Extra Mile Tire and Service advises that dirt is what makes the mass airflow sensor malfunction. Also called the MAF sensor, this is the sensor in the engine that is designed to determine how much air flows in from the outside. It reports this information to the engine control unit (ECU) so the unit can make adjustments in the combustion chamber if needed.
Check Engine Light
Sometimes, when the MAF sensor malfunctions, the ECU makes unnecessary adjustments in the combustion chamber. This will cause the problems we are going to discuss below and also trigger a check engine warning on the dashboard.
Acceleration Lag
For example, the check engine light may come on in your acceleration may start to lag. This is a sign that the ECU has placed extra air into the chamber that the combustion chamber didn’t need. It may have done this because the data from the MAF sensor is skewed. It’s easy for the MAF sensor to get dirty because it is located in the engine behind the air filter.
Rough Engine Idle
Unfortunately, this extra air in the combustion chamber is also going to affect your engine’s idle. While you are sitting at an idle, you will notice that the engine is idling roughly. If the ECU went crazy and added a ton of air to the combustion chamber, your engine may stall.
Sputtering or Surging
This excess air is also going to cause the engine to sputter, especially when you are driving at higher speeds. This being said, the ECU may also add fuel to the combustion chamber that isn’t necessary based off of the incorrect data it receives from the MAF sensor. Your engine will surge when this happens.
Reduced Fuel Efficiency
Both of these things will reduce the fuel efficiency that the engine gets because it is burning more fuel. Even when there is too much air in the combustion chamber, the engine burns extra fuel as it tries to produce power.
Dark Exhaust Smoke
This excess fuel burn can cause dark exhaust to flow out of the tailpipe. It’s also important to note that the extra fuel can end up clogging the catalytic converter with access hydrocarbons.
Hard Starts/No Starts
Finally, it may be difficult to get your engine to start, or it may not start at all, if the combustion chamber does not have the correct amounts of air and fuel. Consequently, we will need to clean the MAF sensor to restore your engine’s performance.
Call Extra Mile Tire and Service in Milton, GA, today if your engine is having any of the problems discussed above.
