'02 Lexus IS 300 Mass Air Flow (MAF) Sensor

This sounds like a good procedure if only I hadn't purchased the car with the aftermarket intake installed. I will try to determine the manufacturer first and call them as you suggested as they may know of the problem and have a suggestion or cure.

Thanks

Ah, very good point.

Come back if you don't resolve it, we will take another whack at it.

A GA to Kevin.

You could use an old electricians trick if the car isn't running too badly.

That's a piece of black electricians tape placed over the warning light.

Hey thanks and I forgot that one about the black tape.

Very inexpensive, instant fix

I would do that but my daughter already drove it with the traction light on once till the tranny was toast over a little problem. That was a quick $2,300 bucks!

The black electricians tape is a long standing joke here....honest

Joke?????

No joke here - a few air conditioning service men have proven you can reduce callbacks by gluing the thermometer needle to the temperature the customer wanted it to be! Of course if it gets bad enough the thermometer will be assumed to be broken. What we don't know won't hurt us some have said. Oh , and by the way due to the quantity needed duct tape works better for a straight jacket or gag!

Just due to the circumstances I am looking for an actual fix...

I heard of a customer who was continually taking his car back because the temperature gauge was not indicating the theoretical temperature he thought it should. Eventually the repair shop dismantled the temperature gauge and bent the needle ..... the owner was none the wiser but now happy!

The Air intake turned out to be a 69 Series Typhoon by K & N. K & N suggested cleaning the sensor with electrical contact cleaner, then checking for vacumm leaks. I cleaned the sensor 4 days ago and so far the check engine light has not come back on. The air filter was over oiled when we bought the car so that is the likely source of contamination. No more hesitation either.

Thanks for the hints.

Glad to hear it worked out and was an inexpensive repair to boot

K&N is probably better staffed to diagnose problems like this than many of the smaller companies selling aftermarket automotive items. Glad they were able to help you.

BTW, way back when alternaters were first being used, my boss had a customer with a new T-bird that thought the amp meter should have been further to the right of the center point. The problem was made worse by the fact that the amp meter was to the left of the driver's line of view. After enough BS, the needle was "readjusted" to show better results. And they all lived happily ever after.