More and more motorists are trying to take care of their vehicles on their own. This outcomes in significant cost savings because contemporary cars require 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 impacts more and more Toyota Tacoma owners is a clogged air flow meter, which will lead to 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 Tacoma? . First, we will teach you how your mass airflow sensor operates and its advantages, second, why it might be relevant to clean this sensor , and at last, how to clean the mass air flow sensor of a Toyota Tacoma .

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

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So we start our article with the operation and goal of your Toyota Tacoma flowmeter.

The goal of the mass air flow sensor on Toyota Tacoma

The mass air flow sensor is a part that has been created quite recently and specifically equipped on diesel models. In truth, 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 loaded into the engine to modify the behaviour of complementary intake parts such as the injection or the EGR valve, if you have problems with the EGR valve on your Toyota Tacoma, do not hesitate to consult our article on this subject.

Mass air flow sensor operation on Toyota Tacoma

Now, we are going to examine how it operates, before trying to clean the mass air flow sensor of your Toyota Tacoma , you must already understand how it works to achieve this maintenance action correctly.

The mass air flow sensor is therefore specifically there to collect data on the air intake of your car. To do this, it must be installed just after the air intake of your Toyota Tacoma, 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 data to the ECU of your car.

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

The mass air flow sensor of your Toyota Tacoma can have complications and this is what we will try to discover and figure out what complications you might be facing!

Mass air flow sensor complications Toyota Tacoma

Here are the different complications that the air flow sensor of your Toyota Tacoma can provoke:

  • higher fuel consumption: Because a dirty flow meter will actually result in higher fuel consumption caused by poor air flow…
  • Power loss: Related to similar issue, this lack of air can provoke a loss of power to your engine.
  • Difficulties starting the automobile: Finally, one of the last traditional complications associated with a dirty flowmeter will be that your Toyota Tacoma will have more difficulties to start the car.

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

After looking at the operation and problems that the flowmeter can provoke, we will look at how to fix these complications by explaining to you how to clean the mass air flow sensor of your Toyota Tacoma . You should know that this operation is quite very easy to conduct and you will not need advanced mechanical expertise to do it your self, a good technique to avoid a trip to the workshop and a steep bill. Discover below the different steps to stick to to conduct this maintenance act:

  • After having located the mass air flow sensor of your Toyota Tacoma , you will have to dismantle it. To do 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 have the ability to proceed to the step cleaning the mass air flow sensor of your Toyota Tacoma . 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 Toyota Tacoma. The goal of this cleaning will be to take out 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 take out 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, otherwise your mass air flow sensor will be permanently broken. 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 harming 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 Tacoma , you should feel a noticeable difference in the behavior of your engine.

If you have any further questions about the Toyota Tacoma, do not hesitate to consult our Toyota Tacoma category.