CEL code P0101

I stopped by AutoZone today and they plugged in to my car and the code read P0101 Mass Air Flow Sensor, check range performance. Does this mean I need another new one? This will make 4. Also on the way home my car wouldn't shift into 4th gear on the highway. So I was stuck going 60 (not a biggie), but at 32-3400 rpm. This is very different than the last 2 issues with the MAF. Can anyone help with troubleshoot this one??

Anyone??? Anyone else on their 3rd or 4th MAF? Getting bummed out this time.

Sorry... can't offer anything beyond the old "check/clean the grounds under the battery, take the MAF apart and clean the element with some type of electronic parts cleaner (if it isn't fried yet), and try plugging and unplugging the MAF a couple of times to clean the mating contacts... (if this works, do the "Cage" mod...) I assume you Googled the code?

BTW: the generic OBD readers at AutoZone (and many garages) aren't always all that accurate when trying to read the TDI... a Vag-Com's much more attuned to these cars...

Good luck!!

Hopefully someone will chime in with more details!

Yuri.

I have 2002 jetta with 78K and it is running on the original MAF the ONLY problem it has had was the day that I left it unpluged and I drove off.

I'm on my 4th or 5th MAF right now. This is a very common number with these cars. If I was you, I would take the battery out and would clean the grounds that are there. I tried this with mine and it hasn't quit yet.
FYI, if it is bad, you can put a 2.0L MAF in it from the AEG engine. It will work fine and will cost a lot less than the TDI MAF. Sorry if you already knew that.

Thanks guys. I'll be on the battery detail in a little while. The whole cleaning the MAF myself is a bit beyond my scope. I may get a bit adventurous later today. Has the MAF caused this lack of finding 4th gear for anyone else. That was unique to this MAF failure.

I may be wrong, but I think that with the automatics, if a check engine light is on, they will not shift into 4th gear. I think the ECU does this to try to protect the car.

it did for the first day the light was on, then yesterday, no dice. That could be true.

The P0101 code has no impact on my car shifting to 6 with the DSG auto tranny. Getting worse fuel consumption, sputters more in D mode and very little in S mode. Turbo still works. Drove 70 mph for hours. Hills are a problem. My MAF is new , what a pain.

Mark Rudella said:

I may be wrong, but I think that with the automatics, if a check engine light is on, they will not shift into 4th gear. I think the ECU does this to try to protect the car.

Click to expand...

My CEL has been on since I started the engine while using a 12V pump in the lighter outlet to pump up some tires. Last summer. 4th gear is fine on automatic transmission and there are are no drivability issues.

Previously, however, bad vacuum had put me into limp mode with no 4th gear a couple of times until I found the offending hose; I have never had transmission or drivability issues since.

This suggests to me that it is not the CEL itself that would lock out 4th gear but rather the nature of the problem and potential damage. CELs are also a great way of getting a card from the dealer at christmas.

I know this is an old thread but if it shows up in a 'Search' I just want to bear witness to what I have witnessed.