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I had an MIL on my 02 LS430 for the fuel screen. Took her in for the TB and water pump 2 weeks ago and Park Place confirmed what my code scanner told me, fuel screen. Well, when I got it home from Park Place I decided to clean the air filter (K&N), MAF, and got a new gas cap. Afterwards the MIL turned off on its own after about 2 days of driving. I also cleaned the MAF on my 99 LS 400 at the same time. I used CRC Electronics cleaner on both, as I have done for years, and the cars have always run better afterwards. I also use CRC on my Honda Del Sol and my Acura Legend. Never a problem.
After reading posts about how bad K&N air filters are for your MAF sensor, I went out and bought a bottle of CRC and cleaned my 01 LS430 with 148k miles. I had put the K&N in at 90K miles. One side of the diode was grey and dirty and other side was dark brown/reddish glass color. I disconnected the battery first before removing the MAF Sensor and sprayed it down. Reinstalled and hooked up the battery. Took it out for a test drive and I didn't notice any difference in how the car drove. I then cleaned the wife's 08 Scion Xd with 88K miles. I also dropped in a K&N in that car and had re oiled it recently. There was a huge difference in how the car idled, much smoother and quitter. When I opened the air box, I saw a small puddle of K&N oil in there so I must have over oiled it. So now I'm thinking of only buying either paper or new K&N air filters as opposed to over oiling them myself.
Oiled air filters were high technology in the 1930's. Nowadays K&N prospers based on a huge marketing budget and loyal customers that clearly do not have engineering degrees : ) Someone is always willing to buy the latest version of snake oil.
Question for y'all.
I got a can of spray; CRC Mass Air Flow sensor cleaner (No. 05110) and read through the steps on the back... #10 DO NOT use on vehicles with Karman-Vortex air flow sensor, e.g. Toyota Supra Turbo, Mitsubishi, and most Lexus vehicles.
Will this can of spray harm my MAF sensor? Anyone else used it?
Confirmed with CRC if your MAF looks like this, you're "good to go". That is exactly what I pulled out of MY 2004 which was running very poorly. After cleaning the MAF sensor and a fresh air filter, the car runs like a beast. Huge improvement! 15min and <$10 for a can of CRC MAF Sensor Cleaner was very worthwhile.
Thank you all. 2004 LS430 w "Check VSC", "Trac Off" and check engine light on. New air filter, gas cap and cleaned the MAF sensor and everything is good. The car was running fine but the VSC and Trac control were not functioning.
11/27: So far, so good. None of these problems have resurfaced after 4 weeks and at least 2 full tanks of gas. No real effect on fuel economy but that was not a problem before.
Thank you all. 2004 LS430 w "Check VSC", "Trac Off" and check engine light on. New air filter, gas cap and cleaned the MAF sensor and everything is good. The car was running fine but the VSC and Trac control were not functioning.
Thanks for your imput. I am certainly happy that so far your car is running better. However, If you would be so kind as to give us a report after driving for a few weeks or longer it would greatly help, as some of these so called resolves don't pan out and last. Diagnostics are quite complicated... and I'd rather be cautiously optimistic than elated with any fix. Please keep in touch with the forum and let us know how you do. Good luck to you.. Thanks.
Before After: Will update if rough idle goes away I used CRC Maf cleaner
That's not your MAF sensor, it's your IAT (intake air temperature) sensor. The MAF part of the sensor is deep inside that long plastic tube. Shine a flashlight up it and you will see 2 very thin wires at the top. Clean these with the CRC spray but don't touch them with the straw.
More than likely, if you are driving with an original MAF, it pays (for the relatively small investment) to replace the MAF with a new Denso unit. After all, our cars are really old and everything in the engine bay not only is old but has been baking in an oven for all these years!
That's not your MAF sensor, it's your IAT (intake air temperature) sensor. The MAF part of the sensor is deep inside that long plastic tube. Shine a flashlight up it and you will see 2 very thin wires at the top. Clean these with the CRC spray but don't touch them with the straw.
Im going to re clean it I didn’t clean much of that thank you for letting me know
I noticed this week how different my LS felt compared to when I first got it. I floored it the other day and it just hesistated like crazy and also smelled nasty from the exhaust. After looking at this forum when I had previously cleaned my MAF, I had mainly cleaned that bulb, which apparently doesn't do a whole lot. I decided to clean the inside tube like mentioned, and a ton of black stuff came out. I guess it was super dirty. I also filled up with r1 fuel cleaner which I haven't done in over a year at least, and reset the ECU. The car feels much better now and its continuing to improve as I drive and the cleaner goes thru the system. I was debating just buying a new MAF, which I still may do, after all its a 17 year old car now.
05-12-14, 06:46 PM
