Why I bought a G instead of a TL...

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Old May 13, 2005 | 06:54 AM
  #1  
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Why I bought a G instead of a TL...

5/11/05 I picked up my '05 G35x and I just want to say that it was a hard decision between the G and the TL.
I decided to go with infiniti mainly because this car is AWD and made in Japan. If the TL was made in Japan and AWD I would have bought that. I don't have the $$$ to buy anything higher like the RL, GS300, etc.
Major factors in my decision:
Too many people complaining about the TL and all the rattles, paint problems, headliners, subwoofer vibrations, passenger door rattles, butt prints on the leather, water leaks in the back seat area, tire vibrations problems at highway speeds, torque steer, tranny recals/problems...... the list goes on and on. I have been reading these forums since the 3rd gen came out and I considered buying one.

Granted every car may run into problems but this is just too much for me personally. If it is one thing I can't stand it is rattles.

Now don't get me wrong I really like the TL and I love the interior. Hands down this car wins on the styling of the interior and all the gadgets. I love the touchscreen navi, voice rec., bluetooth, etc., but that is just more stuff to go wrong. When this new model first came out I drove it and nothing worked. I had to reboot the car in order for the radio, bluetooth, etc. to work.

Like I said, for me personally, I wanted something AWD since I had a Jeep and needed to get around in the snow. Hopefully the G35x won't let me down. By the way I decided to lease instead of buy. This is my 6th new car since '94 and I have never been happy with what I had owned. Then again, all I owned was American cars. That may have been the problem right there.

I have nothing but respect for the TL and every time I see one in the parking lot or driving by, I think to myself, that is a beautiful car. I like to talk to TL owners and tell them what a nice car they have.

Have a good one guys.
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Old May 13, 2005 | 07:18 AM
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Congrats on your "G".
Back in 2003 I looked at the 04 G35X sedan. At the time I thought I would be moving the family further north and too wanted the AWD. Due to staying in TX, I went with the TL.

I still feel the G is a great looking car (could use some changes on the interior, but nice non the less).
I know it's only been a few days and this is obviously an Acura forum, but,,,,, do you like it thus far??

Again, congrats

Enjoy
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Old May 13, 2005 | 08:00 AM
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Nice choice, nothing wrong with that.



See guys, another guy you scared with all your crybaby internet antics.
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Old May 13, 2005 | 08:00 AM
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The G35 is an excellent car. Infiniti has improved the interior greatly since the introduction of the G35. I prefer the coupe myself but either way the car is nice. Good luck with it!
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Old May 13, 2005 | 08:23 AM
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I too am having trouble with decision between TL and G35. Presently have 03 TL-S and love it (and am going to keep it....wife's car.) Have driven both and can't decide. On a comparable (G in premium trim) basis MSRP is $2k more for the G but no bluetooth. Still leaning towards TL, don't know about reliability and everything I have read on thie board but my 03 has had zero problems.
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Old May 13, 2005 | 08:40 AM
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honestly guys most people dont have problems with the car. my rattles only came after stuff was taken apart ... etc. Once I changed my tires the vibes went away etc. Actually the g35 c was my first choice but I was moving to ohio so opted for the TL. I like it but I wish they had a coup version etc.
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Old May 13, 2005 | 09:11 AM
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I went from the 01 CLS to the G and my spouse has the TL. Different cars... the G has more torque but the gearing is different from the tl and it does not have a dual stage intake.

fewer issues with the G so far....
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Old May 13, 2005 | 09:12 AM
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I think most everyone here probably looked at the G along with the TL. I did and the two things that drove me away from it were the cheap-looking interior and the fact it was nosier than I desired. But it has a killer powertrain and great dealer service (at least from what I hear). But to each his own and I hope you enjoy your new ride.
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Old May 13, 2005 | 09:42 AM
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Isn't the depriciation on an Acura much slower to than an infiniti....as well as repair costs much lower? If you aren't keeping the car "till it dies" than it doenst matter, but your resell value is higher in an Acura. Love the G though...but you gotta throw big rims on it
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Old May 13, 2005 | 09:48 AM
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depends on the G model. The acura model depreciates faster though. That was recently written somewhere. In the end you do not buy usually buy this type of car for the depreciation factor.

