I love how you go in the technical side of the MAP sensor, thanks for training our new techs.

I think cleaning is a good option for a DIYer with access to a decent scan tool to monitor the engine performance. A pro, however needs to avoid comebacks and having customers feel like you charged good money but didn't really fix the problem. Nice to give the customer the option if they want to save money, but that should be accompanied by a good explanation that cleaning may only be temporary. On my own vehicles, I will always try cleaning first, then monitor the results.

Great information. I had already tried cleaning my MAF and saw little result in the way the engine ran. Was just shopping online for a replacement MAF and stumbled upon your video. Made the decision an easy one. Thanks for the clear, concise presentation.

This was a very detailed and thorough video. I was debating cleaning vs buying a new one,Thanks to you , I am buying a new maf. Thank you so much for sharing your gift.

The magnification that you have shown is fantastic, nice job!!1

Just found this channel and i have been learning from it! I have used MAF cleaner to bring the car back to a proper running engine and then suggested a new sensor with 50/50 approval/ pass on that offer. Most who pass on the offer to replace the sensor come back for a rescan and replace, some find it easy enough to replace themselves and never fess up to their decision. I never used a microscope to see the sandblasting of the sensor but that is not hard to understand because the air rushing through the sensor housing is like a little sandblasting cabinet. Good video!

Thank you for the great video! I am always nervous spraying electronics and plastic with chemicals. Had a plastic steering wheel on my go kart years ago shatter when I tried to clean it off with brakeclean. It gave me a quick lesson on chemical reactions, could of been the sharp change in temp. Anyways, it taught me a lesson to pay attention with the chemicals and wear safety glasses, unless you like to have the feeling of fire in your eyeballs lol. Unfortunatly some of us have to learn the hard way. You guys do a great job with your videos, thank you so much.

I’ve used MAF cleaner with great results, never have I’ve seen a sensor with so much built up crud, good idea to remove every oil change and give it a lil TLC. Just saying! 🤙🏼🍻

A very informative video. It was interesting to those close-ups of the MAF. Thank you.

Thanks, Paul, very positive info, in addition, I like the direct approach, unlike many take you on a around the world tour of their war stories​

Hey Mike and great follow-up video on how effective is cleaning MAF sensors. I've always wondered this myself and sure, we've all cleaned them and we feel the difference in our seat on acceleration, but did we really bring it back to OEM specs. And you've answered that very well. As for the comparison between the rebuilt and new unit, there was a big difference in the appearnce of the thermistors and they looked like typical wire-wound resistors. Being how that one of the thermistors is in a wheatstone bridge, these thermistors must have a very close tolerance resistance to be accurate in determining air flow. As seen from the photograph, where one thermistor is shorter than the other, the resistance has to off although by a small amount. It's good that you tested a brand new aftermarket and a new one. And although there was a small difference, you proved that there was a difference. Great work Mike and looking forward to your evap training. Have a great weekend!

Very interesting, and very thorough. Thanks!

I have cleaned a lot of MAF sensors, over the years. I use MAF cleaner only. I had a Ford pick up that had a hard shifting issue. After many grueling hours, I cleaned the MAF and it fixed the problem. I have seen fuel trims "cleaned up" on some vehicles after cleaning.

new WELLS maf sensors from now on. love the vids. trying to get caught up.

Nice magnified pictures of the MAFS elements.

Wow! Thank you for classes. As a former Navistar Tech, vehicle reliability was paramount IMO. Marine Corp teaches "the easy path is where enemy bombs & snipers are every time." Commercial vehicles make money, but lose money in down time, continued maintenance, & towing. I sometimes got in trouble for replacing parts

Great vid Mike! Thanks for the suggestion to watch

Another super video! Thanks for this info!

Great video, with the MAF sensor it does depend on how dirty, corroded or pitted the sensor wires are, if it's just a bit of crud then cleaning should improve it but if debris has passed the air filter then the sensor wires may well pitted beyond true redemption.

