I have an 00 sonata 4cyl, 173K miles. There is a hesitation on take off, it is worse when the engine is cold. started doing this one week ago. The engine light is on, the dealer told me it is running lean, and the air flow sensor in the air intake hose, between the the air cleaner and the engine is the problem. This part cost $460.00 bucks. My problem is, I don't believe the dealer, here is why. The engine light has been on for two years(I know, hard to believe). Two years ago, another dealer told methat same part was bad, but the car has been running fine for two years(engine light on)with out the $460.00 part.
What else could be causing the engine to run lean?

 

So an expert mechanic tells you something 2 years ago and a different expert mechanic tells you the same thing 2 years later and you think they are both wrong with the exact same diagnosis? If they are wrong and you know mor than they do, why are you here asking us for an answer? You seem to think you are the expert.

The reason it's running bad now is because you've been driving around for 2 years with the problem without fixing it. The plugs are probably shot now from running lean all that time. Clean or replace theMAF, change the plugs and stop questioning mechanics until you get ASE certified yourself.

Sorry if that sounds rude but I think your name fits you. Are you crazy?

Hope it all works out and welcome to the forum.

 

Thanks for the reply. Sorry, I've had too many bad experiences with dealers and mechanics to believe everything they say. I could tell you a lot of stories, but I don't want to waste your time.
I plan to replace the MAF sensor just to get the light to turn off, or a different engine code to show up, I cleaned it twice with no luck. I'll try the junkyards first. I'll post back here when I get it fixed.

 

Did the dealer ever tell you what codes are in the system? That might help narrow down the problem.

You said you tried cleaning the MAF, how did you do that? And after cleaning the MAF did you have the codes cleared in the system? You should first clean the MAF and then clear the codes. If the codes come back only then would I get a new MAF. Just cleaning the MAF without resetting the computer may not make the code go away. Also, I would change the plugs. If they have been running lean for 2 year they probably need to be changed.

Good luck and hope that helps.

 

Ok, it's fixed, here's what I did. I put one bottle of fuel system cleaner in a half full tank, drove it till the gas was gone and the hesitation was fixed. Then I found a newMAF on ebay for $100.00(dealer wanted $460.00) and I put that on and the engine light is out. Car is running good again.
Thanx for all your help.

 

AWESOME! Great job and nice work saving money withthe eBay MAF purchase.

Happy motoring!

 

So expert, trot to yoiur local auto parts chain and buy an OBD II code checker and see what your inspection says. My guess is that something else is causing the alert; I would think the AF sensor is not the only problem as it can run lean enough to trip the alarm but not serious enough to be a major running probled. Once tgripped thd alarm stays on til cleared. Your dealers do that? The $50 OBDII checker can clear that signal as well so you can see if its an ongoing problem.
Hows your mpg?

 

Try looking at the dates on the posts and reading the whole thread. He fixed the problem 4 years ago (04-01-2008 08:43 PM)