great tips thanks,
and as for Northern Tool, I didn't see whether theirs were 5 point stars or not.

 

I hope.

I got me an Actron Pocketscan code reader cheap ($40) off ebay and cleared the code after cleaning MAF sensor.

After driving about 20 miles it appears to be staying off.
Here is a picture of the cue tip I used to see how dirty it was.
Left side was wiped across metal grill between sensor and filter.
Right side was used on actual sensor.

So does this pretty much prove that this was caused by the K&N Filter I got about 3 months ago? It seems this is a common occurrance. If not proof , it's certainly some heavy duty circumstantial evidence.

 

Usually after so many engine starts (75-150 usually) a fixed cel well clear itself, if the problem is fixed.

 

Or unplug your battery for 30min+...seriously though, any parts store should have a scanner that you or one of the guys could use. Figure out and clear the code and change your oil every 5k (a quart down in BAD). I just changed my oil after 5k+ and my car is MUCH happier. Also, don't worry about OEM recommendations, VAG claims that a timing belt will go 100k (the fact is they used to recommend 60k but changed it for $ reasons w/o actually changing anything else). Synthetics are better than regular oil, but its not some magic fluid that defies maintenance, and the same goes from fluids for the tranny, diff, coolant, etc.; most car problems come from poor maintenance. My timing belt isn't broken, but I've got 60xxx miles, and figure I'll spend $280 for the TB versus $1200+ for an engine rebuild (or like $3000+ if the dealer does it). German cars, at least VAGs, require more attention than a typical car does...

 

If you have the guts to ignore CEL for 75 starts and believe it's the same problem every time and not a different one, sure go for it.

 

[QUOTE=l88m22vette;1018011]Or unplug your battery for 30min+.QUOTE]

and then put your code back in the radio and re-program it every tiime. Oh yea that's a winner.

 

Uh, you don't have to re-program it every time, just after you disconnect the battery. If you know so much how come your oil is a quart down, a year old, and you haven't taken care of the CEL? I forgot, I don't know anything, sorry. Take it to the dealer if its so complicated, I hear they get lots of folks who don't know or care about cars. Enjoy dropping $100+ on a dealer scan

 

I'm getting a buzz from all the whine in this thread.

Well if your code comes back, go to Harbor Freight or Northern Tool or wherever sells cheap chinese tools, I got a set of security Torx bits from there for a few bucks to remove my MAF. As for radio code, that sucks, my sound system doesn't do that for some reason.

 

Let me clear this up:

First you fix the problem without clearing the code
Seccond, you drive the car for a bit

Not really sure how running a car without a problem is risky.

 

Hey goof, engine being a quart low has nothing to do with what somebody knows, and I said I already fixed it with a $40 dollar code reader and some MAF cleaner.
If you can't read and comprehend, take a little trip to disney.com ok? They have lots of pictures there.