Used car

WILLIE HOLMES

MEMBER
2009 VAUXHALL CORSA
1.3L
TURBO
57,000 MILES

Hi, I am looking at a car and took for a test drive the car lost power started chugging and then white smoke from exhaust. The dealer has said it's a faulty air flow sensor. When we got back to yard he took it of and reconnected. Would this be correct or could there be a bigger problem?

5 Replies

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

Hi,

It is possible that this sensor caused the issue but did they replace the sensor or just unplug it and reconnect the same one? If they did not replace it then I suspect they did not fix anything.

The Mass Air Flow sensor tells the PCM how much air is coming into the engine so that it knows how much fuel to add. If this is faulty then it will dump too much or not enough fuel and it will cause issues as you experienced. However, there are other things that can cause this as well.

If they did replace it, did you drive it again and see if it was repaired? If it were me, I would not buy the vehicle until this is repaired. At the very least, I would ask that they agree to repair this after you buy it no matter what it turns out to be. If they agree to that, get it in writing and have them be clear on what the issue is so they can't say that the issue is different.

Let me know if you have questions.

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Tuesday, August 27th, 2019 AT 5:22 PM

WILLIE HOLMES

MEMBER
3 POSTS

Thanks mate. I'm not a big car guy myself I only know the basics. At first he disconnected and reconnected again and car drove perfect for a good half hour or so but they are going to replace the part and I will take it another good drive today before anything.

I will get back to you and let you know the outcome.

Thanks mate

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Wednesday, August 28th, 2019 AT 4:43 AM

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

Sounds great. Thanks for asking. Let me know how you make out.

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Wednesday, August 28th, 2019 AT 6:05 PM

WILLIE HOLMES

MEMBER
3 POSTS

So got back in touch today with me. They had changed MAF then problem happened again. Then had another look around engine or whatever they were doing checked the EGR I think and said was gunk round it and turned out that they have had to replace the timing chain. Does this sound roughly right?Thank you for your help so far as I said I'm not an expert at all.

Cheers again

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Thursday, August 29th, 2019 AT 7:02 AM

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

It is possible but if the timing belt was the issue, I wouldn't think it would drive okay after unplugging the MAF. After they replace it, I would not buy this car unless they let you take it for a day to drive for a long test drive.

If it drives okay for a day then that would be fine to buy but I would skeptical of buying this one as it sits. In fact, unless you are getting a great deal, I would probably pass on it at this point.