More and more car owners are trying to take care of their vehicles by themselves. This results in considerable savings because contemporary cars require more and more maintenance and are done up of more and more technical components that lead to new breakdowns or inconveniences. One of the problems that impacts more and more BMW X6 owners is a clogged air flow meter, which will lead to a loss of power and black exhaust gases. Today we are going to look at how to clean the mass air flow sensor of your BMW X6? . First, we will show you how your mass airflow sensor works 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 BMW X6 .

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Utility and operation of the mass air flow meter of a BMW X6

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So we start our content page with the operation and point of your BMW X6 flowmeter.

The purpose of the mass air flow sensor on BMW X6

The mass air flow sensor is a part that has been developed quite recently and specifically supplied on diesel models. In actual fact, with injection engines, the fuel and air intake has become very precise and it is therefore essential for the ECU to know the exact volume of air added into the engine to change 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 X6, do not hesitate to consult our content page on this subject.

Mass air flow sensor operation on BMW X6

Now, we are going to check out how it works, before trying to clean the mass air flow sensor of your BMW X6 , you must already figure out how it functions to do this maintenance work correctly.

The mass air flow sensor is consequently specifically there to obtain info on the air intake of your motor vehicle. To do this, it must be fitted just after the air intake of your BMW X6, i. e. just after the air filter. It is a pipe supplied with a sensor that will analyze the air in the intake and transmit the info to the ECU of your car.

Why clean the mass air flow sensor of a BMW X6?

The mass air flow sensor of your BMW X6 can have problems and this is what we will try to see and figure out what problems you might be struggling with!

Mass air flow sensor problems BMW X6

Here are the different problems that the air flow sensor of your BMW X6 can provoke:

  • higher fuel consumption: Because a dirty flow meter will necessarily end in excessive fuel consumption due to poor air flow…
  • Power loss: Linked to similar problem, this lack of air can provoke a loss of power to your engine.
  • Difficulties starting the car: Finally, one of the last traditional problems linked to a dirty flowmeter will be that your BMW X6 will have more issues to start the car.

How do I clean the mass air flow sensor from a BMW X6?

After going over the operation and problems that the flowmeter can provoke, we will look at how to fix these problems by describing to you how to clean the mass air flow sensor of your BMW X6 . You should know that this operation is quite simple to perform and you will not need advanced mechanical expertise to do it your self, a good method to avoid a trip to the garage and a steep bill. See below the different steps to follow to perform this maintenance act:

  • After having located the mass air flow sensor of your BMW X6 , you will have to dismantle it. To do this, work gently, 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 be able to continue to the step cleaning the mass air flow sensor of your BMW X6 . 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 be able to collect data correctly, it is in this sense that it will disturb the operation of the engine of your BMW X6. The purpose of this cleaning will be to remove all its impurities to allow it to work efficiently again.
  • Let soak the lower section 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 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 broken. 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 BMW X6 , you should feel a noticeable difference in the behavior of your engine.

In the event that you have any further questions about the BMW X6, do not hesitate to consult our BMW X6 category.