Bought a second hand matching hot film MAF assembly, removed the probe with a pentalobe key, sprayed both contact cleaner & isopropyl alcohol on both the IAT thermistor and the sensing element and rubbed a piece of paper tissue on them many times, then i fitted that probe to my car and now there's much more torque at low rpms even with the AC on... 1.2 petrol naturally aspirated engine...

I love that guy!!! really really really good technician!!!✌

Mad props. No proof like what you can see! Saving my $10 for a new sensor!

very educative. Thank you regards

Great videos, always. Thanks brother keep it up guys

Thank you very much for this information you’re just awesome

Great Tech video

Top notch presentation Mike, as usual. You're a good instructor. The pics were the proof. Never knew about tire debris til Keith added that. Great tech he is. You tried cold chemical cleaning but do you think there would be any way of removing the rubber with heat? Would it burn/melt off without damaging the element? How come none of you guys are near me in Ontario? lol I think I may need a new MAF for my camaro as its been cleaned more than once already. Now the search begins because I can only find remanned.

Thanks for the information, pls am working on 2010 Corolla I cleaned the airflow with cab cleaner now their is black smoke coming out of the tail pipe. The only register code catalyst system efficiency below threshold bank 1, will changing the sensor fix the problem or what did you advise,thanks.

Luv the video and talk. As a note: Recently I did something just a bit different. MAF Sensor dirty and acting up! Removed and cleaned with MAF Cleaner and just like your pictures was much cleaner but still evidence of dirt coating speckles. Soo, I again gave a light spray and used a small natural fiber artist brush to gently wipe/scrub the resisters down, respray and re-wipe and then a final spray and let dry. Absolute much better/cleaner job! Is it 100% as new? I doubt it, but it is much cleaner than your pictures and working just fine it would appear.

Great Video again, Thank u v much

Mike,Very informative,as always!If you are changing the MAF due to the crud,it is obviously from crud getting past the filter.......Since you use new parts for quality reasons,I would also automatically change the filter(To the best available at the time),to keep the same thing from happening to the new part.Do you?By the same token,if a cleaned part is showing at least the same results as a Reman,even if the customer wants it just cleaned,I would try to get them to at least change the filter to keep new gunk from contaminating again....Ideas?

So here you used a break cleaner... but a dedicated MAF cleaner is recommended. They do seem to have different compositions. Perhaps the dedicated MAF cleaner is gentler on the coating?

I am more than happy to contribute what I can to the conversation. As always you are doing an absolutely terrific job . Even without yoga pants . You really do read each and every comment which impresses me more than you could know. It just shows your dedication to making these live seminars even better each time . If you could see us all it was a standing ovation . Tire material , very attentive sir

It could be that the stuff hitting the sensor damaged it before you cleaned it off, and could be why it was collecting trash in the first place

I need my radiator fan replaced. So will this cause a p0101 sensor code?

Thanks , so an open vent on purge or vent would create an Lean condition on both banks ?

excellent! that's tecnical information! sorry for my bad english!

great video

You can always change your MAF sensor, if it is grungy like yours was. If you clean it regularly and maintain your car properly, you can get by cleaning your MAF for MANY thousands of miles and get great power and gas mileage. It takes only a few minutes to do and for only a few pennies of cleaner. A new MAF sensor will cost you upwards of $20 when you don't need to spend that.

Great info on cleaning the MAF , or not .

Yes, Mike my questions were answered. I've never even seen a MAF that needed to be cleaned nor have I ever replaced one! Lucky I guess. I have studied them on my Mazdas though. Thanks for everything Mike. Great job!

I'm having trouble with 05 1.8l it runs good in idle but put it in gear and it sputters codes p0101 and p0171 put new OEM maf sensor up stream and down but no change

How long can run your vehicle without maf sensor what are the damages thanks

Can we use Electric contact cleaner spray on maf sensor?!

I've been screwed 80% of the time with any reman part, but that's just been my experience.

Cleaning has always worked for me. It runs great again after cleaning.

We recommend a new one, service advisors sell a reman. When that one turns out to be junk, they buy a new DOORMAN, when that one turns out junk, they buy another DOORMAN, when that one turns out to be junk they finally buy OEM.

