The mass airflow sensor has a pretty important job. It is responsible for measuring how much air comes into the engine of your European automobile from the outside. If you maintain your European automobile well, you may never end up with a bad mass airflow sensor. It can get dirty, however, and this can cause the same problems you would have if it were bad. Lucas Auto Care lists the signs of a bad mass airflow sensor below.
Acceleration Problems
Your European automobile’s engine needs the right balance of air and fuel in order to create the proper engine combustion. If the mass airflow sensor is sending incorrect data, you may end up with too much air in the combustion chamber and this will cause your vehicle’s acceleration to lag.
Black Exhaust
The opposite of too much air is obviously too much fuel, and if you are driving with a rich fuel mixture, you may end up with excess black exhaust flowing out of the tailpipe. The engine is burning away the excess fuel and this causes the black exhaust.
Check Engine Warning
Your engine control module, which is the main computer chip in your European automobile, will also turn on the check engine light to tell you that there is a problem in the engine. This could be due to the imbalance of air and fuel in the combustion chamber or a mass airflow sensor error code.
Engine Hesitation
As with your vehicle’s acceleration, if there is too much air in the combustion chamber, the engine will hesitate. It may sputter while you are driving at faster speeds and may stall when it is sitting at an idle.
Engine Surging
If there is too much fuel in the combustion chamber, your European automobile’s engine will surge. This means it will pick up speed even though you have not pressed down harder on the accelerator.
Poor Fuel Economy
Either of these conditions can cause a reduction in your European automobile’s fuel economy. If you keep track of your gas mileage, it will be easier to notice that you are getting fewer miles-per-gallon of your gasoline or diesel fuel.
Rough/Bumpy Idling
Finally, when there is too much air in the combustion chamber this directly affects how well your vehicle idles. The idling will feel rough and bumpy and, as mentioned above, your engine may stall.
Don’t worry. Lucas Auto Care in Cypress, TX, can help. Call us today to schedule an appointment, and we will inspect your mass airflow sensor.
