Your VW car can display any number of different symptoms when the Air Flow Meter (MAF sensor) goes bad but, the most common ones are: The test in this article is for the Bosch MAF sensor that produces an analog voltage signal that can be measured by setting the Voltmeter in Volts DC mode. By this I mean that the newer VW cars and minivans are using a Frequency based MAF whose MAF Signal is a digital signal that can only be measured using a multimeter with frequency Hertz capability. You can see an example of this here: MAF Sensor With 5 Slot Connector With 4 Wires.Īnother important note is that this article only tests the older analog type Bosch MAF sensor (Air Flow Meter). You'll need to unplug the MAF on your VW to make sure, since some MAF sensors with 5 male spade terminals only have four wires coming out of the connector.

This tutorial is for the MAF sensor with the connector that has 5 slots for 5 or 4 male spade terminals. One type has a connector with 4 slots for only 4 male spade terminals and the other has 5 slots for 5 or 4 male spade terminals. ( Click here for the 4 wire VW Bosch MAF Sensor Test)īefore I go on, let me tell you that VW uses several types of mass air flow sensors (also known as Air Flow Meters), for the most part they can be divided into two categories. But, if you're like me, you want a more solid test, something that you can sink your teeth into, such as a test that involves a multimeter since the 'unplug the MAF Test' doesn't diagnose all the possible MAF malfunctions. If the MAF is bad (either because it's not producing a signal or producing an erratic one), the car's idle will return to normal and the car will seem to run fine.

The most common way to test the 5 wire VW Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor is just to unplug it with the engine running.

Test maf sensor unplugged