More and more car owners are trying to take care of their vehicles by themselves. This results in considerable cost savings because contemporary cars require more and more maintenance and are made up of more and more technical parts that lead to new breakdowns or inconveniences. One of the problems that disturbs more and more BMW X4 owners is a clogged air flow meter, which will bring about a loss of power and black exhaust fumes. In this article we are going to look at how to clean the mass air flow sensor of your BMW X4? . First, we will show you how your mass airflow sensor works and its advantages, second, why it may be relevant to clean this sensor , and at last, how to clean the mass air flow sensor of a BMW X4 .

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Utility and operation of the mass air flow meter of a BMW X4

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So we start our article with the procedure and role of your BMW X4 flowmeter.

The intent of the mass air flow sensor on BMW X4

The mass air flow sensor is a part that has been created actually quite not too long ago and mainly equipped on diesel models. In truth, with injection engines, the fuel and air intake has become very precise and it is consequently necessary for the ECU to know the exact volume of air loaded into the engine to adapt the actions of complementary intake parts such as the injection or the EGR valve, if you have problems with the EGR valve on your BMW X4, do not think twice to consult our article on this subject.

Mass air flow sensor operation on BMW X4

Now, we are going to have a look at how it works, before trying to clean the mass air flow sensor of your BMW X4 , you must already find out how it works to achieve this maintenance action correctly.

The mass air flow sensor is consequently mainly there to get info on the air intake of your motor vehicle. To get this done, it must be mounted just after the air intake of your BMW X4, i. e. just after the air filter. It is a pipe equipped with a sensor that will review the air in the intake and transfer the info to the ECU of your car.

Why clean the mass air flow sensor of a BMW X4?

The mass air flow sensor of your BMW X4 can have problems and this is what we will try to discover and discover what problems you may be struggling with!

Mass air flow sensor problems BMW X4

Here are the different problems that the air flow sensor of your BMW X4 can bring about:

  • higher fuel consumption: Because a dirty flow meter will necessarily end up in excessive fuel consumption due to poor air flow…
  • Power loss: Associated with the same problem, this lack of air can bring about a loss of power to your engine.
  • Difficulties starting the vehicle: Finally, one of the last classic problems connected with a dirty flowmeter will be that your BMW X4 will have more troubles to start the vehicle.

How do I clean the mass air flow sensor from a BMW X4?

After going over the operation and concerns that the flowmeter can bring about, we will look at how to solve these problems by explaining to you how to clean the mass air flow sensor of your BMW X4 . You should know that this process is actually quite simple to carry out and you will not need advanced mechanical expertise to do it your self, a good way to avoid a trip to the garage area and a steep bill. Discover below the different steps to stick to to carry out this maintenance act:

  • After having based the mass air flow sensor of your BMW X4 , you will have to dismantle it. To get this done, action delicately, but you will just have to disassemble it on both sides of the air duct and disconnect the electrical plug on top of it.
  • Once disassembled, you will have the ability to move forward to the step cleaning the mass air flow sensor of your BMW X4 . 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 disrupt the operation of the engine of your BMW X4. The intent of this cleaning will be to remove all its impurities 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 move on to the very delicate cleaning of the flow meter filaments. You have to be very cautious, in any other case your mass air flow sensor will be permanently damaged. With the help of a fine brush and solvent, delicately clean the two filaments of your mass air flow sensor . If you are too afraid of damaging it, you can also 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 BMW X4 , you should feel a noticeable difference in the behavior of your engine.

If you wish more tutorials on the BMW X4, go to our BMW X4 category.