How To Clean A Mass Airflow Sensor (Maf)

DIY Difficulty Level: Beginner to Intermediate, depending on how easy or hard it is to reach and remove the mass air flow sensor on your particular vehicle.
Time Required: 5-90 minutes, depending on how easy or difficult it is to reach and remove the mass air flow sensor on your item vehicle.
Tools & Materials:
- Air intake cleaner
- Screwdrivers, wrenches, and any else is needed to access the mass air flow sensor on your item vehicle

What Is the Mass Air Period Sensor and What Does It Practise?

The mass air flow sensor (MAF) enables the ECU (the calculator that runs the engine) to summate and add the proper amount of fuel to enable the engine to run at meridian ability and efficiency. Sometimes this sensor can become clogged with droppings or fail entirely. This gives the ECU inaccurate information and causes an incorrect air and fuel mixture.

If you don't experience comfy cleaning the mass air flow sensor yourself, don't worry! Hither's how much it will cost to take a professional replace it.

Where Is the MAF Sensor?

The exact location varies from one vehicle to some other, but it's generally somewhere in your air intake organisation betwixt the air filter and the intake manifold. Look for a sensor sticking into the middle of the intake tubing, often near the air filter for easy admission.

See Step 1 below for an image of where the MAF sensor is located.

How Practice You Test the Mass Air Flow Sensor?

Thank you to OBD2, the ECU is constantly checking data from the MAF sensor and other sensors in your engine to make sure everything is working properly.

If your cheque engine light is on and you lot suspect the mass air flow sensor is the cause, you can examination this with an OBD2 scan tool like the FIXD scanner and app.

Plug your browse tool into your motorcar's OBD2 port, get to View Live Data, and check the MAF sensor readings. You should see a number that corresponds to how much air is going into the engine. When the car is warmed up and idling with the air conditioner off, this should be a adequately small number. It should change slightly only stay shut to the same value.

Press the gas pedal to rev the engine. The number should increment dramatically, since a lot more air is suddenly rushing into the engine. You tin can as well concord the engine at certain RPMs to cheque the MAF sensor value there. For case, at 2,000 RPM the value should be higher than at idle, but lower than at 4,000 RPM.

If what you find in the live data does not match this behavior, it most certainly means your mass air period sensor is muddied or has failed entirely. There is no fashion to reset it, merely you tin endeavor to make clean it, and then supercede it if a cleaning doesn't gear up the problem.

Is Information technology Safe to Bulldoze with a Bad Mass Air Flow Sensor?

In the brusk term, you lot should be fine. If you continue to drive while this problem gets worse, though, information technology could cause your engine to misfire. Ignoring a misfire could result in ignition failure, catalytic converter impairment, and unsafe or dangerous conditions while operating the vehicle. Cleaning or replacing the mass air flow sensor sooner rather than after volition avoid these potentially more serious and expensive problems.

A mechanic will typically replace the mass air flow sensor regardless of whether information technology's dirty or has failed completely. It'due south the same amount of work either way. If they clean it, put your intake arrangement back together, and it doesn't fix the problem, they have to practice the same job all over again, so information technology's really cheaper for a mechanic to replace the sensor the first time. That volition cost roughly $317 to $330.

If yous're comfortable taking apart your air intake system yourself, it's definitely worth trying to make clean the mass air period sensor before y'all supplant it. All yous need is time, maybe a few basic tools (my Ford van required no tools at all), and a $iii can of air intake cleaner.

*These prices are based on national averages. Related repairs or maintenance may besides exist needed.

When to Clean or Replace the Mass Air Catamenia Sensor

The MAF sensor is not an item that appears on your maintenance schedule, but like any sensor, they can occasionally fail. The all-time preventive maintenance you can do is to replace your engine air filter oftentimes according to your manufacturer recommended maintenance schedule. That mode, the air going through your MAF sensor and into your engine will be complimentary of dirt and debris that can clog it or crusade information technology to fail.

