alfy Posted December 4, 2012 Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 our 2003 e46 320d touring has been suffering from lack of power and massive hesitation when pulling out rapidly into traffic ie onto a roundabout or accross traffic at a junction which for some reason my wife found terrifying after a bit of research i found people saying these symptoms could be caused by a faulty maf sensor, when unplugged the car became infinatly more drivable though obviously lacked power this seemed to prove it was indeed a faulty maf. searched high and low for a replacement unit within our meager means and finally found one from bmparts at a very respectable £30, they were very helpful and shipped the new part to me the next morning, part appears to be identical although i realise it is a pattern part i hoped it would work out fine. after installing the new part plugging everything in i started the car and for a few seconds all appeared to be well then... the tickover became very erratic almost stalling then picking up again shuddering and shaking all over the place, i switch off unplug the new maf and start again tick over is fine plug it back in erratic tick over stalling at junctions etc is there a way of resetting the adaptation for the maf on this car or have i got a naff maf? and yes i know you get what you pay for but you also pay for what you can afford:( please someone give me some good helpful news for a change Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob- Posted December 4, 2012 Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 As far as I'm aware you need to code the new maf to the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mit Posted December 4, 2012 Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 (edited) The new MAF isn't working properly. The general rule with these is if you don't get an OEM one, expect it to fail within months rather than years, though I'd have expected yours to last more than a few minutes. I never heard of having to code a MAF to a car. Edited December 4, 2012 by mit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kib Posted December 4, 2012 Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 dont think it has to be coded give bmparts a ring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starkie7 Posted December 4, 2012 Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 There is one version of bosch maf that needs coding to the car as it was updated. Part number ending 314. Any other should be a straight swap. But, as mit said, get genuine or you're wasting your time and money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimp Choker Posted December 4, 2012 Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 If you still have the old one I'd take a punt at cleaning with some MAF cleaner Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfy Posted December 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 thanks for the opinions, old maf was cleaned with no major improvement. the old part number ends in 527 if that helps narrow down if this needs coding or not and as i said before i understand the whole genuine vs oem but financial cramp dictates your either buy the cheap stuff and hope for the best and make the most of its 12month warrenty or scrap an otherwise perfectly usable car because you cant afford the fortune to buy genuine parts hmmmm decisions decisions lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marc l Posted December 4, 2012 Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 Did you look into a second hand unit? I know they're quite prone to breaking so it might not be the best idea! I've never heard of coding a maf sensor before either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edber Posted December 4, 2012 Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 (edited) If the old maf ends with 527 then you should be ok,the prefacelift cars came out of the factory with a 314 maf and needed coding to take the 527. I have recently bought a pierburg maf 722684090 which is pierburgs maf for the 320d and boy i have major torque now,car is more responsive and more drivable and a recent 88 mile trip with various road conditions,hills ect and bends,slowing,accelerating yeilded 53mpg according to the obc.And as mit said you wont be buying much of a maf for £30.I paid €127 for my pierburg maf at my local motor factors.The maf is one item you cant scrimp on,too much drivability issues are tied into it. Plenty of reading out there to support the pierburg maf,more reliable and longer lasting than the bosch ones.I purchased only the sensor,nothing else,as the pierburg sensor fits straight in to the bosch 527 housing. Edited December 4, 2012 by edber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marc l Posted December 4, 2012 Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 (edited) If that's 53mpg average I'm impressed! Edited December 4, 2012 by marc l Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edber Posted December 4, 2012 Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 (edited) Cheers marc but i forgot to mention that the car didnt go above 60mph too much on the 88 mile journey.Going to destination,obc read 53.3mpg after 44 miles and returning the obc read 51.0mpg after 44 miles. But even with them figures,wether they be good or bad,im really enjoying the car now.Love getting pushed back into the seat again lol. Edited December 5, 2012 by edber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregc Posted December 5, 2012 Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 I get confused with the Maf business. I have a 320d 136bhp 2001 per facelift can I just but a pierburg Maf and it's plug and play or do I need it flashed/coded? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edber Posted December 5, 2012 Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 I get confused with the Maf business. I have a 320d 136bhp 2001 per facelift can I just but a pierburg Maf and it's plug and play or do I need it flashed/coded? If your maf housing has a part number ending in 527,you will see this part number on the left side of the housing as you look towards the engine bay. If you do have a bosch maf with 527 and provided its allready coded to your car,then the pierburg sensor will fit straight in.I have the same car as you greg and i have fitted a pierburg the other day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregc Posted December 6, 2012 Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 Your not from Wiltshire/Hampshire area are you? I would like to see how a 136bhp 320d goes because mine feels quite slow but I don't know if that's how they are. I say mines slow it just doesn't seem to have much torque say if someone is doing 45 and I want to quickly over take I would drop to third for enough acceleration, if I left it in fourth or fifth it'd be a long old process. I used to own a Nissan Almera 2.2 DCI and could drive everywhere in sixth gear and it would have enough torque to overtake. I've driven VAG TDI's and mine would 't keep up with a 110bhp never mind 130!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
320D sparky Posted December 6, 2012 Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 My 136 never feels as quick as my old PD130, but the power delivery is very different on BMW's. When my Beemer is on a good day the power delivery is far more linear and it pulls to over 4000rpm whereas the VAG engine gives you a shove in the back at 1800rpm but has ran out of steam at 2750rpm. I'd say against the clock there wouldnt be a lot in it but the VAG car would be doing 10mpg more. As a comparison a work mate went from a PD130 to a 320D with 177bhp and thought the Beemer felt slow in comparison. I'm sure its all todo with the power delivery. That said, my 136 is very tempramental and on some days it flies and on others is feels sluggish and it still wont go past 100mph.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edber Posted December 6, 2012 Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 (edited) I had the same issue as you greg,i was embarrased to overtake as i simply coudnt,the oomph wasnt there. But with the pierburg maf its a different story.Mine boosts at 1300rpm and puts me back into the seat and justs keeps flying. Edited December 6, 2012 by edber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregc Posted December 7, 2012 Report Share Posted December 7, 2012 That's it I'll get one in the new year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ed200 Posted December 8, 2012 Report Share Posted December 8, 2012 as its a pattern one it may not even be for the 320d could be for any model, bite the bulit and buy a new one they are a very delicate part. Your car like most of us is prob a life line to work, shops etc......dont scrimp as it will only cost you in the long run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregc Posted December 8, 2012 Report Share Posted December 8, 2012 By new one do you mean go to BMW and buy one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edber Posted December 9, 2012 Report Share Posted December 9, 2012 722684090 is the pierburg part number and its for the 320d. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brixtoninmate Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 if you fit a new maf you need to clear codes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregc Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 Would that be with inpa or just disconnect the battery for half an hour? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfy Posted December 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 latest update is not great, took the car to a local specialist who spent a couple of hours going through it, the first replacement maf i fitted was faulty but the second was fine the reason it wont run properly is the engine is almost suffocating from a partial blockage in the inlet system and head. they can strip it clear the crap redo the head etc but will be looking the wrong side of a thousand pounds at the end of it, their reccomendation was to either drive it till it dies and throw it away or try and track down a donor engine with auto box(which is also showing signs of a problem as its intermittantly cattle gridding) does anyone know of a reasonably priced donor thats available? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregc Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 Can't you just clean out the inlet manifold and stuff yourself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edber Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 Can't you just clean out the inlet manifold and stuff yourself? +1 on that,whip off your egr valve and you will be able to see what condition the inlet manifold is in. This is a job you can do yourself and clean out all the soot and gunk, the results might surprise you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
