MAF sensor not cleaning up?

2008 Gen 2 200,000 km odo

I've been getting 5.0L/100km (47MPG), but a friend who has the same car (300,000km odo) is getting 4.4L/100km (54MPG) under very similar driving conditions.

I decided to try clean the MAF sensor as others have noted improved economy after cleaning this sensor.

I used isopropyl alcohol and an air puffer. Photos below are after cleaning. The temperature sensor part (second image) came out noticeably cleaner. One of the two hot wire sensors inside (upper image) would not clean up (see upper image). I decided not to touch with anything other than alcohol and air. It looks like there is corrosion, something sticky or melted on this one wire.

Has anyone else had this issue? Will the specific MAF spray cleaner work better for this? Shops are closed so I decided to re-install as is.

I also changed the engine air filter, but reading the forums this apparently will not affect economy.

thanks!

 

Thanks for your response, I will buy the proper cleaner and see how that goes.

When you say "clean more aggressively", how do you do this? Are you touching any tool to the hot wires inside the sensor?

I do have and OBD2 plug and have used the Dr Prius App (free version) in the past. Can this be used to look at ECM data, or what did you use?

 

I used electronics contact cleaner with a straw and this got the sensor really clean. I did not have to touch the wires, just got the straw close and blasted with the cleaner.

I have not tried connecting to ECM yet but I'm not sure if this will be necessary. I'll see if the economy improves now.

Thanks again for your help.

 

After cleaning the MAF Sensor, I've driven a few hundred kilometres and reported consumption has dropped back down around 4.0-4.5L/100km depending on the length of trip.

Consumption is higher after initially cold starting, and then drops off after the engine is warm. I never noticed this drop off in consumption previously when the MAF sensor was dirty (and average consumption was up around 5L/100km).

Will be interesting to see how reported consumption compares with what is measured at the fuel pump. Thanks for your help.

 

I used an electronics contact cleaner that specifically mentioned zero residue. It was cheaper and more widely available than Maf sensor cleaner. It seemed to work well for my purposes.