oiled air filters causing a MAF to go bad.
Proper solvent couldn't clean the sensor? I know the MAFs seem to go bad from corroded grounds or just from being dirty
Old Jul 21, 2018 | 04:27 AM
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I actually thought, based on some odd symptoms, that my OE MAF was failing ~ 18 to 24 months ago. I bought a new aftermarket unit that worked perfectly fine ... and still does.

I popped the top seal plate off the OE unit to check for solder failure and found none.

Turns out, my OE unit was not failing and I’m actually still running it.

I’ve used oiled filters on and off and also clean the sensor at least once a year.

‘99 SE-L bought new in MAR 1999, 164,000 miles.
Old Jul 21, 2018 | 08:57 AM
  #10  
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Mine died in 2014 (1998 I30). New one's been fine the last 4 years.
Old Jul 22, 2018 | 08:22 AM
  #11  
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7 years with this Car and the same MAF! Check your connector sounds like if you were to "wiggle it just a little bit" it would be noticed! If you find this to be you issue you can search eBay for a MAF connector pigtail and fix that problems for good! Now another problem can be run a oiled type Air filter and the oil droplets are damaging your MAF sensor!
Old Jul 22, 2018 | 09:35 PM
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Originally Posted by Violator
Proper solvent couldn't clean the sensor? I know the MAFs seem to go bad from corroded grounds or just from being dirty
Nope. MAF cleaner didn't work. In fact, from my experience and from reading tons of stories on here, rarely does using a MAF cleaner ever solve the problem.
Old Jul 23, 2018 | 04:34 AM
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Originally Posted by The Wizard
... rarely does using a MAF cleaner ever solve the problem.
Agreed.

It's certainly something that should be done periodically as a maintenance step, but it's not a fix for anything.
Old Jul 23, 2018 | 06:36 AM
  #14  
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Then what is the oil doing if not covering the sensor, shorting it out?
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