I've got a Skoda Octavia 1.8T from 2003 and it has been accelerating strangely. You can keep your foot fairly steady on the throttle and it sometimes speeds up slightly of its own accord, especially after just changing gear. It's new to me and I wondered if it was the turbo.

 

However I just spoke to the Skoda garage in Glasgow and they said it sounds like the air flow meter could be faulty. They said to unplug it and see if it helped the problem. They said if anything it should run a little worse, but if it improves things it's likely to be the issue. Just went out on a test run with it unplugged and it is miles better! Very pleased with the garage for being so helpful! 

 

I just spent a bit of money on the car and I want to try keep costs down, so I wondered if anyone can tell me if all this seems to make sense based on better knowledge than my limited knowledge of mechanics? Trying to avoid nearly £100 for professional diagnosis.

 

Second thing I'm wondering is if it's a good idea to replace the air flow meter, whether I could do it myself to keep costs down? Is it just a case of finding a new part (also might need help with this!) and replacing the old one, does anyone know?

 

Cheers!

If it runs better without the MAF unplugged the MAF is faulty.

Really easy to replace, but make sure you get a genuine VAG MAF as a replacement. Golden rule with VAG engine sensors. Buy cheap, buy twice.

Brilliant, are you able to point me in the direction of where to buy one online in the U.K.? 

 

After doing some reading I found an excellent video on YouTube, looks super easy!

Is this ok or is this the cheap one you warned of?    -->  http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331392411296

 

 

Also is something like this a bad idea even on an old car like mine? It probably wouldn't need to last forever to last the rest life of a 2003 car? This said, if it really is worth getting a better one then I'll just do that!

 

Is that the one I should buy instead?    --> https://goo.gl/5f7o6K

Edited 30 January, 20179 yr by dangoddard

I had a MAF issue in an old BMW 3 Series where by it would either die after starting or do so at the first junction. Unplugging it caused the car to run but very flat. As it was a £400 car I opted for the cheap option. Worked fine for me. I'd say if your not 100% it's the MAF get the budget option. Have you tried running with it disconnected or had a VCDS scan ? Mine was giving a MAF code. 

Yeah I ran it without the MAF disconnected and it improves things drastically. I'm going to run it like that until I get the new one fitted I think, which should be Wednesday or Thursday.

 

Do any high street shops in a city like Glasgow exist for these kinds of parts?

Edited 30 January, 20179 yr by dangoddard

Whilst trying to find the right part just now I'm finding different parts for different engine codes. How would I find out which one is the correct part for mine?

Go to Euro car parts . Com , enter your Reg. For my vRS they have one at £56.99. Might be worth going to a breakers yard ? 

Having had many years of experience with VAG cars, I strongly advise you get a genuine VAG MAF. There are countless stories on VAG forums of owners trying to go the cheap route & getting their fingers burnt (including me with a GFS MAF), MAF & Coolant Temp Sensors seem to be the most common for issues. Be warned it's a lottery when buying aftermarket sensors. Sometimes works out ok, but more often than not it doesn't!

VAG dealers offer an exchange service which helps keep the price down a bit, last one I bought from TPS (Trade Part Specialists) came out at about £80, however that was about 4 years ago.

BTW. You'll be ok running without the MAF plugged in as the ECU reverts to default values, but for optimum performance you need to fit a new one.

Ok so I went and got one from Europarts and fitted it. It seems to be exactly the same as the original sensor that I had in. In my mind it either means the new sensor is faulty (make is Hass - just the cheap one at euro-parts for £39), or that there is uneven airflow into my engine and this is what the sensor is picking up? Don't know if that is true or even possible though. 

 

I'm not very good with cars but it seems more likely that there is something going on with the flow of air rather than both sensors being off? Thoughts?

 

Paul thanks again for the advice, I think that is sensible and if I had read first that I might have paid more for the Bosch one. Forgive my ignorance but what does VAG mean?

VAG is Volkswagen Audi Group. Basically OEM  parts when people refer to genuine VAG parts. If it hasn't cured it you really need to get the car scanned to see what codes are stored (if any), is your EML (engine management light) on ?

Yes engine management light is on and the car has been scanned, though I don't have a list of the fault codes! The traction control light is also on. 

