More and more car owners are trying to maintain their cars by themselves. This results in substantial savings because modern cars involve more and more maintenance and are made up of more and more technical components that result in new breakdowns or inconveniences. One of the complications that disturbs more and more Toyota Sienna owners is a clogged air flow meter, which will end in a loss of power and black exhaust gases. In this article we are going to examine how to clean the mass air flow sensor of your Toyota Sienna? . First, we will show you how your mass airflow sensor works and its value, second, why it may be relevant to clean this sensor , and finally, how to clean the mass air flow sensor of a Toyota Sienna .

clean-mass-airflow-sensor-toyota-sienna

Utility and operation of the mass air flow meter of a Toyota Sienna

.
So we begin our article with the procedure and role of your Toyota Sienna flowmeter.

The intent of the mass air flow sensor on Toyota Sienna

The mass air flow sensor is a part that has been created actually quite recently and specifically outfitted on diesel models. In actual fact, with injection engines, the fuel and air intake has become very precise and it is consequently essential for the ECU to know the exact volume of air added 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 Toyota Sienna, do not think twice to consult our article on this subject.

Mass air flow sensor operation on Toyota Sienna

Now, we are going to examine how it works, before trying to clean the mass air flow sensor of your Toyota Sienna , you must already find out how it works to achieve this maintenance action accurately.

The mass air flow sensor is consequently specifically there to obtain statistics on the air intake of your motor vehicle. To achieve this, it must be installed just after the air intake of your Toyota Sienna, i. e. just after the air filter. It is a pipe outfitted with a sensor that will review the air in the intake and transmit the statistics to the ECU of your car.

Why clean the mass air flow sensor of a Toyota Sienna?

The mass air flow sensor of your Toyota Sienna can have complications and this is what we will try to find out and understand what complications you may be facing!

Mass air flow sensor complications Toyota Sienna

Here are the different complications that the air flow sensor of your Toyota Sienna can cause:

  • higher fuel consumption: Because a dirty flow meter will actually result in more significant fuel consumption due to poor air flow…
  • Power loss: Linked to similar issue, this lack of air can cause 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 Toyota Sienna will have more troubles to begin the vehicle.

How do I clean the mass air flow sensor from a Toyota Sienna?

After reviewing the operation and complications that the flowmeter can cause, we will look at how to resolve these complications by describing to you how to clean the mass air flow sensor of your Toyota Sienna . You should know that this process is actually quite simple to execute and you will not need advanced mechanical skills to do it yourself, a good method to avoid a trip to the garage area and a steep bill. Discover below the different steps to stick to to execute this maintenance act:

  • After having based the mass air flow sensor of your Toyota Sienna , you will have to dismantle it. To achieve this, action 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 taken apart, you will be able to continue to the step cleaning the mass air flow sensor of your Toyota Sienna . This sensor will, over 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 accurately, it is in this sense that it will disturb the operation of the engine of your Toyota Sienna. The intent of this cleaning will be to remove all its impurities to enable 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
  • .

  • Now we’ll proceed to the very gentle 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 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 Toyota Sienna , you should feel a noticeable difference in the behavior of your engine.

If you need more tutorials on the Toyota Sienna, go to our Toyota Sienna category.