Car died on way home from 30K service!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pycnanthemum @ Jun 14 2007, 10:16 AM) [snapback]461498[/snapback]</div>

let us know the "codes" that were reported and the repair suggested by the dealer. It is probably not a coincidence that the problem occurred as you were driving home after work was done on your car.

JeffD

 

I call BS on their explanation. The only sensor in the area that you are talking about is the Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor, which is used to determine the mass of air entering an electronically fuel-injected engine. However, I have never heard of an MAF failure causing an engine to shut down. Sure, it may cause your CEL to come on, but that is usually about it.

 

I find it difficult to me that a leaf made it all the way past the air filter with enough pressure to "seal" the intake to the point of choking off the engine to the point of disabling the vehicle. I have seen enough filty air filters in my life to question the ability of a simple leaf to cause this type of problem.

Most newer cars have a MAF and it is a highly sensitive device often with a few very fine hairlike strings running across on the inside with resistors on them. If those resistors are screwed up to the point where they are not accurate most engines will run rough but I have never seen one simply quit although i suppose it is possible for that to happen.

Weird stuff and it sucks to be inconvenienced by such a freak thing.

 

The other thing is that every MAF that I have seen has had some of plastic screen on it on the air filter side to prevent any debris the filter might have missed from damaging the hot wire on the MAF. So, even if the leaf made it to the MAF, I highly doubt that it would have damaged it in any way.

 

BS. This is purely a fault from the tech. I think the Service manager trying to cover his butt and his buddy tech butt.

Another possible cause is when the tech removed the filter, got a long smoke break with the air filter covered open/exposed and dirts/leaves got in.

Now you should be more concern that some dirt got suck into the engine and might cause more wear inside the engine. A good oil and oil filter change might be the safer.

 

The MAF in the prius is fairly well protected -- that bit that sticks
out into the intake throat grabs some intake air and shunts it way
over into that module on the front where the connector is, and that's
where the wires are. I looked at trying to proactively clean 'em
and didn't have anything handy that's *small* enough to get in there
... not even a q-tip would fit. So the leaf, if the story is right,
possibly wedged itself into the MAF intake port and disrupted the
flow but probably didn't actually get into where the wires are.
.
_H*

 

DH had spent quite a bit of time chasing funky codes once due to a chunk of leaf in a MAF sensor after a prius was run through the express lube. so no, this is not bs and it's not anyone's fault other than the wind. unless, of course, they forgot the filter as mentioned.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Jun 14 2007, 11:11 PM) [snapback]462083[/snapback]</div>

I don't doubt that a leaf could cause an incorrect reading from the MAF sensor and cause the car to throw some codes and turn the CEL on. However, I have never heard of a MAF sensor malfunction causing the ICE to stop running.

 

i forget the running condition of the thing- i'll have to ask him tomorrow.

 

in the case DH worked on, the leaf got in there while the filter was being changed. hey, it happens. again, i don't recall how it ran.

my old '90 buick had a bad maf sensor in it and it sure as hell died on me all the time.

 

The only way a leaf is going to make it to the MAF is when the filter is removed. With the filter in place, the leaf would have to move through the filter to get there, which is physically impossible. However, it is common practice to clean any debris out of the filter housing when you are replacing the filter. The best practice is to do this is with a vacuum, but I have seen it done with compressed air. The problem with compressed air is that it blows the debris everywhere -- including up the intake toward the MAF.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Swanny1172 @ Jun 15 2007, 06:52 AM) [snapback]462184[/snapback]</div>

That would be my guess, too. The excuse "a leaf just happened to get up there somehow, but it wasn't the tech's fault" seems quite sketchy.

Or maybe there was a cyclone going on in the service bay when he was changing the air filter...

 

Everybody screws up sometimes. I would not hesitate to go back to that dealer for the next service. If something goes oops there again, then I'd try another dealer.

 

Sometimes I pull up the filter element and clean off the bigger
bits stuck to it by just whacking it against my hand ... but I try
to stay away from the intake throat while doing that!
.
_H*