2011 Maxima Advice

[daltonvol]

Hi folks,

My wife has the 2011 Maxima S. Earlier this summer, the SES light came on after a car wash. I had our mechanic pull the code and it was P0101 - Mass or Volume air flow. He didn't think much of it since the car didn't have any symptoms affecting the drive, so he cleared it for me. About a week later, it came back after a heavy rain. For about two weeks after that, the SES light would come and go. It stayed on for about a solid two weeks and then went away. It's been off for about 3 weeks now.

We've got 54,000 miles on it and are not in a good position to trade. Our closest dealer said that they would have to run the diagnostics for $129 before knowing if it is something that would be covered under warranty. He said that if it is the Mass Air Flow sensor, it is only covered to 36,000. If something is wrong with the air intake, it would be covered to 60,000.

Any advice?

[NutriaforBreakfast]

Try cleaning the MAF element with Mass Airflow Sensor cleaner or other
HIGH quality electronic parts cleaner. Spray the "hot wire" element.
Make sure the MAF connector is tight fitting and water tight and is getting
the proper voltage to it.
Check the air intake piping to see if there is outside air leaking around
the air cleaner. The air to the MAF needs to be clean or the "hot Wire"
element will be compromised. If it is compromised, it will transmit incorrect
information to the ECU computer and the car will not run correctly.