What can only be described as an engineering stupidity, is the integration of the airflow sensor into the ECU. In case the air mass sensor breaks, the entire ECU must be replaced. The cost for this easily exceeds €1000 and more. Mercedes realized how many problems this caused, and used the regular system in the new W169. That doesn’t help the owners of the old W168 A140, A160 and A190 though.

Another problem is that you can’t replace your ECU with a second-hand one. It has to be new because once the ECU has been programmed it is near impossible to change it.

The A-Class' ECU with an integrated MAF sensor

There are two (cheaper) solutions than replacing the ECU with a new one:

Cleaning the MAF sensor – You can try to clean the air mass meter sensor. As we have previously discussed this topic, this is only a temporary solution though.

Repairing the air mass meter - This is what we recommend. There are some firms (mostly in Germany), that repair the sensor inside the ECU by replacing it. Besides being a lot cheaper (€300-400), you also save some time & money because unlike a new ECU, it doesn’t have to programmed for your car.

If anyone can recommend a good repair company that offers repairs of the air mass sensor of the Mercedes-Benz A140, A160 and A190, I’ll be happy to link to it.

They offer the same air mass meter as the MAF Shop and offer very fast and cooperative customer support.

The reason you haven’t found a dealer where you can buy this part is that PBT GF 30 is not a model or part number but the abbreviation for Polybutylene terephthalate and 30% glass fiber, the plastic used in all air mass meter housings – regardless of whether it’s Bosch, VDO or Pierburg.

So, how can you find the correct part number of you air mass meter?

Often the actual part number is on the other side of the housing. Sometimes this is exactly the side you can’t see when the unit is still installed, so you will have to dismount it from the air tube which takes approx. 5 minutes (check the air flow meter installation video to see how it’s done).

Also, at the MAF-Shop you can find the correct airmassmeter by choosing your car model. If you’re not sure, you can also directly contact customer support via email to inquire which air mass meter will fit your vehicle.

Pierburg Airmass meter 7.22684.07 for €74.90

The offer contains next to the sensor also an installation kit with the needed but hard to find torx bits.

By the way, I found this PDF containing some general info about the MAF itself: Pierburg PI 0024

Until now…  I’ll quote the interesting part of an email I received today from a certain “Shao from China”:

[...]without housing packing with bosch(copy bosch)(You also can choose non-bosch packing or any packing you want) for Benz audi bmw vw opel volvo landrover and most for european and japanese car also have for some korea and USA car.

Shao uses the term “copy bosch” to describe what we would call a fake that is intended to scam clueless customers. Next to a price list  Shao also attached a photo of that “copy bosch”:

Yep, that’s as fake as it can get.
Don’t forget, I didn’t contact this guy asking for fakes. This was his first email introducing himself.

I don’t have to order a sample to be sure that the quality is just as “good” (also known as “piece of crap”) as that of the hundreds offered on eBay&Co.

After all, I have to say that this didn’t really surprise me as I heard about it before.

How can you protect yourself from fakes?

Recently Bosch and VDO Siemens have taken an approach at making it easier to verify units in question. They started adding holographic seals to their boxes.
Additionally, Bosch nor VDO sell the sensor itself without the housing (like in the picture) – at least in Europe. I was told that this is handled differently in the States.

Common sense and healthy mistrust also help.
Those are a few questions you should ask yourself before you purchase an airmassmeter:

• Is the product “too” cheap (extreme difference to others)?
• Does the seller seem legitimate and professional?
• How long has he been on the market for?

In the end, if you want to know for sure, you can always go to the next Bosch Service to confirm the authenticity of a purchased airflow meter.

An error indicating that the air mass meter is faulty, which is quite common for the E39 M5, is twice as bad for a the driver of that M5.
Why? The M5 has two air intake hoses it also needs two air mass meters.

Though this is the engine of a E60, you can see how it has two airmassmeters

Often only one of the airmass meters is actually faulty though. You can save some money by just buying one air mass meter and trying out which one is really broken.

In case boths units really are faulty, the MAF Shop charges you for shipping only once – regardless of how many units you order.

Bosch Air mass meter 0 280 217 533 (fits E39 M5) for 189.90€ incl. VAT

Check it out:

Finally Pierburg offers now also an air mass sensor for those models, called 7.22684.10.0. Same as the 7.22684.08.0 the 7.22684.10.0 uses a very precise hot-film sensor which is quite more accurate and durable than the cheap Asian replicas and much cheaper than the Bosch airmassmeter, which costs >200€.

The MAF-Shop offers the Pierburg 7.22684.10.0 airflow meter for €99.90 incl. taxes (+shipping):

Pierburg air mass meter 7.22684.10.0 for € 99.90

This offer also includes an installation kit, which you will need since the Bosch air mass meter is secured with special torx screws.

The installation requires no re-prorgramming. It’s pretty simple plug&play or in this case plug&drive

The Pierburg airflow meter 7.22684.10.0 replaces the following Bosch airflow meters:

• 0 281 002 403
  • bzw. das Austauschteil 0 986 284 004
• 0 281 002 224
  • bzw. das Austauschteil 0 281 002 429
  • 0 986 284 005
  • 0 986 284 005
• 0 280 218 060
  • 0 986 280 216

…and the following Volkswagon OE numbers:

059 906 461 B
059906461B
059 906 461 A
059906461A
059906461BX
059 906 461 BX
059 906 461 E
059906461E
059906461EX
059 906 461 EX
06A 906 461 G
06A906461G
1JD 906 461

Especially the 5-series E39 525tds, 525td and the 3-series E36 with the 325td version, were some of the most popular BMW diesel models, so I’m sure a lot of the turbodiesel-enthusiasts will be happy about this cheap offer:
The PIERBURG MAF 7.22184.50.0 costs €179.90 (+shipping cost) and can be ordered through this link:

PIERBURG Air mass meter 7.22184.50.0 for 179.90EUR

Here are the different OE numbers:

• Pierburg no. is 7.22184.50.0
• BMW:
  • 13 62 2 246 084 / 13622246084
  • 2 246 084 / 2246084
• Opel & Vauxhall
  • 8 36 625 / 836625
  • 90528813

But how does it work when you order an airmass meter from somewhere else in the world?

The payment process via credit card or PayPal is pretty much possible from anywhere, bank transfers are also available – in the EU they’re even for free.

Also, if you have the air mass meter shipped to somewhere outside the EU, like the United States, Canada,… the German VAT is automatically deducted. That’s 19%!

For example, the Bosch air mass meter 0280 217 114 which fits a lot of Mercedes models, costs instead of 199.90€ only 168€ (you divide the amount including VAT by 1.19 to deduct the German VAT, don’t worry though, the online shop does it automatically for you).

If you want your air mass meter to be delivered within the EU and you have a VAT ID, like most business in the European Union do, you can also deduct the 19%.

The main shipping courier that is used, is DHL which delivers almost to anywhere in the world and is pretty cheap. Here are the details, but let’s have a quick overview:

• Shipping within the EU (UK, Netherlands,..) costs 8.90€ and take 2-3 business days.
• Shipping within Europe costs 12.90€ and take 2-4 business days.
• Shipping to the rest of the world costs upto 32€. Inquire for more details. Especially to the USA cheap and quick shipping via FedEx is available.

Don’t forget that you might have to pay customs if you have the air mass meter shipped somewhere outside the EU.