Driving back home after a few days in Wales the engine warning light came on, RAC man removed the fault code and told us it was the MAF sensor and advised me to book it in to be looked at when we got home. We drove the next 100 miles back home and the fault message came on again just as we got in to our street. After looking on the web I have read that these sensors can be cleaned but will I be able to say this to the garage as it is booked in for Tuesday or will they just replace the sensor. It's a Focus 1.8tdci. Any advice would be welcomed.
Terry
In my experience if it's booked into a main dealer they will want to replace it.
If it's a garage specialist then they should clean it and refit it if you ask them to.
These MAF sensors are a pain in the ,I have been told by my garage that just about every car on the road has problems with them, in the past I have owned a 1997 escort, 1999 octavia,and 2001 Astra diesel all had MAF sensor trouble,The escort kept over revving, the octavia kept stalling and astra lacking power, all were like different cars when sensor replaced.
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Thanks for your replies, I will ask the garage if they could just clean the sensor, it's an independent Ford garage and it's where I bought the car from so I think they will.
Terry
Maf is a fairly basic device really and if you open up the inlet tract and find the MAF is grimey or contaminated you need to understand why..
the air filter is not doing it's job if cleaning cures the problem, perhaps needs replacement but ensure it's the right size and seals properly and it is dry, if it's wet then you need to look at why because the pipe work is usually designed in such a way water doesn't reach the air filter.
There are two kinds of MAF - wire & film. One can be cleaned, the other is usually destroyed by contact with cleaning fluid (eg carb cleaner or electrical contact spray). In either case the MAF must be allowed to dry thoroughly before reconnecting, otherwise it's definitely cooked.
Since it costs peanuts to try cleaning then it's worth a shot. But if the MAF is dead make sure you buy the genuine OEM replacement. Most of the cheapo aftermarket ones are more trouble than they are worth.