Here's the story. It's a 2003 6MT, with 63000 km on it (bought it used) 2 years ago). Bone stock except for the stereo. Car went into the dealership 2 weeks ago for replacement of the driver side window motor, as well as routine oil and filter. Battery was also replaced as the original was toast (I had to charge it twice in the past month).

I get the car back... my drive back, the car just konks out while I'm going over a bridge. Restarts with no problem, but after that, whenever I came to a stop the revs would drop so low (<500) that it would sputter and die. Now, this was at night and the dealership was closed, and the next day was Sunday (a week and a half ago), so I was screwed. Anyhow, this behaviour continued to occur but less extreme (i.e. only died when idled while still cold, rough idling). I was so busy with work I couldn't call them on Mon or Tues, but by Wednesday I called them to make an appointment, which ended up being for today.

That same day, the check engine light came on. About a day later, the check engine light went off, and stayed off. Still... you could hear the car idle rough, and it definitely sounded like it was misfiring. Plus, if I tromped on the gas, I smelled fuel. WTF? Filling it with 94 octane (instead of the all too common 91) helped mitigate some of the symptoms, but it was still there.

So, anyway, I take the car in today. Now I get a call saying she's running lean because the MAF has konked out, and it's going to cost 800 bucks in parts, labour, and diagnosis to fix it. How does the MAF just "go" out? And why did this mysteriously happen after I took the car in?

Another note: when I dropped the car off for the initial service and window motor repair, I had maybe 30 km left in the tank (according to the digital readout). When I picked it up, it was reading 75. I know this reading varies wildly depending on driving style, but still... that's a HUGE jump. So, okay, they probably added a dollop of fuel to take it for a test drive after they finished the work. Fine. But am I right in suspecting something else?

Any opinions? Advice? Thanks in advance.

 

Sounds like the dealer from hell.

 

Replace the MAF yourself.

It's too late now, but ya' could've followed my window motor replacement DIY and saved a butt load of $$$...

 

Electrical sensors love to die.....

ask my throttle body, cam sensor and wheel speed sensors......

Double check that the maf is plugged in tightly. Try and ECU reset as well.

 

That's pretty rare for MAF to just "go" like that, but it is possible. See if you can talk to the mechanic personally. Sometimes that helps you get a personal look into his personality and see if he is a BS-faker or an honest Abe.
Nonetheless, electronics can go out like a light. My EVAP Solenoid slowly went out one day. Not sure why, but I replaced it for about $60 cos I bought the part and installed it myself. The CEL went out on its own after about 60 miles of driving, which assured me that my car's OBDII made sure everything was OK before turning off the warning.

Oh yeah, and what kind of air filter are you running? That can make the MAF dirty.

 

I did reset the ECU. I forgot to mention that earlier.

 

Maybe they didn't plug, the plug, to the MAF back in right when they replaced the filter. Have you tried pulling it out, inspecting it, then replugging it?

 

No, that I did not do. Car's currently at the stealership right now, about to get the part replaced. Thanks for the advice, Vo. Wish I made this thread sooner (And wish I read about the window motor replacement!).

 

*AHEM* Chris, check your PMs.

 

its not rare for the maf sensor to just go like that. it's a common occurrence with most of the new nissans. I in fact have had many customer's to date with G's and Z's already suffering form this problem. Even had a few throttle control's go out as well. Most likely it was a coincidence that this happened while you had the car at the dealer.


and b4 you people reset your ecu's how's about getting it scanned regardless if the CEL is on after it was on and went off. there is such a thing that each ecu has now a days called MEMORY/HISTORY codes.

 

Tis an 03 Nissan...

 

The element should be under $200 if you have to replace it. It also should take 5 mins to change.


I would buy some maf sensor cleaner first and give it a try.

 

Wow, you took it to the dealer to replace a $150 part...for 800. You got hosed. Bad.

 

depending on what kinda aftermarket junk you get to replace the air mass sensor....from my OEM wholesaler it comes in 2 versions

pt# 22680-7S000 Hitachi oem sensor element w/o the housing List at 300.00

pt#22680-CA000 Hitachi oem sensor with housing list at 561.52

mind you this is OEM parts. You can prob find them cheaper, but this is what i CAN charge to a customer....not that i do though..

 

I didn't know that was the problem when I took it in, though. I'm pretty p.o.'ed with myself right now.

Anyhow, what's done is done. It's a very expensive lesson for me to learn, but nonetheless, there you go. The car is running beautifully again. Now, I have no intention of signing off on some expensive repair when I should first scour for the parts elsewhere and do the install myself (I do have some limited mechanical skills).

 

Yeah, sounds more like a bad oil change tech f-ed up your filter.

I gather it's too late, but: What codes did you have?

 

I had an MAF go out on my 2000 Celica. It would start fine, but when I stepped on the gas, it was like time stood still. The car never died, but after the mega-hesitation, it would take off like a bat-out-of-hell. Dealer replaced it for $200. I know our Zs are somewhat higher-priced on parts, but you definitely got hosed on pricing.

 

Yup. Mine ('04) crapped out just as I was passing a truck on a highway in heavy traffic. That was fun... I knew immediately that's what it was, since starting fine but not running is the symptom of a dead air flow sensor. There was no warning at all.

Asterix