Hey guys,

When I put in my CAI over a year ago I took out the MAF screen since (at the time) it seemed like it'd help air flow for whatever reason. Whether that's true or not, I know a lot of people suggested to keep it in, as it really has no impact when it comes down to it. I'm also getting a tune in another week or so, and read it'd be best to keep the MAF screen in so my car could be tuned better. Fine, 'cept I didn't have my screen anymore so I ordered one from Morad Parts, looked a little dirty but nothing crazy, blew most of the bit of dirt that was on it, then stuck it in.

Ever since I started the car since then (just tonight), it seems like my shifts are slipping, or just taking longer than usual to 'happen'. Lightly pushing on the pedal to accelerate, it seems like it hesitates longer to go into 2nd, and when it shifts "off" of 1st, it takes about a second to go into 2nd. Maybe not even quite a second, but more than it used to for sure. Tried perf shift mode, and it's a little better, I'd say like it should be without perf shift on... even going from 2nd to 3rd, and so on is the same way. Not sure what's going on. I'm wondering if my MAF sensor got dirty from the screen... or if the PCM isn't used to the different readings it's getting now... or... I honestly don't know.

Anyone have any ideas? Last thing I want to think is that I'm suddenly having tranny issues...

Try disconnecting the battery, let it set, then reconnect. It may have had a larger impact on fuel trims than you thought and the PCM is trying to compensate, causing issues. The results you're seeing are a bit odd though.

Well I was installing some new aftermarket fog lights at the same time as well (angel eyes) -- did have the negative terminal disconnected. Should the positive be disconnected for a bit too? I know I remember reading something about resetting the PCM before... and negative/positive being disconnected. I know the negative after so long will reset all my fuel economy settings in the dash (and so I would think a bunch of other things too) but I think I remember reading about disconnecting the positive too. Don't know if I should try that, I know it can't hurt... All I know at this point is that the shifts definitely don't feel right.

Ha, if you did that... you know the transmission has to relearn how to shift right? Give it a few days, it will be back to normal.

"If you did that" -- meaning disconnected the negative terminal already? I did it the other day for a little while too when I installed the projector headlights I got from the group buy over at ClubGP -- didn't notice any shifting issues. Maybe I just didn't realize or... I don't know.

if you disconnect the battery, dont drive too spitited for the first little while, or the tranny will act like that

I'll keep that in mind, I drove about 40 miles last night after I connected the battery, and I don't think I drove very spirited at all... when I get home from work later I'm going to disconnect the negative and positive, let it sit for a little, connect it back up, and see what happens.

I disconnected both of them. It's been a good long while since I disconnected the positive terminal -- and to my surprise it had a bit of corrosion on the terminal itself. I don't have access to many tools where I'm at right now, but I decided to leave the battery fully disconnected for the night and I'm going to pick up a wire/metal brush tomorrow to scrape the corrosion off. I heard baking soda/water can help too, but is that alright to put right into the terminals like that? Sounds a little weird to me, being a battery and all, but if that's what it takes...

Battery is at the very minimum two years old (when I bought the car) -- I should be investing in a new one soon anyway, probably going to go with an optima red top...

Doubt this has ANYTHING to do with the issues I've been having, but it can't hurt to take care of this. Plus I have the nice reassurance that there is no possible way my PCM won't be fully reset having the battery disconnected over night...

If I still have problems when I reconnect everything tomorrow, I may see about removing the screen and see what happens. If that doesn't fix it, then clean the MAF (which is only a year old btw, replaced it because I believe it went bad due to the oil in the K&N filter I'm using...), and I can only hope that by that time everything will be alright.

Hooked the battery back up... the car seems (might be my head) a little better but still not what I'm used to. I've driven it 50 miles since last night.

Essentially, in non-perf-shift mode, when I accelerate regularly, it goes from 1st to 2nd almost like if I was driving manual, I feel like it wasn't immediately going into 2nd like it used to. Maybe I'm just crazy, is it supposed to give you a second or so (maybe 3/4 sec) between gears? I just remember it jumping from 1st to 2nd a lot quicker (and 2nd to 3rd, etc), almost like there was no 'neutral time'. If I really accelerate hard though, the car responds the way I'm used to I'd say. In performance shift mode at this point, it seems like lightly or hard accelerating yields acceptable shift times as well.

I don't know, I may be crazy. Idling has definitely improved, that's for sure. I'd scan to see how the car was reading from the MAF, but unfortunately I don't have one yet.

I think tomorrow I'm going to get a K&N Recharge kit for the filter, clean the MAF screen really good, clean out the throttle body and also spray the MAF sensor itself with some MAF cleaner spray I have. That way I just know everything is completely clean and fresh. It's been over a year since I've gotten a new/cleaned the air filter anyway it's looking pretty dirty.

I think at this point I'm willing to bet this is how the car is supposed to drive, and it was shifting harder without the MAF screen due to the irregular readings. I just can't remember what it drove like before I did the CAI to begin with, but I know I did notice a difference in the way it drove when I initially put the CAI in... didn't know exactly what was different but the car just felt different. That screen was probably the difference.

Any other thoughts?