Let’s talk about the mass airflow (MAF) sensor and your automobile in this blog post. JA Motors advises that the mass airflow sensor can malfunction if it gets too dirty or too old. Your automobile will suffer from one or more of the symptoms of a faulty MAF sensor below. Bring your vehicle to our shop so we can clean the MAF sensor or replace it if necessary.
Check Engine Warning
One of the first things that might happen is the engine control module (ECM) may turn on the check engine light because system sensors are reporting malfunctions. As you will see as you keep reading, a malfunctioning MAF sensor can create all kinds of problems in the engine.
Acceleration Trouble
For example, the engine’s acceleration may start to lag if the ECM adds extra air into the combustion chamber because the MAF sensor sent it skewed air inflow data. This is what the mass airflow sensor does; it detects how much air flows into the engine.
Engine Idling Roughly
Your car, truck, or utility vehicle’s engine will also idle roughly if there is too much air in the combustion chamber. Unfortunately, the ECM does not know that it is doing something wrong. It is simply going by the incorrect data from the malfunctioning MAF sensor.
Performance Trouble
The added air will also cause your engine to struggle to perform while you are driving your vehicle. It will sputter and lag. There is also a chance that the ECM might add too much fuel to the chamber because, again, it has received faulty data from the MAF sensor. When this happens, your engine will pick up speeds sporadically and unexpectedly.
Reduced Fuel Economy
It’s only natural that all of these performance problems are going to reduce your fuel economy. The engine will burn more fuel as it struggles to run and it will burn away the excess fuel that the ECM has placed in the chamber. Your gas mileage is going to take a hit.
Black Exhaust Smoke
You may also notice black exhaust smoke in your rearview mirror if the MAF sensor has tricked the ECM into adding fuel to the chamber. When this happens, the burning of the fuel creates black exhaust that will flow out of your tailpipe.
Finally, JA Motors in Peachtree City, GA, advises that it may be difficult to get your automobile started if there is an imbalance between the air and fuel that the ECM places in the combustion chamber. Call us today if you are having any of the problems listed above.