As for repair costs... have only 6700 on the G. The warranty is to 70K so except for a maybe brakes, we'll have to see how long they last. I got 83000 miles on the brakes in my CLS. Granted there was not much left to them, but I never had a brake job.
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Old May 13, 2005 | 09:49 AM
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Originally Posted by tdawgy808
Isn't the depriciation on an Acura much slower to than an infiniti....as well as repair costs much lower? If you aren't keeping the car "till it dies" than it doenst matter, but your resell value is higher in an Acura. Love the G though...but you gotta throw big rims on it
That was true up until the introduction of the G35. Everything that has come out since has held value very well. Repair costs are also not necessarily lower, with the Infinitis you never have to deal with a timing belt, and the I30/I35 share parts commonality with the Maxima, so parts are not terribly expensive.
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Old May 13, 2005 | 10:04 AM
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yeah no timing belt... you do not have that rather pricey 105,000 (give or take) mile tune up. The VQ is one of the 10 best engines for 11 years in a row. but labor at an infiniti dealer is now 90 bucks an hour.... !
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Old May 13, 2005 | 10:11 AM
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Originally Posted by jackal2001
5/11/05 I picked up my '05 G35x and I just want to say that it was a hard decision between the G and the TL.
I decided to go with infiniti mainly because this car is AWD and made in Japan. If the TL was made in Japan and AWD I would have bought that. I don't have the $$$ to buy anything higher like the RL, GS300, etc.
Major factors in my decision:
Too many people complaining about the TL and all the rattles, paint problems, headliners, subwoofer vibrations, passenger door rattles, butt prints on the leather, water leaks in the back seat area, tire vibrations problems at highway speeds, torque steer, tranny recals/problems...... the list goes on and on. I have been reading these forums since the 3rd gen came out and I considered buying one.

Granted every car may run into problems but this is just too much for me personally. If it is one thing I can't stand it is rattles.

Now don't get me wrong I really like the TL and I love the interior. Hands down this car wins on the styling of the interior and all the gadgets. I love the touchscreen navi, voice rec., bluetooth, etc., but that is just more stuff to go wrong. When this new model first came out I drove it and nothing worked. I had to reboot the car in order for the radio, bluetooth, etc. to work.

Like I said, for me personally, I wanted something AWD since I had a Jeep and needed to get around in the snow. Hopefully the G35x won't let me down. By the way I decided to lease instead of buy. This is my 6th new car since '94 and I have never been happy with what I had owned. Then again, all I owned was American cars. That may have been the problem right there.

I have nothing but respect for the TL and every time I see one in the parking lot or driving by, I think to myself, that is a beautiful car. I like to talk to TL owners and tell them what a nice car they have.

Have a good one guys.
I do not have any of the above problem you mentioned on my 2004 TL. Perhaps you got sucker in by the cry baby TL owners here and scared you away.

good luck
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Old May 13, 2005 | 10:22 AM
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Originally Posted by mickey3c
yeah no timing belt... you do not have that rather pricey 105,000 (give or take) mile tune up. The VQ is one of the 10 best engines for 11 years in a row. but labor at an infiniti dealer is now 90 bucks an hour.... !
From what I have heard, you have to take it to an Infiniti dealer for warranty work, but you could take it to you local Nissan dealer for oil changes, etc. When it goes out of warranty, I would just go to the Nissan dealer for any powertrain repairs due to the cheaper labor cost. Since it has the same engine as the Z and many other cars/trucks, they should have no problem troubleshooting it.
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Old May 13, 2005 | 11:51 AM
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Originally Posted by MattB
That was true up until the introduction of the G35. Everything that has come out since has held value very well. Repair costs are also not necessarily lower, with the Infinitis you never have to deal with a timing belt, and the I30/I35 share parts commonality with the Maxima, so parts are not terribly expensive.

The VQ is a good engine and I like the fact that it has a timing chain. I still have my 2000 Maxima SE which I keep as a spare car. I can tell you that there is a history of certain parts going on the VQ engines. Coil packs and MAF sensors. Both which will cost over $400 to repair. In addtion to that Nissan is famous for warped rotors. I have about 95k highway miles on my Maxima and had to have the rotors replaced 2 times.
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Old May 13, 2005 | 12:11 PM
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Originally Posted by jackal2001
5/11/05 I picked up my '05 G35x and I just want to say that it was a hard decision between the G and the TL.
I decided to go with infiniti mainly because this car is AWD and made in Japan. If the TL was made in Japan and AWD I would have bought that. I don't have the $$$ to buy anything higher like the RL, GS300, etc.
Major factors in my decision:
Too many people complaining about the TL and all the rattles, paint problems, headliners, subwoofer vibrations, passenger door rattles, butt prints on the leather, water leaks in the back seat area, tire vibrations problems at highway speeds, torque steer, tranny recals/problems...... the list goes on and on. I have been reading these forums since the 3rd gen came out and I considered buying one.

