I have a 2001 Nissan Pathfinder that has been running perfectly. It
has had regular maintenance and now has almost 80,000 miles on it. I
went on vacation this past weekend and when I returned, I cranked the
Pathfinder and It sputtered a little at first. I thought... No big
deal... it's been sitting up for a few days... Then I pressed the
accelerator. The engine revs fine up to about 2500 rpms, then after
that it's like it's starving for gas...
(vroom...vroom...vroom...vroom) I've had a it put on a diagnostic
machine and the only thing that shows up is the Mass Air Flow
(circuit). I've been told that you can clean the sensor and sometimes
that alleviates the problem... That didn't work... I really don't
want to take it to the shop until I know something about this
problem... Does anyone have some knowledge on this subject to
share...

Thanks,

christopher.harper (AT) gmail (DOT) com wrote:
Sounds like it needs a new AFM. Not uncommon.

<christopher.harper (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

That's fail-safe mode and it happened to my Altima when the electrical
socket fell out of the MAF sensor. It would rev up to 2500 and then cut
off. It also would stumble near idle or when decelerating, and stalled a
fair bit.

I would start by checking the wiring to your MAF sensor, and reseat it a few
times. With a code set and failsafe mode engaged, I would guess that it's
something more than just a dirty sensor. I got a new-to-me one for my
Altima from a salvage yard for less than $100 Cdn and it actually ran better
with that than with the original.

Good luck,