More and more motorists are trying to take care of their cars on their own. This outcomes in significant cost savings because contemporary cars require more and more routine service and are done up of more and more technical components that lead to new breakdowns or inconveniences. One of the complications that impacts more and more Subaru Crosstrek 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 Subaru Crosstrek? . First, we will teach you how your mass airflow sensor functions and its advantages, second, why it may be relevant to clean this sensor , and finally, how to clean the mass air flow sensor of a Subaru Crosstrek .

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Utility and operation of the mass air flow meter of a Subaru Crosstrek

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So we start our article with the operation and goal of your Subaru Crosstrek flowmeter.

The purpose of the mass air flow sensor on Subaru Crosstrek

The mass air flow sensor is a component that has been developed quite not long ago and principally outfitted on diesel models. In truth, with injection engines, the fuel and air intake has become very precise and it is consequently important 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 Subaru Crosstrek, do not hesitate to consult our article on this subject.

Mass air flow sensor operation on Subaru Crosstrek

Now, we are going to examine how it functions, before trying to clean the mass air flow sensor of your Subaru Crosstrek , you must already find out how it works to do this routine service work accurately.

The mass air flow sensor is therefore principally there to get statistics on the air intake of your motor vehicle. To get this done, it must be fitted just after the air intake of your Subaru Crosstrek, i. e. just after the air filter. It is a pipe outfitted with a sensor that will analyze the air in the intake and transfer the statistics to the ECU of your car.

Why clean the mass air flow sensor of a Subaru Crosstrek?

The mass air flow sensor of your Subaru Crosstrek can have complications and this is what we will try to discover and understand what complications you may be facing!

Mass air flow sensor complications Subaru Crosstrek

Here are the different complications that the air flow sensor of your Subaru Crosstrek can generate:

  • higher fuel consumption: Because a dirty flow meter will necessarily lead to more significant fuel consumption because of poor air flow…
  • Power loss: Associated with similar issue, this lack of air can generate a loss of power to your engine.
  • Difficulties starting the car: Finally, one of the last traditional complications linked to a dirty flowmeter will be that your Subaru Crosstrek will have more issues to start the vehicle.

How do I clean the mass air flow sensor from a Subaru Crosstrek?

After examining the operation and problems that the flowmeter can generate, we will look at how to fix these complications by explaining to you how to clean the mass air flow sensor of your Subaru Crosstrek . You should know that this operation is quite simple to execute and you will not need advanced mechanical skills to do it yourself, a good way to avoid a trip to the workshop and a steep bill. See below the different steps to follow to execute this routine service act:

  • After having based the mass air flow sensor of your Subaru Crosstrek , you will have to dismantle it. To get this done, work delicately, 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 be able to move forward to the step cleaning the mass air flow sensor of your Subaru Crosstrek . This sensor will, as time passes, 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 accurately, it is in this sense that it will disrupt the operation of the engine of your Subaru Crosstrek. The purpose of this cleaning will be to take out all its harmful particles 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 take out 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 careful, 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 destroying 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 Subaru Crosstrek , you should feel a noticeable difference in the behavior of your engine.

To get more tips on the Subaru Crosstrek, take a look at the Subaru Crosstrek category.