The engine management light has been on for a while, since before I bought it and it had been investigated at a previous garage numerous times who found "nothing wrong with it". I'm now looking into it myself and seeing what I can come up with cause I don't think they come on for no reason. 

 

It sounds from that as though there isn't really an identifiable issue?

 

Another thing is that the check engine light went off again for a few days and has now returned. Could it maybe be some electrical issue? 

Edited 30 January, 20179 yr by dangoddard

I think you need to find someone close to you with VCDS who's handy with it to see exactly what codes you have. Euros should take the MAF back surely ? 

I think Id have got the Bosch one..

Just now, VrsMule said:

I think you need to find someone close to you with VCDS who's handy with it to see exactly what codes you have. Euros should take the MAF back surely ? 

 Hopefully they will take it back. If not I'll just flog it as fitted to test but not used. I got it for 30% off so I might get most of my money back anyway.

 

1 minute ago, Liverpool-Lad said:

I think Id have got the Bosch one..

I think I probably should have! Though it was double and I don't have enough to afford it at the mo! Might be a good thing if it isn't even causing this...

5 minutes ago, VrsMule said:

I think you need to find someone close to you with VCDS who's handy with it to see exactly what codes you have. Euros should take the MAF back surely ? 

 

VCDS??

 

*Ignore this I found out what it is!*

 

Edited 30 January, 20179 yr by dangoddard

Assuming you have a smart phone. You can buy a cheap obd2 reader from the internet that links to your phone via wireless or via bluetooth.

Handy little tool to keep in the ashtray/glovebox etc. Not as in depth as VCDS but can get you a better understanding of what the codes are.

I replaced my MAF after having similar symptoms with a bosch refurb unit from a local motorfactors on exchange basis and its been great ever since.

If it's still running better with the MAF unplugged you either have a fault MAF (wouldn't be a shock if eurocarparts gave you the wrong one/cheap ****e), a leak before the MAF (a clip not tight enough/problem with the air filter housing), or even a potential wiring fault to the MAF (which would throw a fault code) 

6 hours ago, Saints92 said:

If it's still running better with the MAF unplugged you either have a fault MAF (wouldn't be a shock if eurocarparts gave you the wrong one/cheap ****e), a leak before the MAF (a clip not tight enough/problem with the air filter housing), or even a potential wiring fault to the MAF (which would throw a fault code) 

 

So the MAF has been replaced with a Bosch one 2 years ago when this first happened. Then I just put in a brand new "Hass" one. The problem is the same or worse with the new one so I put the old one back in, assuming that its probably not the main source of problems.

 

I also bought a Jubilee clip to replace a corroded looking one that attached the hose to the MAF sensor, which hasn't made any noticeable difference.

 

The next thing I thought was like you say, that there is a wiring fault somewhere. The wires on the plug for the MAF aren't corroded that I can see or anything, but I'm not 100% sure how I would check this properly. 

 

7 hours ago, Rsphill said:

Assuming you have a smart phone. You can buy a cheap obd2 reader from the internet that links to your phone via wireless or via bluetooth.

Handy little tool to keep in the ashtray/glovebox etc. Not as in depth as VCDS but can get you a better understanding of what the codes are.

I replaced my MAF after having similar symptoms with a bosch refurb unit from a local motorfactors on exchange basis and its been great ever since.

 

I do have a smart phone and I will look into this thanks!

 

I have gone through all the paperwork from when this has been checked out in the past and I have found a bunch of engine codes that I will upload images of to see if collectively we can make some sense of what direction I can pursue next. 

 

What would be the gold-standard MAF that I could try just to really guarantee that it is definitely not the issue? (seeming less and less likely).

These are all the codes mentioned in my car's service history. It mentions "instrument cluster", which sounds like it could cause perceived sensor mayhem?

The scans can only really tell what was wrong with the car at that time. assuming they rectified the fault then the codes would have been cleared.

 

You really need to know what codes if any are on your car now. One of those codes can appear if the ECU has been remapped, has you car been mapped?.

It is ex-police but I don't know if it has been mapped. I was trying to find out...

 

Which code suggests it could have been mapped?

 

Edited 1 February, 20179 yr by dangoddard