Just bought this car at 35K miles. It was in a front end wreck before I bought it that may be related. When the engine is cold (first start of the day) it will start but immediately the engine sputters and almost stalls. After a couple of seconds the idle will go to normal. Sometimes it just cranks over and doesn't start at all. When this happens, if I disengage the starter and reengage, it will start right up as normal. I believe it may be an issue with the MAF. and advice is helpful thank you!

Seems kind of obvious, but have you scanned your ECU for codes?

Sensors (MAF, coolant temp sensor, o2 sensor) usually put out codes that are stored and can be retrieved for free at your local Autozone, or for about $40 on ebay you can buy your own scanner.

It seems like it is pretty new with only 35k. Is it still under warranty? IIRC, 2006 should have a 6 year/70k drivetrain warranty. Items like this I would say take it to the dealership and have them fix the problem for you. They can keep it overnight and start it in the morning to hopefully see what the issue is.

All I have is guesses and I don't have much experience actually working on my FX. I have a Maxima and problems like that often arise with gunked up or malfunctioning Idle Air Control Valves (IACV) and throttle bodies.

it hasnt thrown any codes and the stealership has not been able to figure it out. the warranty just ended. Im leaning towards the MAF

i had pretty much the same problem with mine a while back. one of my cam position sensors went bad. had it repalced and now starts everytime. dont know if thats your problem but it might help