When it comes to luxury motoring, there is one name that will always come to mind: Mercedes-Benz. Known for their elite vehicles, smooth drive, and effortless handling without lacking power, these stunning cars are what motorist’s dreams are made of.
However, poor maintenance standards can completely ruin the incredible driving experience that is synonymous with Mercedes. One part can fail and completely ruin the driving experience: the MAF sensor. In this article, we will explore some of the common signs and vehicle symptoms you might notice when failure has occurred and discuss how to best repair the problem.
What does the MAF sensor do and where can I find it?
Also known as the mass air flow sensor, the MAF sensor is found under the hood near to the engine. It looks like a cylinder and is typically black with various ports and valves. These are connected to other parts of the engine system as a whole.
The MAF sensor monitors the flow of air that enters the engine, measuring this air using both temperature and weight. This information is essential to your Mercedes, as it’s engine requires the perfect balance of both air and fuel to run properly. When this balance is off, all manner of issues can arise to sour your driving experience and even damage your vehicle.
To prevent this, your vehicle’s onboard computer (OBD) uses the information provided by the MAF sensor to ensure the correct amount of fuel is given in response to this data, ensuring that your car drives as well as you’d expect a Mercedes to perform.
The Signs and Symptoms of Failure
If your MAF sensor fails, you will start to notice issues pretty quickly. These symptoms may completely ruin the driving experience, leaving you with a Mercedes which drives rough, handles poorly, and is a complete frustration to drive.
1. Rough Idling
If you pull up to a red light or intersection and your engine idles, you may notice your Mercedes feels juddery or is excessively loud. If so, you may be experiencing a rough idle. There can be many causes for this, but a likely culprit is the MAF sensor. This is because the air-to-fuel mixture in your Mercedes engine is misaligned, resulting in poor operating conditions that are keenly noticeable when idling.
2. Terrible Fuel Economy
If you picked your Mercedes for its fuel economics, if the MAF sensor fails, then prepare for things to change. When the MAF sensor fails, and your vehicle’s OBD is no longer receiving the essential data it needs to provide the correct amount of fuel, it will try to compensate for this failure by providing more fuel to the engine than necessary. This will result in your vehicle becoming highly uneconomic. You will likely notice that you are filling up at the pumps more often, taking a chunk both out of your time, and more importantly, your wallet.
3. Tricky to Drive
Alongside the aforementioned issues, you may also notice that overall, your Mercedes becomes a nightmare to drive. It can handle poorly and feel more temperamental and less responsive. When driving at a higher speed, you may notice that your Mercedes starts to jerk or noticeably struggle, which will make your driving experience feel restrictive and tense.
4. Engine Misfire
You may also notice a large increase in the rate of misfires of your vehicle. To achieve proper ignition, your engine requires both air and fuel, and when these two components are largely misaligned, what is known as a ‘lean misfire’ occurs. This type of misfire can occur either because there is too much air in the engine, resulting in there not being enough fuel to ignite, or in the case of MAF failure, too much fuel compared to air, meaning the fuel struggles to ignite effectively.
Seeking Repairs
If you are experiencing the symptoms listed above 
or are concerned about the health of your Mercedes’ MAF sensor, then you shouldn’t delay in seeking professional servicing. If your Mercedes has MAF sensor failure, it can make it very tricky to drive, which can increase the risk of accidents. Frequent misfires can also negatively impact the health of your engine!
Master Mechanic’s Auto Repair is located near Battle Creek, Portage, and Kalamazoo, MI. We have years of experience and offer great customer service from talented technicians. Come in for a consultation or call us today.