Granted every car may run into problems but this is just too much for me personally. If it is one thing I can't stand it is rattles.

Now don't get me wrong I really like the TL and I love the interior. Hands down this car wins on the styling of the interior and all the gadgets. I love the touchscreen navi, voice rec., bluetooth, etc., but that is just more stuff to go wrong. When this new model first came out I drove it and nothing worked. I had to reboot the car in order for the radio, bluetooth, etc. to work.

Like I said, for me personally, I wanted something AWD since I had a Jeep and needed to get around in the snow. Hopefully the G35x won't let me down. By the way I decided to lease instead of buy. This is my 6th new car since '94 and I have never been happy with what I had owned. Then again, all I owned was American cars. That may have been the problem right there.

I have nothing but respect for the TL and every time I see one in the parking lot or driving by, I think to myself, that is a beautiful car. I like to talk to TL owners and tell them what a nice car they have.

Have a good one guys.
Well stated. I personally would pick the G35X over the TL but only by the narrowest of margins, with the VQ35DE being the BEST feature of the G. But Acura also hit a homerun with the 3G TL.

....no bad choices between the two.
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Old May 13, 2005 | 12:13 PM
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So far I really like the car. Since I am leasing they said I have to bring it to the dealer for service but I can do oil changes anywhere I like as long as I keep the reciepts.
I don't even have a 100 miles on it so I really can't say what I like or dislike about the car. Oh wait, one thing I noticed is there is no RED line on the tach. There isn't a color change from the normal rpm indicators to where it would redline at.
That is something stupid but can live with it.

The car had major power, and will throw you back in the seat. The brakes are very touchy too. The weight of your foot will throw you forward from a 20mph - 0 stop.
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Old May 13, 2005 | 12:14 PM
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Coming from experience, Nissan and Infiniti are notorious for not honoring their warranties. Good Luck.
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Old May 13, 2005 | 12:21 PM
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Originally Posted by jackal2001
I don't even have a 100 miles on it so I really can't say what I like or dislike about the car. Oh wait, one thing I noticed is there is no RED line on the tach. There isn't a color change from the normal rpm indicators to where it would redline at.
That is something stupid but can live with it.

The car had major power, and will throw you back in the seat. The brakes are very touchy too. The weight of your foot will throw you forward from a 20mph - 0 stop.
VQ35DE Torque = a) no reason to get to high on the RPM band in order to extract great performance and b) will pin you to the upholstery with just a tap of gas pedal.

Having an 02 Maxima, it does feel good to launch hard off the line without having to even consider flooring it.
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Old May 13, 2005 | 12:29 PM
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The G35's are nice cars. They handle really well and have a great driving feel to them. I drove two g35's before I got my 05 TL.

I think the new G35 2005 interior is nice, but what killed it for me is the driver seat comfort and general room of the interior. The TL is a little more roomly and the seat is a lot more comfortable IMO.

Good luck with the G, it's a nice car with a nice powertrain.
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Old May 13, 2005 | 12:30 PM
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Originally Posted by rexracer
Coming from experience, Nissan and Infiniti are notorious for not honoring their warranties. Good Luck.
Not what I have heard from people that have infinitis from the local dealer. My buddy hit a curb needed his tire and rim replaced, but he put the full size spare on and noticed it was scratched from factory from tightening it too much. They got him a new rim, no questions asked.
He had a problem with his cd player and they replaced that too.
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Old May 13, 2005 | 12:30 PM
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congrats on the new ride!

post some pics!!
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Old May 13, 2005 | 12:31 PM
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I think the G35 looks dated. I liked the 6mt rwd one I drove, but the G35x is 3600 lbs and so must be a slug.

I like the G35 couple a ton, but i needed a 4dr as the daily driver.

Good luck!
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Old May 13, 2005 | 12:32 PM
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Originally Posted by elsensei
The G35's are nice cars. They handle really well and have a great driving feel to them. I drove two g35's before I got my 05 TL.

I think the new G35 2005 interior is nice, but what killed it for me is the driver seat comfort and general room of the interior. The TL is a little more roomly and the seat is a lot more comfortable IMO.

