Bocatrip

After getting the notorious diagnostic trouble codes PO171 and PO 174 (System too lean Bank 1 and Bank 2) I recently replaced the MAF sensor with a new one. I removed the negative battery cable for 30 minutes before installing and restarting my car. I let the car idle for awhile as I needed to reprogram my seats, radio, a/c vents, etc anyway. I took a short ride initially and went easy for a few days. Today, I drove aggressively and really got on the accelerator. What a difference! The car responds instantly when I hit the pedal with plenty of power. I never had any issue with idle, but I did have concerns when needing immediate acceleration when passing etc. I just can't believe this is the same car. Anyway, it's been about 2 or 3 days and I will report back if there is any change. In the mean time, I'm sure my gas mileage will plummet as I'm driving the LS430 like my Jaguar.....aggressively. For what it's worth, I purchased my MAF from a reputable on line Vendor. I'm not positive about the forum rules for mentioning vendors. It's a new OEM Denso at less than half the price of the Lexus dealership. Denso manufactures many of the OEM parts for Toyota. The Denso MAF sensors are now made in Vietnam.. Hopefully all is well for such a small investment. I will keep the forum posted..

e60bmw

iTrader: (1)

Thats really awesome. I've actually wondered about mine, I've cleaned it but I don't know how the sensors are going to be after 16 years. How much does it run? Curious if others think is something that should be changed even though I don't have any active codes on it right now.

Bocatrip

I am not suggesting to change the MAF as a maintenance item. If you have any issues such as weak acceleration, uneven idle or especially DTC codes showing up, it is something to consider. Although there are many of these aftermarket sensors sold on ebay etc for $25+ usually from China... I went with a reputable vendor and it was slightly under $70. Well worth it if it fixes your issues and only takes literally minutes to replace.
For what it's worth.....How can it hurt to change anything in our cars that are over 16+ years old? You virtually have almost nothing to lose with such a small expenditure.

911LE

I cleaned mine the correct way a few weeks ago and have the same results. I had very weak acceleration, dead spots in my throttle response, jerky mistimed shifts from the trans, and the codes for lean mixtures on both banks. The first time I cleaned my maf I only cleaned the red bulb thing on the bottom. I didn't realise that the actual sensing wires were inside the small black tube at the top. I could see them with a flashlight and they were completely covered in oily residue. I used about half a can of CRC maf cleaner to get it clean.
Cleaning the maf should be considered part of routine maintenance as the crankcase vapors are introduced into the intake air before the maf and are prone to contamination. My car has 135k and drives like new. It feels like I gained 50 hp.

LS430inDE.

That's an awesome break/fix story Boca! Congrats on probably saving yourself $100+ had you done the service at the dealership!

How many miles do you have on the LS when you changed this MAF if I can ask?

Bocatrip

133,000 miles.

warminwisc

Thanks for the info

LS430inDE.

You just convinced me to do mine. I have almost 150k. Sometimes I think to myself, she's lost that pep and liveliness a younger 'model' would possess.

I wonder if, using an OBD2 scanner, I would be able to view before and after OBD2 data, to verify if there's any difference (at idle) by changing it?