There are reasons I have preferred to buy new cars

[elizilla]

The check engine light came on in my car, last Thursday night. I took it in to the shop and they read the codes. They say I need a new front oxygen sensor, but it's not urgent, I can drive it like this for a while if I want. They wanted $350 to replace this oxygen sensor. I didn't get the work done; I just brought it home again. Other friends are telling me this isn't a hard job, and that the part is only $120, but that it might be some other sensor so I should try various cheaper things first, like cleaning the MAF sensor, whatever that is. I think I'll procrastinate a while.

The passenger seat belt chime is also giving me trouble again. I have to fasten the passenger seatbelt even when no one is in that seat. I paid over $300 to have the Subaru dealer fix this problem last winter, but it started dinging again a couple months ago. Whatever the dealer did only worked for about 2000 miles, during which time the passenger seat was almost never occupied. I suppose I should take it back and complain.

Comments

[also-huey.livejournal.com]

It Depends.

First, no, an oxygen sensor isn't hard (it's basically like a spark plug with the wire still attached that screws into an exhaust part somewhere) but they can be anywhere from $50 to $500, so you'd have to call an auto parts store with your specific make/model/engine/options to find out exactly how much. And second, because they're like a spark plug with the wire still attached, most mechanics have a socket with a slot dremeled out of the side for the wire, so add to the price of the sensor the price of one good socket and some quality time with a bench vise and a dremel.

Second: yeah, throwing an oxygen sensor code doesn't always mean 'oxygen sensor', but it's an easy test and the test itself winds up being an easy fix if you're right, so it's usually the first thing you try. And they do wear out, and depending on how rough the engine is running, they can run out faster.

If you want to know what your car is thinking, I highly recommend one of these: http://www.scangauge.com/products/scangaugeii/
I'd been borrowing a friend's for years, finally broke down and bought one of my own last month. For $150, it comes pretty close to replacing the big $4000 Snap-On codereader that my buddy has in his pro shop. And it will tell you, among other things, the codes your engine has thrown and is throwing, and your MAF sensor readings and whether your oxygen sensor is in open- or closed-loop. It's pretty much the ultimate amateur gearhead toy.

[elizilla]

I actually own a Scangauge. I should go find it and plug it in...

[pi3832.livejournal.com]

>I should go find it and plug it in...

Indeed.

Perhaps the problem isn't the car, but rather, the dealer? I mean, why is it again that you don't take your motorcycles to the dealer for work?

I may have an oxygen-sensor socket. I mean, I know I bought one to use on my 'Rolla (even ground off a bit of it to make it work better), I just don't know if I kept it when I moved. I can bring it over, install a new sensor, and take the thing for a test drive, to say.... Alaska? Or maybe just Columbus.

But, seriously, if you buy the O2 sensor yourself, pay the extra money to get one with the proper (OEM) electrical connection already install. Yes, you can cut the connector off the old one and attach it to the new sensor, but IME, it was enough of a PITA to do that to not be worth it.

And if the car has only one O2 sensor, consider yourself lucky.

[elizilla]

They say it's the "front" oxygen sensor, so I imagine it has at least two.

[schmi.livejournal.com]

Wow, how annoying!

Where is the oxygen sensor located and what does it do? If it's relatively accessible, I imagine that you should be able to do it yourself.

[elizilla]

It's screwed into the exhaust. Not complex, but you hafta crawl under the car, and here in the rust belt it may be corroded into place. I haven't gone hunting for it, yet.

[schmi.livejournal.com]

Ick. Good luck!

[a smith (from livejournal.com)]

from what I recall, you will have the best results extracting the old one if you do it with the engine hot. I have welding gloves that I used for this sort of stuff. I also have scars from this sort of stuff.

good times.