Hi guys I'm pretty technically inclined and recently the engine light went on in the car. It's my grandma's car and she only has 29K miles on it....
went and had it diagnostic read and the MAF sensor had a problem....

I located where it's at and doesn't look like a hard job to take off and install a new one...but before I do I had a question about it...1) before buying an MAF for $300 should I try Mass Air Sensor Cleaner Spray?
2) if i do buy a new one and re-install it will the check engine light go out or can you disconnect the neg battery cable and erase the light?

The car runs fine but she is so paranoid about the damn engine light she doesn't like driving it....
Any help will be appreciated...Thank You!

 

I recently replaced the Mass Air Sensor on my 1999 C230 Kompressor. Easy to do, as you noticed. I've heard that using the cleaners is not a very effective solution. I saw that you'd priced a new sensor for $300. I don't know if you will have the same luck as I, but I purchased a new one through Ebay for $59. It wasn't OEM, but it worked just fine. My check engine light went out eventually (took a day or so). You can also also have the place that read your codes hook up and reset them.
Hope this helped, and good luck!

 

I'm not sure if your grandma's M-B is still covered by "Warranty" or not, but I would check into that aspect of it before starting to work on it yourself. If you start doing any work on it yourself and they notice it, they may try to deny any "Warranty Coverage" on it.

If you had a parts store check the vehicle for the DTC (Check Engine Light codes), then they can also do a "reset" of this CEL too, which will also 'clear' all of the DTC codes from the ECU. I would try that first, just to see if it 'returns' or not FIRST. Before doing this, call the M-B dealership in your area and check on the "Warranty" status. If it's covered under "Warranty", then you DO NOT WANT TO REMOVE THE DTC CODE FROM IT. If it's NOT PRESENT when they check it, you'll get nowhere with them and they'll probably charge you just for the "Diagnostic Services".

From what I've read on these forums, YOU DO NOT WANT TO DISCONNECT THE BATTERY if you can help it. Although this may clear the DTCs from the ECU, it will also necessitate the 'resetting' of many of the functions on a M-B vehicle ---- a few of which can only be done by the M-B dealership using their STAR scantool, which may incur a 'charge'.

Hope this helped.

Before you start replacing parts, I'd do a "forum search" for posting related to MAF sensors. There seem to be a lot of 'problems' with M-B vehicles that are MAF related.

 

make sure you dont have any engine oil working its way up to the MAF. check for oil around and on the MAF there should be none. common problem on many of the SLK230s C230s.