Good luck with the G, it's a nice car with a nice powertrain.
i agree with ya. i simply could not find a comfortable seating position. on top of that, the controls were just horrible. it's not for me, but nice car nonetheless.
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Old May 13, 2005 | 12:33 PM
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Cool

Good engine and good car... Enjoy it.
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Old May 13, 2005 | 04:34 PM
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Originally Posted by rexracer
Coming from experience, Nissan and Infiniti are notorious for not honoring their warranties. Good Luck.
Thats doubtful as infiniti is already known for their good service. Up to par with lexus
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Old May 13, 2005 | 06:53 PM
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Originally Posted by 03TL-S
Thats doubtful as infiniti is already known for their good service. Up to par with lexus

Nissan may be Infiniti's parent company but the two are night and day when it comes to service.
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Old May 13, 2005 | 07:47 PM
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I see. G vs TL theres no real losers there. But i think rattles mainly pertain to 04s?
Whatever floats your boat
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Old May 13, 2005 | 08:26 PM
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what i see, i also read in the g35 forum, they also have a rattle and problem things about the car. so i dont think that the infiniti dont have any problem.
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Old May 13, 2005 | 08:31 PM
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Originally Posted by TheMainEvEnt
I do not have any of the above problem you mentioned on my 2004 TL. Perhaps you got sucker in by the cry baby TL owners here and scared you away.

good luck
The same shit I was complaining about, WHINERS.
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Old May 13, 2005 | 08:33 PM
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Originally Posted by 03TL-S
Thats doubtful as infiniti is already known for their good service. Up to par with lexus
Having just sold an Infiniti to come to the TL, I'll tell you that Infiniti service (fields infiniti) was awesome. They honored the warranty, they worked on shit all the time. The only issue is that they never got the fix right. NEVER.
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Old May 13, 2005 | 09:57 PM
  #32  
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Originally Posted by Steel
.....I'll tell you that Infiniti service (fields infiniti) ....
Looks like another Chicagoland TLers....


I like my TL:











Good luck with G.
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Old May 14, 2005 | 12:02 AM
  #33  
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^ dude nice pics hahaha
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Old May 14, 2005 | 02:10 AM
  #34  
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I just got my TL last weekend! I also had a hardtime chosing between Acura, Lexus or Infiniti. I chose TL since its cheaper than Lexus and have more interior gadgets than Infiniti G35.

By the way, i just had my TL tinted at Steves Tint. Looks Great!
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Old May 14, 2005 | 03:42 AM
  #35  
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for the pics above, I'll say the 06 G35 sedan changed a little bit:


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Old May 14, 2005 | 07:18 AM
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Originally Posted by 03TL-S
Thats doubtful as infiniti is already known for their good service. Up to par with lexus
Well my experience with Nissan honoring their warranties came from first hand experience owning two Nissans. Infiniti, my next door neighbor as well as several collegues of mine ran into issues with Infiniti honoring their warranties. Just be aware. The Apple doesn't fall far from the tree in my opinion.
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Old May 14, 2005 | 08:46 AM
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It could have been just those dealers in the area you had issues with.

Another thing, when it comes to service, when some of the guys on this forum complain about the service dept did a horrible job and scratched the car all over. I wouldn't blame the service dept or the dealer. I would blame the ass hole tech.
Now granted the dealer should recognize this, and fix the problem immediatly.

Every dealership has their faults. Believe me.
Every car manufacture has theirs as well.

It depends on the person and what they think they will be happiest with. I think both the TL and G35 are great cars.

The only way I would call a car shit if you were comparing a yugo to a lexus. Ya lexus are shit and everyone wants a yugo.

Keep on TLn' guys, see ya on the road.
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Old May 14, 2005 | 12:59 PM
  #38  
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Originally Posted by Prolanman
The VQ is a good engine and I like the fact that it has a timing chain. I still have my 2000 Maxima SE which I keep as a spare car. I can tell you that there is a history of certain parts going on the VQ engines. Coil packs and MAF sensors. Both which will cost over $400 to repair. In addtion to that Nissan is famous for warped rotors. I have about 95k highway miles on my Maxima and had to have the rotors replaced 2 times.
It's funny you said that, because my fiance's Max had a problem with the mass airflow sensor as well. Big bucks!
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Old May 14, 2005 | 01:10 PM
  #39  
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It must be dealer specific (infiniti Issues) because in three years I had ZERO problems with warranties.
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Old May 14, 2005 | 02:52 PM
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Originally Posted by 05TLTony
It's funny you said that, because my fiance's Max had a problem with the mass airflow sensor as well. Big bucks!

I had the MAF changed on my Maxima in June of 04. It ran my around $450 to have changed. That included flashing the ECU which needed to be done when the MAF gets changed.
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