What you will recommend a 80 dollars sensor or a 300 dollars one you think the expensive one will solve my problem?? Is in a Nissan Versa 2013

great video!!

What Mike? No yoga pants giveaways??? Sadness but I'm still staying subscribed! Great job with the videos. Looking forward to the EVAP classes. -Glen

Discuss the main causes of MAF sensor damage and perhaps a way to mitigate the damage. These are expensive sensors for example newer model Nissan is $585

I have a question, please. I got a lovely Alfa Romeo156 1999 selespeed 2.0 lit, 16V T.Spark The problem I'm facing is: The engine starts immediately once it is cold or hot, While it is running, The RPM drops to 500 and the sprayer icon "lights on" in the dashboard, then the accelerator and gear do not activate. To overcome that stage; I should switch the "engine OFF" and start it again, then The accelerator and gear work perfectly, It happens also when I reduce the speed when there is humps or bad traffic. I changed the ECU, but it remains the same problem. Thank you for your help. Bassam

Seems to me like using brake cleaner is taking a chance. I would think the best thing to do is use specifically MAFS cleaner only.

I've just replaced my MAF on a Citroen 2007 C4 Picasso 1.6 HDi DVM Test results Old... sensor no resistance reading and no Capacitance reading New...sensor no resistance reading but did get a Very low capacitance 5nF !? So can I take it it is not a Hot Wire sensor - SO what type of sensor are they...joe

I bought a 2007 Lexus RX 400h that had a dealer replaced MAFS 400 miles before I bought it. Four days after I bought it I got the check engine light with a PO101 code. I took the sensor out and cleaned it. Put it back in and reset the code. The car was running fine before the code came up and its running fine now but the next day the code showed up again. This time I replaced the MAFS with a new one and reset the code. The code came up again the next day. The car is still running well but do you have any idea why the code keeps coming back? I am stumped.

I find if you use a reman Maf you will have a comeback but if you use new and usually oem you won't have an issue. Honestly have not used a wells Maf as they don't order them or the parts stores we use don't carry them but I know if you go cheap you will have trouble.

So, my car had been giving me some problems. Which one of it was one day it runs kinda okay and another or within the same day, it bogs very badly at low RPMs (

I'm not so sure it's the brake cleaner or the maf cleaner that's causing the deteriorated coating on the heated element. based on what I see it looks like the coating is simply worn away from use. cheap air filters and poorly installed air filters letting dirt past and it's just getting baked onto the heated element and giving the sandblasted look because, well it's essentially being sandblasted when the engine is running. so when you clean the sensor you are just exposing the damage that's already been done.. now that's not to say that the harsh cleaner doesn't eat at that coating as I'm sure it does. but the root of the problem appears to be poor filtration IMO. did you do the same cleaning with a new MAF sensor and see what happens? didn't you do this test on the MAF episode you did previously? I noticed on that reman sensor that the wire that wraps around the sensor is not coiled as tightly as the OEM. as far as my luck with cleaning MAF sensors. if it's dirty because the air filter was installed poorly or not at all(it happens often) for a short period of time then cleaning is usually the way to go as it's usually loose debris and i never had any long term issues.. but if it's caked up and burnt on like the pictures you show. it's best to replace it.

Does this apply to European autos too ( maf)

purge canister valve stuck open can creat vacuum in gas tank?

I think it depends on how bad the wires are contaminated..I cleaned two maf sensors on two different cars and it helped a little bit but ended up having to replace them in the end

I have a 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander sport se 2.0 L Why Can i NOT use mas air flow sensor cleaner to clean M.A.F.S On the can it read DO NOT use on Mitsubishi karman- Vortex air flow sensor. why?

Estimated realistic expected cost for this repair?

Best vids I have seen on maf sensors thanks, have had good results cleaning over the years but would like if you could look inside cheap "eBay" one vs oem, I Mostly work on euro and find they don't like aftermarket, guessing they might look like you remanufactured inside.

