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.

The only problem that the VW enthusiasts encountered was that the Pierburg air mass sensor 72268407 didn’t really fit because the plastic housing was a bit different to the original air mass meter.  Of course, money makes people creative and all kind of tricks were used to keep the sensor in place.

The housing manufacturer of Pierburg’s sensors picked up on the idea and asked Pierburg if they didn’t want to change the housing and introduce an air mass meter that would fit. The Pierburg air mass sensor 7.22684.08.0 was created!
By the way, I’m referring to the Pierburg part as “air mass sensor” instead of “air mass meter” because other than the Bosch air mass meters which include the sensor and the housing, it is only the insert which is screwed into the housing (take a look at the pictures for a better understanding).

The Pierburg airmasssensor is to the current day still very popular, even though Volkswagon changed their price policy for their Bosch air mass meters after a lot of car magazines started reporting about the worldwide problems with the Bosch air mass meters and it wasn’t just a problem of a few individuals.
As I already mentioned, many forum members report that the Pierburg MAF sensor works better the OE air mass meter. Some even say that they notice an increase in the car’s performance, but I haven’t found any technical comparisons that confirm a performance boost.
In addition, the Pierburg part is still much cheaper (around 50% less!) than the Bosch airmassmeter.

The MAF-Shop offers the Pierburg air mass meter 7.22684.08.0 for €74.90 including an installation kit and a type approval by the German TÜV (Technical Inspetion Authority).

You need that installation kit because the old Bosch airflowsensor is screwed in with special torx bits which you normally only car repair shops have.
Why so complicated? Maybe Bosch was already suspecting that private owners would replace the airflow sensor instead of going to the Volkswagen repair shop.
Well, screw Bosch (literally, ), the installation kit includes everything you need (torx bits and even a screwdriver).

Replacing the air mass meter with the Pierburg sensor is really simple and takes around 5 minutes – no need for reprogramming the ECU or stuff like that. Watch this video’s to see how easy it is:

Which TDI’s work with the Pierburg air mass meter?

Since a lot of car brands (Audi, Seat, Skoda, VW) belong to the Volkswagen AG and they all share the same components the Pierburg air mass sensor works for a lot of cars. There is a more exact list at the MAF-Shop.com.
The most popular models include the Golf IV (4) TDI, the Audi A3 TDI and the Skoda Octavia, each with the 1.9l TDI (Turbo diesel-injection) engine, there are also a few models of the VW T4 bus with the 2.5 TDI motor that work with the Pierburg air mass meter, but check back with the car list for more details. There is even a few Ford models that fit.

The Pierburg air mass sensor is compatible with the following OE numbers: 06A906461 / 06A 906 461 , 028906461 / 028 906 461 and 95VW12B529BB .

The airmass meter replaces the following Bosch airmass meters:

• F00C 2G2 056 / F00C2G2056
• F00C 2G2 004 / F00C2G2004
• 0 280 217 121 / 0280 217 121 / 0280217121
• 0 281 002 757 /0281002757
• 0 986 280 202 /0986280202
• 0 281 002 216 / 0281002216
• 0 986 284 001 /0986284001

To see the fitting engine codes check out this Pierburg information page.

Conclusion: The Pierburg airmass meter is a great and inexpensive alternative to the Bosch part and definitely a recommendation. Make sure though that the Pierburg airflowmeter fits your car.
You can buy the Pierburg air mass meter 7.22684.08.0 (722684080) for €74.90 at the MAF Shop.