Could a Mass Airflow Sensor cause all these lights?

Maintenance/Repairs
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1

Hello all, my 2015 Honda Fit with 32,000 miles woke up one morning with the following warning lights:

  1. Check Engine Light
  2. Tire Pressure Monitoring System light
  3. Power Steering light
  4. Vehicle Stability Assist light.

The car starts and drives normally, with no roughness or hesitation, and the power steering works like it should. The tires are all at correct pressures.

The Honda dealer insists that the problem is a faulty Mass Airflow Sensor. That sounds fishy to me, so I would really appreciate any advice. Thanks!

2

I can see how 1, 4 and maybe even 3 could be affected by a bad or dirty MAF but 2? I’d suggest your Honda dealer will just add air to whatever tire is low to fix 2.

If the CEL comes on, it often will throw the Stability Assist light since the ECu is compromised. The same might be the case for steering as well since it is electric uses information from the ECU to operate.

If the dealer says its the MAF and that doesn’t fix all the lights, what is the downside? That you have something else that needs fixing that you need to pay for? Or is this still under warranty?

3

I can’t say that this is true for Hondas, but I can tell you that on late-model Subarus when the CEL turns on, all of the other warning lights will also turn on. This is because there is a fairly substantial portion of the population that believes it is normal for cars to have the CEL lit-up, and as a result they tend to ignore the CEL. Subaru believes that a “Christmas tree effect” will alarm people to the extent that they won’t ignore a problem, and will take the vehicle to a mechanic sooner, rather than later.

To return to your question… yes, it is entirely possible that a defective MAF could cause all of this.
If you doubt the dealership’s word, you could have the car’s OBD system checked–gratis–by the guys at Autozone, Advance Auto, O’Reilly, or (possibly) NAPA. The stored diagnostic trouble code(s) that they find will confirm or refute the MAF diagnosis.

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4

Thanks for the input guys, I learned something new! The dealer cleared the fault codes and kept the car overnight to allow the MAS to cool down completely before scanning it again. The verdict was the same. I’ll post an update once I get the car back. Thanks again!