thebaker

iTrader: (2)

So I just purchased my new vehicle yesterday (moved from maxima 98 to infiniti 2001) and the car was in excellent shape. Had it checked by a mechanic prior to inspection and drove like a charm during the 40 miles I drove it back home.

I get home, showing it to my family, father tries to start the car, engine tries then stalls. Giving it some gas made it turn on, but there was some metallic clanking in the engine while giving it gas. Afterwards, it was idling at 1.3k RPM.

Decided to take it to a buddy (mechanic) with a code reader to see what's happening. On the way there, car wouldn't rev pas 2.5k RPM. Every time I pushed it, it came back down, like if it's gonna stall but it doesn't.

Code reader said P0100, i.e. MAF sensor malfunction.
He pulled out the sensor, cleaned it with MAF cleaner, put it back.
We started the car and it worked fine. Cleared the CEL. Reved all the way to 6-7k no problem.

Got him to swap out my tired (had my summer tires with me in the car) while I was there. About to drive off after that, same problem comes, car stalls and CEL for MAF malfunction again. We checked my air filter that was really filthy. We swapped that out (one of his friends had a spare one from a maxima that went to the junkyard).

While giving the car some throttle, there was a rotten egg smell (like a bad CAT). Possibly caused by the mixture running too rich because of the MAF malfunction.

Other thing to note is that the car has seen 87 octane all its life (170 000 km, 110 000 miles) and I did fill up about 60$ of 91 octane before my drive back to town. I alternate regular and premium every few fill ups on my maxima without any problem though. I don't know if it's related.

If all this does point to a bad MAF sensor, what is the part interchangeability. We wanted to isolate the source of the problem last night but there was only a 1999 maxima in his yard and the 4th gen MAF isn't compatible with the 5th apparently. What other models can I use to test it out before buying a new MAF? Also, is paying extra for OEM worth it or aftermarket will be fine?

In the end, we put everything back and I drove back home, keeping it under 1.5k RPM. And now I'm here seeking advice from the best source I could think of.I know it's a lot of questions but I tried to give the most info possible. If there's anything i've forgotten to include, let me know.

Thanks a lot in advance.
Cheers.

2damax

Sounds like MAF.

Call whoever you purchased it from yesterday and tell them. If it was a dealer you get it fix free. If it was a private seller you can still try for something.

2damax

IIRC, MAF for 2001 is like $118 at the dealer. Could be worse.

thebaker

iTrader: (2)

thanks for the input 2damax. any advice about OEM vs aftermarket on this? And could it be anything else?

2damax

No problem. Everything I am saying is based off other threads. I do not have the same MAF as you nor have I ever replaced mine...yet. i have read of people getting aftermarket/ebay ones and they were decent. My choice would be OEM. This is a peace of mind thing for me. A bad MAF is to much of a headache to deal with again.

And I am sure it could he something else. From what I have read you fit MAF symptoms the most. Hopefully someone else chimes in to give you other option.

picnik99

iTrader: (10)

i had the same issue with my 2000 maxima, just replaced my maf a couple days ago.. it was $118 for the parts and $103 for the labor.. if you're going to replace the maf i recommend getting OEM stuff and make sure you get an OEM air filter as well, aftermarket filters such as K&N have excess oil in the fiber that will make your maf go bad.. hope this helps

sascuderi

Ask the previous owner if he knows if the MAF was ever changed. If not, it needs to be changed anyway since they often fail before 100K miles.

Since it is not a very expensive part, and can make a huge difference on how your car drives, get it from the dealer, but you can always use a discount online dealer to save a few bucks

fd3rew

go with an oem one. I had a similiar experience when my maf went. I've tried an ebay one when my maf went and although my car idled and drove after replacing it with an ebay one, I had crappy gas mileage. I drove for a few months with the ebay one and ended up getting an oem one from Courtesy parts. I've lost any savings from the price difference in a couple of tanks of gas. Although I can't say you will definitely get a bad maf from ebay, you can order an oem one, pay a little more than ebay, spend 10 minutes of you time putting it in and save yourself a ton of money down the road.

oem $87.01 plus shipping
http://www.courtesyparts.com/kb_sear...air+flow&cat=1

sascuderi

Always amazes me that the only difference between the MAF of the 3L and the 3.5L is that the 3.5L MAF has the temp sensor built into it and for that Nissan changes over $400!!. Makes the OEM MAF for the 3L a great bargin at $87.01.

thebaker

iTrader: (2)

So I take the car out today once more (without having yet fixed the MAF), and it drives perfectly (normal idle, no RPM cap, normal shifting too) but the CEL light is still on. what happened?!

I'm not unhappy but I don't understand how my problem just went away.

thebaker

iTrader: (2)

So it came back later on during the day yesterday but started just fine again this morning. I'm very confused and not sure if I should buy a ~100$ part that may not even be broken.

2damax

It just means it so going bad. O2 sensors will do the same thing when they start to go bad. My window motor did the same thing when it went bad too.

5aprilc

I'm sorry for thread jacking, but can anyone tell me if this first MAF sensor on this website would be a suitable replacement for my stock MAF?

http://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/200...ss_sensor.html

Thank you,

Charlie