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You’ll Get a Dashboard Warning With a Faulty Mass Airflow Sensor

The mass airflow (MAF) sensor doesn’t have a warning light of its own, but if it goes bad or gets dirty, the engine control unit (ECU) will turn on the check engine light. This is just one sign that there are problems with the MAF sensor. Oxford Automotive is going to list the other signs below.

Acceleration Hesitation

A malfunctioning MAF sensor can indirectly affect how your engine performs, including your vehicle’s acceleration. If the MAF sensor cannot track the incoming air correctly, the ECU will make unnecessary changes to the air in the combustion chamber. If the chamber is filled with too much air, your car, truck, or utility vehicle’s acceleration will be affected.

Performance Issues

You will also suffer from engine performance issues, including sputtering at high speeds. Again, this is an indication that the combustion chamber has too much air in it. This leaves your engine fuel-starved, and, as a consequence, it will struggle to run efficiently.

Rough Engine Idle

Part of this struggle includes a rough idle when you are sitting at a stop. In fact, if the combustion chamber is stuffed with air, your engine might actually stall when you are sitting at an idle. This problem is being caused by the incorrect data sent to the ECU by the MAF sensor.

Poor Fuel Efficiency

Unfortunately, all of the above will directly affect how efficiently your car, truck, or utility vehicle burns fuel. In most cases, you will notice a significant difference in your fuel economy. Unfortunately, the difference will be that your automobile is not getting as many miles per gallon as it normally does. Consequently, you will be faced with heading to the service station more often.

Black Exhaust Smoke

Sometimes, a malfunctioning MAF sensor can convince the ECU that the engine needs more fuel when it doesn’t. When this happens, your engine will surge and you might see black exhaust smoke flowing out of the tailpipe. This exhaust smoke demonstrates that the engine is burning too much fuel.

Hard Starts/No Start

Finally, depending on the severity of the imbalance of air and fuel in the combustion chamber, the faulty MAF sensor may make it difficult to get your car, truck, or utility vehicle started. In extreme cases, you will end up with a dead engine that you cannot start until you replace the mass airflow sensor.

Call Oxford Automotive in Oxford, PA, today if your vehicle is experiencing any of the problems listed above. We will test the mass airflow sensor and replace it if necessary.

Photo by Mariia Demchenko from Getty Images via Canva Pro
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