This video is potentially misleading. A sensor can accumulate building before it has aged so much to get into that state, and it is not just the abrasion from the gunk on it. Plus, those are pretty weird and unusual MAF sensors compared to what you'd find on most vehicles in the last couple decades or more. It is ridiculous to state it as though "I don't know if it's going to fail tomorrow or a week down the road" when in fact it is more a situation of "I don't know if the whole engine will fail soon", if the gunk is getting past the air filter at an extreme enough rate to cause that short additional life, or else "I don't know if it will last several months or years", or even "this could still last longer than an aftermarket new replacement would". You have not done relevant testing to reach your conclusion. The cleaning, the looking, even with a microscope is not as relevant as the measurement of next tour of duty in use, OR to hook up a scan tool capable of live data, and with same environment (intake air temp) and same engine temp/idle, see what differences the cleaned sensor measures versus a new one swapped in. Another way of looking at it is whether someone is paying a technician and then there's already and potentially a repeat labor charge to clean it more than once, later, to extend life, or if it is DIY and the owner already has a can of cleaner and can literally clean it in under 5 minutes once every few years. Many of us do this and have proven it to be effective by resolving our MAF issue, and achieving the fuel economy we should have. Obviously if the fuel economy, trims, or O2 readings stay out of bounds, the cleaning didn't work but if it was DIY it was as already stated, only 5 minutes and well worth trying.

I have to say that while this was entertaining it is also entertaining to watch because the person in the video I have to question their knowledge. A MAF sensor is a very simple sensor. It consists or a heating element and a sensor that reads heat. So the larger piece inside is the heating element and the smaller one is the sensor that measures the heat. How a MAF sensor works is power is applied to the heating element to get it all toasty warm. There is a specific target temperature the element is supposed to hold the the sensor is responsible to measuring the heat from the element and telling the IC in the MAF what that temperature is. The IC then adjusts the PWM signal going to the heating element to either make it heat up or cool down. OK so what gives... what is the purpose of doing that?? Well when you step on the accelerator and the throttle plate opens more air gets pulled in and across the MAF. That additional air causes the sensor to cool down and the goal of the MAF is to keep that temperature on target. So it is going to make the changes needed in order to get that element to target temperature. The frequency that is used to keep that element at temperature is what is used to determine the amount of air going in. the ECM has lookup tables for this purpose. So in function air bubbles in the coating would not effect the sensor. unless the coating has been complete compromised the pitting seen on the heating element would not effect the reading. The dirt would because it keeps air from getting to the element. It acts like a fur coat a person would use to keep toasty warm in the winter. That will cause the sensor reading to be all messed up. Having an oversimplified understanding of how the MAF works you can then understand the reason for keeping it clean. In the video at the end there was a blurb about the re-manufactured sensor reading lower than the OE sensor. APPLES to APPLES folks. did you happen to also catch when he said that he took the readings for the OE sensor at some other point in time in the past. sounding like days before maybe? Well that is a tilted test. simple things like air temperature, humidity, barometric pressure. time of day. the proximity of the moon to the earth are all factors that can change air density and that difference in air density means you will have a change in the amount of air the engine is pulling in over a given time. the measurement a MAF uses is grams over a second. weight (density) over time. so chances are there is not a single thing wrong with the re-manufactured MAF and it was the test that caused the reading variance. So now that you have been given some actual useful knowledge that explains the mechanics of a MAF watch the video again and see how much information in this video is actually irrelevant to the proper operation of the MAF. Being told to go and buy a brand new OE MAF if your has dust on it is a great way to waste money buying something that is NOT needed. I also wanted to point out that the 5 grams/sec equates to about 6HP at WOT. I don't think that in and of it's self would be me go run out and spend 100+ on an OE MAF. It's a 2% difference.

New Level Auto stirring the pot...of course he's stirring the pot and then laughing b/c he knows he threw in a variable they didn't think about and then the fun begins. I am in total agreement with Keith on you're doing a great job but when he said even without yoga pants he started worrying me that he was actually thinking about you in yoga pants but then again he's from the Island. Now I've cleaned a ton of MAF sensors and failures are few and far between but I'm not comparing a new sensor against a used one...I'm just seeing if it corrected my MAF readings, fuel trims, etc. & if my G/S VE is good. Hope you're getting sleep and the baby is doing good!

