Sputter/Pop @ Idle - What's Wrong?
 

I have an '05 350z w/ 20k miles on it.

Lately I've been noticing an intermittent "POP" or sputter in the engine @ idle.

I'm thinking maybe the mods are causing this, I just have all the standard breather mods. So I'd expect an abnormal idle, but this sounds a little worse.

Could it be I need new plugs w/ 20k miles? other suggestions?

Thanks!

sounds like a damaged MAF sensor.

I get that too. Its louder with an exhaust. I thought adding the X pipe will smooth it out, but no.

That's interesting, that's a good idea. I'll have that checked out. I guess if it was damaged it wouldn't necesarily throw a CEL, can it be tested or should I just pick up a new one and see if it clears the problem?

i have stock 05 with ~8k miles..i get that sputter/pop too..im assuming its normal...but then again who knows

my 05 does this too, i have 33k miles now

when you start the car, does it seems like its gonna die?

no other problems with mine other than the intermittent pop

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that its normal if I'm thinking of the same noise. At low idle my car pops every now and then and it has been since I bought the car.

yes!!! You think it could be the MAF?

before you run out getting a new maf, try cleaning it first

My maf isnt broken, its probably got oil in it. I have maf cleaner at home.

cool, let us know if that fixes this annoyance

ill do it tomarrow when I get home from school.

i had this exact same problem...take it to the dealer and have them reset the ecu. The idle on my Z for some odd reason was too low when i bought the car(brand new) in '05....after they reset it, the idle was higher where it should be and the problem went away.

-Sam

SUCCESS!

OK - Thanks for the help guys. I took a look at the MAF and found a small metal shaving had somehow wrapped itself around those little sensors inside the MAF. It didn't seem oily or dirty, so I didn't feel the need to clean it. But I got some little pliers and pulled the metal shaving out. Then I reset the ECU. It seems to have cleared the problem!!!

I'm not sure if that little shaving was enough to cause a short accross the two sensors, or if it was disturbing the airflow, I don't know enough about how the MAF works really. And I'm not sure at this point whether I'll need to replace it, but I'm going to see how the car is for a week or so.

Anyway thanks for the idea. Now the bigger question becomes, HOW ARE THERE METAL SHAVINGS IN MY INTAKE!!!

how can someone reset their own ecu cause my car does this at idle also its an 04 with 17k miles and it sounds like my 9 Maxima did after all the mods

unplug the battery for about 5minutes, there is another way but i never got it to work. you can find the procedure if you search

I cleaned the maf today. There was nothing in my maf. Im afraid it may be idling too low because when I lower the windows it'll drop to like 400 RPM, and if i put on the AC, forget it lol.

wow, 400 is pretty low. lowest mine goes is 600, with AC on its at least 800