More and more car owners are trying to maintain their cars on their own. This results in substantial cost savings because modern cars require more and more routine service and are made up of more and more technical parts that lead to new breakdowns or inconveniences. One of the problems that impacts more and more Audi A7 owners is a clogged air flow meter, which will lead to a loss of power and black exhaust gases. Today we are going to take a look at how to clean the mass air flow sensor of your Audi A7? . First, we will show you how your mass airflow sensor operates and its value, second, why it might be relevant to clean this sensor , and finally, how to clean the mass air flow sensor of a Audi A7 .

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Utility and action of the mass air flow meter of a Audi A7

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So we begin our article with the operation and aim of your Audi A7 flowmeter.

The intent of the mass air flow sensor on Audi A7

The mass air flow sensor is a part that has been developed actually quite not too long ago and specifically equipped on diesel models. Obviously, with injection engines, the fuel and air intake has become very precise and it is so necessary for the ECU to know the exact volume of air added into the engine to change the behaviour of complementary intake parts such as the injection or the EGR valve, if you have problems with the EGR valve on your Audi A7, do not think twice to consult our article on this subject.

Mass air flow sensor operation on Audi A7

Now, we are going to take a look at how it operates, before trying to clean the mass air flow sensor of your Audi A7 , you must already find out how it functions to achieve this routine service action correctly.

The mass air flow sensor is therefore specifically there to obtain statistics on the air intake of your motor vehicle. To do this, it must be set up just after the air intake of your Audi A7, i. e. just after the air filter. It is a pipe equipped with a sensor that will analyze the air in the intake and transmit the statistics to the ECU of your car.

Why clean the mass air flow sensor of a Audi A7?

The mass air flow sensor of your Audi A7 can have problems and this is what we will try to find out and figure out what problems you might be struggling with!

Mass air flow sensor problems Audi A7

Here are the different problems that the air flow sensor of your Audi A7 can cause:

  • higher fuel consumption: Because a dirty flow meter will necessarily result in higher fuel consumption due to poor air flow…
  • Power loss: Associated with the same problem, this lack of air can cause a loss of power to your engine.
  • Difficulties starting the vehicle: Finally, one of the last classic problems associated with a dirty flowmeter will be that your Audi A7 will have more difficulties to begin the vehicle.

How do I clean the mass air flow sensor from a Audi A7?

After examining the operation and problems that the flowmeter can cause, we will look at how to fix these problems by describing to you how to clean the mass air flow sensor of your Audi A7 . You should know that this process is actually quite basic to carry out and you will not need advanced mechanical skills to do it your self, a good way to avoid a trip to the garage area and a steep bill. See below the different steps to stick to to carry out this routine service act:

  • After having located the mass air flow sensor of your Audi A7 , you will have to dismantle it. To do this, action gently, but you will just have to disassemble it on both sides of the air duct and detach the electrical plug on top of it.
  • Once disassembled, you will have the ability to carry on to the step cleaning the mass air flow sensor of your Audi A7 . This sensor will, with time, get dirty and its two “filaments” that will give information to your computer on the quality and temperature of the air will no longer have the ability to collect data correctly, it is in this sense that it will disturb the operation of the engine unit of your Audi A7. The intent of this cleaning will be to remove all its impure substances to allow it to work efficiently again.
  • Let soak the lower part of your mass air flow sensor (not the plug part) in acetone or another solvent for a few minutes , which will remove most of the grime
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  • Now we’ll proceed to the very gentle cleaning of the flow meter filaments. You have to be very careful, in any other case your mass air flow sensor will be permanently damaged. With the help of a fine brush and solvent, gently clean the two filaments of your mass air flow sensor . If you are too afraid of destroying it, you can as well clean them with a brake fluid in the form of an aerosol by spraying the jet on these filaments.

Now you know how to clean the mass air flow sensor of your Audi A7 , you should feel a noticeable difference in the behavior of your engine unit.

If you need more tutorials on the Audi A7, go to our Audi A7 category.