You may never need to worry about the mass airflow (MAF) sensor. Most MAF sensors last the life of your automobile. This being said, The Shop Tire and Service Center advises that the mass airflow sensor can fail if it gets too dirty or malfunctions, especially in older automobiles. When this happens, you will notice one or more of the following symptoms of a dirty MAF sensor.
Check Engine Warning
The check engine light can be a lifesaver for your automobile. It is incredibly accurate and turns on whenever there is a problem in the engine that you may or may not notice. It will turn on if the mass airflow sensor has caused a system sensor to send an error code to the main computer chip.
Performance Problems
One of the things that occurs when the mass airflow sensor malfunctions is an imbalance between the air and fuel that is found in your vehicle’s combustion chamber. Consequently, this will affect your engine’s performance. For example, if there is too much air in the chamber, your engine will sputter.
Acceleration Lag
Your acceleration will also lag when the engine is fuel-starved. This fuel starvation can be caused by the faulty MAF sensor. The MAF sensor reads how much air flows into the engine. If it reads the inflow incorrectly, the engine control unit, the main computer chip, may put too much air in the combustion chamber.
Rough Engine Idle
This excess air can also cause a problem with how smoothly your engine idles. You will hear and feel the engine sputtering and struggling to run when you are sitting at an idle. It’s important to have this problem checked right away as it could be caused by the MAF sensor or a fuel delivery issue.
Reduced Fuel Economy
Anytime your engine does not run inefficiently it uses more fuel. Consequently, the malfunctioning MAF sensor can directly affect your vehicle’s fuel economy. Unfortunately, until you clean or replace the MAF sensor, you will get poor gas mileage out of your automobile.
Dark Engine Exhaust
Finally, we talked about excess air in the engine above, now let’s talk about excess fuel. When this happens, your engine will burn away the fuel and you might see dark exhaust flowing out of the tailpipe. Your engine might also surge and pick up speed unexpectedly.
Call The Shop Tire and Service Center in Elk River, MN, today if you are having any of the problems listed above. We will find the source of the issue and fix it.