1.8litre engine x 750rpm/2/60 x corrected density of 0.5g per litre for 0.5bar at 115F = 5.6g/second solely by maths. Not considering or corrected for intake valves which closes after 50 to 60 degree after DBC during suction stroke. The dash mounted OBD2 show value of 4.7g/second. This would be as good as it can get by the MAF. This is 83% of 5.6g/second. Driving on reasonable flat road using auto cruise setting and set for 2000rpm noted that intake air pressure at 0.8 to 0.9barg. MAF at 18g to 20g/second vs 26g/second by mathematical calculation for piston displacement and not knowing the volume contribution from egr. Fuel sprayed at port injectors would 5 to 6% by volume. Short fuel trim & long fuel trim reading stays within a tight band +/-2% on a flat road. The O2 sensor I have looks like a narrow band O2 sensor which fluctuate at 0.65 to 0.75v on a flat road. Throttle body position at 20 to 22% open. I keep the dashboard mounted OBD2 already for 1 year so I had quite a number od baseline data. Drifting of any one parameters would meant something is happening.

hello, can someone help pin point where i can find the (Fuel Pressure Sensor) or the location is on my 2004 Ford F-150 4.6/5.4 L V8 double -cab pickup truck?

why would there be any kind of coating given that the sensor wires need to be exposed to the air in order to work?

See you can keep cleaning it and save money each time. So cleaning is worth it. The labor and part and other cost are just too high for a Mass Air Flow Sensor Replacement.. Rich people can replace all the time.

I've been searching unsuccessfully for substantial information regarding the cleaning of Karman Vortex sensors. Apparently this type of sensor can be damaged by cleaning, although I've read that many have successfully cleaned theirs. I suspect my 2002 Dodge Stratus R/T (Mitsubishi) has a Karman Vortex sensor, but am unable to determine for sure, and am therefore reluctant to try cleaning it without being certain that it is malfunctioning. The current codes displayed are p0102 and p0421. The prior owner installed a K&N cold air intake system, which I suspect to be contributing to sensor failure. If anyone knowledgeable reads this, I would GREATLY appreciate any helpful feedback!

Yes, replace the sensor. I have cleaned the MAF sensor (with MAF cleaner) every oil change for 100,000 miles. About 70,000 miles the car idles/runs excellant for about one tank of gas and then okay. When I replaced the MAF sensor I looked at the filaments with a magnify glass. One was okay, but the other had a dull look. So, cleaning only works for so long. Just buy a new one when it is time. Thank you for the video.

dont you think prevention is better than cure and cleaning on regular occasions would increase the efficiency and longevity of MAF?

Does spraying cause pressure and abrasion blasting why not try to soak it in cleaner?!

It would have been helpful if you had tested the cleaned sensors as well.

I have a I have a I-30 Infiniti before I find out it was a mess flow sensor it will give me a lot of problems with O2 sensors and misfires

Could we just clean it to see if makes a difference ?

Cleaning sensor with what?

you do it cause its cheap and easy to do, if it continues to fail then you get a new oneand change it in 2 mins, wheel bearing is too much work so you replace it.

They are metric. That makes a difference.

Looking at the figures for the OEM and aftermarket Maf sensors, there doesn't seem to be that much difference especially when dealing with an older vehicle.

Its not Friday, its Monday!

Seems to me that the real answer is: We need better air filters on our engines.

That's why I always clean them.. and then paint over them with two layers of clear nail polish.

I have dropped the fuel tank and i can't find it there, I am looking around the fuel canister but seems like it's not there either....

want ta drive someone crazy, just put some clear fingernail polish on it. hee! hee!

You dont clean maf sensor whith brake cleaner , use proper maf sensor cleaner !

Proof in the pudding! Buy new. Not worth the couple dollar savings.

You're cute.

I'm sure that you're a very nice guy and a very good technician but you spend an awful lot of time talking about stuff that's not helpful whatsoever. Try to keep your content from being less of an editorial or personal comments and just get to the topic with which we opened your video originally to watch it for.

You talk to dam much bra