Pontiac Repair: 2002 Pontiac Bonneville 3.8L, curcuit board, pontiac bonneville

Question
Hi, I started having problems with the car a few months ago intermittently. It would seem to jump a little bit at start up, sometimes it was pretty light jumping but sometimes rough. That stopped for a bit and then yesterday I was driving to work and it started to jump if I hit the gas a little harder than normal. If you accelerate slowly the car does ok, but if you hit the gas harder to pull out of an intersection or to speed up quickly it starts jerking and doesn't want to go very well. Finally the check engine light popped on and I got the code P0102. The guy at the auto parts store said that it is related to low input of the maf sensor, but that it may not actually be the sensor. Any help would be greatly appreciated. By the way think I forgot to mention the mileage so its 60,000.

Thanks
Jennifer

Answer
HI jennifer:

Chances are that it is indded the sensor is bad. There is a curcuit board inside the senesor and it developes a bad connection due to all the heat cycles from the engine. I'd say 90% of the time that it the issue and the other 10% it's either a wiring issue or an engine computer.. So it's a pretty safe gamble that it's indeed the sensor.. DO NOT but an aftermarket one from a parts store get one from the dealer. They have ones that are remanufactured and are a bit cheaper then a brand new one They will charge you a core charge if you buy it over the counter if they install it ther is nor core charge on the part. Good luck :)