The MAF sensors on ebay - are they worth it?

[NicDale]

So the MAF sensor on my w210 E320 Avantgarde is faulty. The car idles a little rough, is a touch hesitant on acceleration and generally doesn't accelerate as hard as it should and struggles to high revs.

My local specialist (TP Motors in Swansea) says its the MAF sensor so i'm going with that, i checked main dealer prices and then looked on ebay and have come across this:

click for MAF sensor

Now his feedback looks great so i'm tempted and at £30 delivered it isn't going to break the bank if it doesn't work. However they list them for the E320 4 matic and the tourings in the W210 and other chassis for the 320 V6 but not specifically for the E320, i have asked the question and am waiting for a reply.

What do you guys reckon? Has any one tried one?

 

[columb]

No.

Buy only genuine. They are expensive not because there is a huge profit, but because they are not easy and cheap to do.

Cheap MAF will quickly give you problems and will have to be replaced anyway!

You have BOSCH sensor so try your local Euro car Parts.

Cheers
Chris

 

[recycled]

they are not worth it. forget the dealers and go to bosch direct. call them up or email them and they will give you their local supplier

 

[NicDale]

Has anyone tried one then?

 

[LeighW]

I did. Then when my car ran like a bag of you-know-what, I threw it away and bought a genuine part. Trust me, they are a waste of money, always buy genuine MAF sensors.

 

[andy27168]

I have to say I must have the only E-bay MAF that is ever been ok its done over 60,000 miles now and has been good as gold. But if it ever goes again I will be replacing it for a gen item as judging by the posts I have been lucky.

 

[Birdman]

The MAF sensor went gradually over time and when the car started displaying all the symptoms mentioned I used a genuine MB MAF sensor - supplied at a 20% discount because I went to a friendly specialist I've known for years and talked to them nicely.

The car now accelerates even more scarily than when I bought it
Unfortunately, I also get increased fuel consumption no matter how gently I drive it

 

[duncanh]

eBay MAF - never again

I tried an ebay MAF about a year and a half ago.

I read so many entries about MAF failures, when my car got over 100,000 miles, I thought I would buy a cheap ebay one for a spare.

My original one (on a cdi) was a Pierburg (has both MB and Pierburg on it)

The ebay one I got was a Chinese copy. I swapped them over, and it was was OK for the first 5 minutes, when the engine was cold. When the engine got hot, it had a major flat spot.

I told the guy it was faulty, he sent me another. It was exactly the same. I sent them both back, I got my money back (I think it was about £30).

I still have the original MAF in the car (151,000 miles). When it fails I will get a genuine Pierburg from Eurocarparts.

 

[Nik_Endeavour]

Has anyone tried one then?

Well I bought a non genuine one when I first bought the car (it had 102 000 miles) and have used it ever since (2 years on, 132 700 miles) and hasn't given me any problems.

 

[NicDale]

Right i tried cleaning the MAF earlier, when i took everything apart it seems the MAF had been changed at some point as it was very clean and the housing had faded more than the MAF. The maf in there was definitly a Bosch one though.

Anyway, after cleaning it the car seemed a bit better but then started to miss quite badly and limped home at a max speed of 50mph, you could feel the car vibrating badly if you tried to rev harder, got home and rechecked everything to see what it was all put back together properly. Pulled the plug on top of the MAF as i had heard if it is definitly a faulty sensor it will run better disconnected, didn't seem to make any difference.

Then switched the engine off before firing it up again and it started straight away on all 6 cyclinders. Took it for a short test drive again and it was smooth as you like, felt a bit more powerful too, but still didn't want too rev past 5000rpm on hard throttle.

So its better, for the moment anyway, but its not cured. I'm going to order an ebay MAF just for curiosity, i'm not expecting it to work but with a 12month garantee i'll only lose the cost of postage.

I'm also toying with the idea of changing the fuel filter as well as although the car has ful MB history the rear crankshaft seal that was meant to be replaced was done badly with the seal half in and half out (Thanks Greenoaks!) so if anyone can point to where to find the fuel filter it would be appriciated, it's a 98 3.2 V6. I'll also be changing the spark plugs and air filter at the same time to see if they'll make a difference too.

Appriciate all the help so far!

 

[fergusond]

I a couple of months ago fitted a £30 Ebay one, initially just to prove it was the MAF, its still on working well!!

 

[spongebob]

Naff MAF

Has anyone tried one then?

I got my beautiful 1998 CLK320 at auction in July and as I was driving it home realised that the MAF was probably naff after similar experiences on 2 previous BMW's. I got a BOSCH MAF from Euro Car Parts for about £108 nx day delivery and now its sorted . Goes like stink and still averages 32mpg!!:bannana:

 

[chrisp]

I used www.emissioncontrols.co.uk They were really helpful and Genuine Bosch complete unit came next delivery, Think it was about £130 ish.