Nissan Repair: nissan 2001, mass air flow sensor, mass air flow


Question
QUESTION: my car is chugging while in park and while in drive with foot on brake. i have replaced,spark plugs,wires,air filter,gas filter,alternator,an the battery.car seems like it wants to stall but doesent.it comes and goes.plus the engine light comes on and then goes off. what could this be?

ANSWER: Jennifer,

First check the engine code.  Even if the light goes off it will still be in memory and Autozone or Checker will run a diagnostic test for free.  Second, what it sounds like to me is the idle air control valve since it attempts to die but does not.  Basically, there is an air valve that lets air into the engine when the car is at idle and it regulates the idle.  Either the passage is plugging up or the idle air control valve is defective or sticking.  Check it out and email me back with what you find.

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QUESTION: HELLO, I TOOK THE CAR TO HAVE IT CHECK OUT, ON A DIAGNOSTIC MACHINE. THE MACANIC TOLD ME THAT THE CODE THAT CAME UP WAS P100 WHICH WAS THE MASS AIR FLOW SENSOR.SOOO,I WENT TO AUTOZONE AND BOUGHT THE PART,AND HAD MY BOYFRIEND PUT IT IN FOR ME.THIS PART HAD NO EFFECT WHAT SO EVER.SO I CALLED THE MACANIC BACK EXSPLANED THINGS TO HIM AND HE SAID TO ME WELL I GUESS YOU NEED TO GO DOWN THE LINE THEN.HE DID NOTHING FOR ME. WENT BACK TO AUTOZONE ,TOLD THEM WHAT HAPPENED.THEY SAID THAT THEY COULDNT TAKE THE PART BACK UNLESS IT WAS DEFECTIVE.SO THEY SUGGESTED THAT I CLEAR THE CODES AND TRY DRIVRING IT FOE A LITTLE WHILE,THAT MAYBE THR COMPUTER NEEDS TO RECONIZE THAT ITS A NEW PART.  THIS DIDNT WORK.THEN I TOOK IT TO ANOTHER PLACE TO HAVE IT CHECKED AND THEY CLAIM THAT WHEN THEY PUT T ON THE DIAGNOSTIC IT COMES UP P100 AND P174 THAT THEY BELEAVE IT IS THE MASS AIR FLOW SENSIOR. I TILD THEM I REPLACED IT ,AND THEY SAID TO ME SINCE IT WAS A RECONDISHENED PART THAT IT MIGHT BE DEFECTIVE. SOOO,AGAIN I WENT BACK TO AUTOZONE TOLD THEM IT WAS DEFECTIVE AND,THEY ORDER ME A WHOLE NEW PART THAT WASNT RECONDISDHENED.SO AGAIN MY BOYFRIEND PUT IT IN AND IT HAD NO EFFECT.NO ONE HAS MENTIONED THE IDLE COMTROL VALVE.HAVE AN ANSWER FOR ME ? I DONT WANT TO KEEP PAYING FOR A DIAGNOSTIC FOR SOMETHING THAT KEEPS COMMING UP AND ISNT THE PROBLEM.

Answer
Jennifer,

Disconnect the battery and wait five minutes and reconnect the battery.  Email me back and let me know if this corrected the problem.  If not, you are probably looking at the MAF relay.  It is located under the hood in the relay box.  P0174 is bank 2 reading lean.  So, if you have 100,000 miles or more replace the oxygen sensors too.