It’s easy for your mass airflow (MAF) sensor to get dirty because of where it is located in your engine. The sensor is located directly behind your air filter, and if you aren’t faithful about getting your air filter changed when it is dirty, the mass airflow sensor will get dirty. Accurate Auto advises that a dirty mass airflow sensor can cause acceleration lag. It can also cause the additional problems listed below.
Other Engine Performance Issues
Aside from your acceleration lagging, your engine might also lag and stutter at higher speeds. This is because the dirty mass airflow sensor is sending incorrect air intake readings to the engine control module. If the module is not getting the correct information, it will make adjustments to the air and fuel in the combustion chamber that make your engine performance worse.
Black Engine Exhaust
You may also end up with black exhaust flowing out of your tailpipe because the dirty MAF sensor readings are inaccurately causing the engine control module to add fuel to the combustion chamber. When this happens, your engine will also pick up speed sporadically.
Hard Starting or No Starting
If the MAF sensor is malfunctioning, it may send an error code that will make it difficult to get your car, truck, or utility vehicle started. If the misreadings by the MAF sensor because the engine control module to make extreme adjustments in the combustion chamber, you may not be able to get your automobile started at all.
Idling That Is Shaky and Rough
Any time there is excess air or fuel in the combustion chamber, how your engine idles is affected. The idle will become shaky and rough, and, in extreme cases, you may not be able to keep your engine going when it is idling. It may stall out.
Poor Fuel Efficiency
Your fuel economy can be affected by a dirty MAF sensor. Again, the reason why is that the air and fuel in the combustion chamber are out of balance. This makes your engine work harder to run. Any time the engine has to work harder, it burns through more fuel.
Check Engine Light Illumination
Finally, alongside all of the above signs of a faulty mass airflow sensor, you may also end up with an illuminated check engine light on your dashboard. This is because various vehicle sensors have picked up the problems discussed above.
Accurate Auto has three auto service shops in Oregon. Call the one closest to you today to schedule an appointment if you suspect your mass airflow sensor is dirty or bad.