*For a custom maintenance schedule based on your make, model, and mileage, download the free FIXD app.

What Are Common Symptoms Indicating Y'all Need to Clean the MAF Sensor?

If you experience whatsoever of these symptoms, it's possible a dirty or bad MAF sensor may be the cause:

Hesitation (when you press the gas pedal, the car pauses earlier accelerating)
Misfires
Loss of power
Check engine light
Codes P0171 and/or P0174

Continue in Mind

Since y'all volition already be taking your air intake organisation apart, accept a look at your engine air filter whether it's time to supplant it or not. If it's muddy, replace the air filter at present. If you've driven through particularly dirty or dusty conditions, the filter may get muddy earlier than expected.

Now is as well a adept time to clean your throttle body. It can get dirty the aforementioned way as the MAF sensor, and yous use the same solvent to clean both, so information technology should but accept a few minutes while you're already in there.

How It'due south Done

Step 1: Find your air intake arrangement.

Every vehicle is different, then wait online or in your repair manual to identify your air intake organisation. My Ford E250's intake is conveniently located direct nether the hood. (Yes, it'due south dirty.)

Pace ii: Take apart your air intake system and find the MAF sensor.

The intake consists of a series of tubes, usually plastic, just sometimes metallic. Remove your engine air filter, and then locate the MAF sensor somewhere betwixt the filter and the engine. In my Ford van, the mass air period sensor sits correct backside the air filter, and is easy to achieve once the filter is removed.

This is as well a groovy opportunity to examine your air filter to meet if information technology needs replacement. In my situation, information technology did.

Stride 3: Clean the MAF sensor.

Start the engine. Commonly you don't want to run the engine without an air filter, but for this task it's ok to do it for a brusk fourth dimension. Grab your can of intake cleaner (I used CRC Mass Air Flow Sensor Cleaner), and spray information technology at the MAF sensor. The engine will slow downwards and well-nigh stall while you practice this. This is normal. A second or so later on each spray, the engine should run normally over again. Utilize several brief squirts, rather than ane long one, to make sure the engine keeps breathing and running. Spray as many parts of the sensor as you tin can accomplish.

Don't worry nigh spraying this particular liquid into your engine. It'south designed specifically for this job. While you don't normally want to spray liquid into your engine, this cleaner will fire up harmlessly forth with the gas, which is why you lot want to run the engine while spraying information technology.

You lot may get additional OBD2 codes while y'all do this. When I cleaned my MAF sensor, I triggered a P2197 code. Normally this means that the engine is getting too much air for the corporeality of fuel it can provide the engine. Since it happened while I was cleaning the sensor, I knew that wasn't the truthful cause, and that it was safe to ignore just this one time.

Step 4: Reassemble your air intake arrangement.

Now that you've cleaned the sensor, y'all can reinstall your air filter and annihilation else y'all had to remove to accomplish it. At present is also a good time to install a new air filter if your old ane was dirty, like mine was. Put everything back together the manner you establish it.

Step five: Employ the FIXD scanner and app to clear your engine codes.

To observe out if this has solved your problem, clear your codes and continue on driving. If a uncomplicated cleaning has stock-still the sensor, your engine should run smoothly and the check engine light should remain off and your problem is solved. Just after doing this chore myself, I did an 80-mile trip of mixed city and highway driving. The cheque engine light did not render.

If the symptoms described above return or remain, it'due south time to supervene upon the MAF sensor. The good news is that since yous just cleaned it, you already know how to find your MAF sensor under the hood. You lot should exist able to replace it yourself instead of having a mechanic do information technology for you.

Merits Your Custom Maintenance Schedule

Get the FIXD Sensor and free app today for a custom maintenance schedule based on your make, model, and mileage. Never miss of import maintenance again with automated maintenance alerts! Larn more at fixd.com.

Recovering autocross and runway twenty-four hours enthusiast. Once turned a VW Jetta into a pickup truck. Lives in a van down past the river. Dream car: 2001 Subaru WRC rally auto.