FYI $1000 MAFproblem - Passing on what I learned

[Heyobie]

Been having problems with wife's 2001 Beetle. Was eating radiator fluid so I pulled the head, had it milled and replaced the head gasket, water pump, tensioner, belts and put it all back together.

Started the car up and it ran great for a day and then crapped out. Engine light was calling out MAF sensor. CAR WOULD ONLY RUN IF I DISCONNECTED THE MAF Sensor.

So I cleaned the MAF, connected it back up and it ran good for 2 weeks and the it crapped out. Then CAR WOULD ONLY RUN IF I DISCONNECTED THE MAF Sensor. Bought 2 new MAF's and put them in and it still crapped out.

So I gave up and sent it to a repair shop that I trust. They worked on it for a day and decided that the ECU needed to be FLASHED. So it had to go to the dealer. Apparently, when I replaced the head gasket, the ECU lost its bearings because I DISCONNECTED THE BATTERY FOR TWO WEEKS.

After paying $400 for the diagnosis and REFLASH, the car would run with the MAF connected. But after driving the car 50 miles, the CEL came back on calling out P0301 which is the MAF

So it went back to the repair shop. THEY PUT IN 3 DIFFERENT MAF'S WITH 3 DIFFERENT ITEM NUMBERS. They said that this engine has had many MAF's changes over the years. (probably different engine models) $300 later, it was finally fixed and runs like a champ.

So HERE IS WHAT I LEARNED AND WANT TO PASS ON:

1 - Don't leaved the ECU without power for extended period of time
2 - Do not throw out the original MAF. Keep it for the proper item number until you have it right

Thanks to everyone who tried to help.

OBIE

[geniushanbiao]

Actually if you disconnected battery all you have to do is a throttle body alignment. However it shouldn't matter too much. According to your symptom I believe either you have a bad ECU or your head was not installed properly. Yes sometimes MAFs come good or bad nobody can tell. However it's not normal to have several MAFs bad. I bought a new MAF from advanceautoparts but found that it was bad, then exchanged in store and then been using it for a few months till now with no problem.

Originally Posted by Heyobie

Been having problems with wife's 2001 Beetle. Was eating radiator fluid so I pulled the head, had it milled and replaced the head gasket, water pump, tensioner, belts and put it all back together.

Started the car up and it ran great for a day and then crapped out. Engine light was calling out MAF sensor. CAR WOULD ONLY RUN IF I DISCONNECTED THE MAF Sensor.

So I cleaned the MAF, connected it back up and it ran good for 2 weeks and the it crapped out. Then CAR WOULD ONLY RUN IF I DISCONNECTED THE MAF Sensor. Bought 2 new MAF's and put them in and it still crapped out.

So I gave up and sent it to a repair shop that I trust. They worked on it for a day and decided that the ECU needed to be FLASHED. So it had to go to the dealer. Apparently, when I replaced the head gasket, the ECU lost its bearings because I DISCONNECTED THE BATTERY FOR TWO WEEKS.

After paying $400 for the diagnosis and REFLASH, the car would run with the MAF connected. But after driving the car 50 miles, the CEL came back on calling out P0301 which is the MAF

So it went back to the repair shop. THEY PUT IN 3 DIFFERENT MAF'S WITH 3 DIFFERENT ITEM NUMBERS. They said that this engine has had many MAF's changes over the years. (probably different engine models) $300 later, it was finally fixed and runs like a champ.

So HERE IS WHAT I LEARNED AND WANT TO PASS ON:

1 - Don't leaved the ECU without power for extended period of time
2 - Do not throw out the original MAF. Keep it for the proper item number until you have it right

Thanks to everyone who tried to help.

OBIE

[Heyobie]

It wasn't that they were bad. Apparently they were the wrong one.