What Is MAF Sensor?
The mass airflow (MAF) sensor measures the mass of air entering the engine, the primary input the computer uses to calculate fuel delivery. It's usually located between the air filter and the throttle body.
In plain English
Airflow measurement drives fueling: the computer takes the measured air mass and meters matching fuel. A dirty or failing MAF that under-reports air makes the engine run lean (P0171); one that over-reports makes it rich (P0172).
MAF sensors are also fragile: over-oiled aftermarket air filters and debris contaminate the hot wire. Their data should always be compared against expected values for the engine size and RPM — a skewed reading misleads every calculation downstream of it.
Example
Related trouble codes
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