YACT: O2 sensor *updated*

[JohnCU]

My check engine light came on and I had autozone test it and it said catalytic efficiency (or something like that) below threshold, and told me if it came back on to replace my O2 sensor. Well it came back on after a few days and when it's in park and idling I notice it idles funny, the tach bounces around a bit. either this or someone else said it could be the catalytic converter going bad.

do i have to get this fixed soon or can i wait until i have some money? god damn i've spent more on this car this summer than what it would have cost to fix my old car's transmission.

03 Jetta 2.0L 98k miles

Update: it's not the O2 sensors, it's the catalytic converter... for only $924 i can have a new one. i told the guy to forget it, but still had to pay $70 since they ran their diagnostics... i may just get that sumbitch cut off.

 

[Philippine Mango]

How many miles.

 

[JohnCU]

Originally posted by: Philippine Mango
How many miles.

oops sorry 03 jetta 2.0L 98000 miles

 

[Philippine Mango]

yup, time for new O2 sensor unless of course they've been changed already which is doubtful.

 

[DurocShark]

Now, which O2 sensor? Lots of newer cars have a couple.

 

[JohnCU]

Originally posted by: DurocShark
Now, which O2 sensor? Lots of newer cars have a couple.

i think it's the pre-cat one. bank 1 sensor 1.

 

[Philippine Mango]

Originally posted by: JohnCU

Originally posted by: DurocShark
Now, which O2 sensor? Lots of newer cars have a couple.

i think it's the pre-cat one. bank 1 sensor 1.

If you've never changed the O2 sensors, you should change them all at once as the others aren't far behind, you've gotten a decent life on your O2 sensors, now it's time for another pair to be installed. You could just buy the proper pair of O2 sensors and install them your self.

 

[JohnCU]

Originally posted by: Philippine Mango

Originally posted by: JohnCU

Originally posted by: DurocShark
Now, which O2 sensor? Lots of newer cars have a couple.

i think it's the pre-cat one. bank 1 sensor 1.

If you've never changed the O2 sensors, you should change them all at once as the others aren't far behind, you've gotten a decent life on your O2 sensors, now it's time for another pair to be installed. You could just buy the proper pair of O2 sensors and install them your self.

i'm electrically inclined, not mechanical. i won't touch my car unless it's installing a radio. i called and made an appt just a minute ago to get them replaced. the dealership will probably rape me, they always do but it's gotta be done i guess.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: JohnCU

Originally posted by: Philippine Mango

Originally posted by: JohnCU

Originally posted by: DurocShark
Now, which O2 sensor? Lots of newer cars have a couple.

i think it's the pre-cat one. bank 1 sensor 1.

If you've never changed the O2 sensors, you should change them all at once as the others aren't far behind, you've gotten a decent life on your O2 sensors, now it's time for another pair to be installed. You could just buy the proper pair of O2 sensors and install them your self.

i'm electrically inclined, not mechanical. i won't touch my car unless it's installing a radio. i called and made an appt just a minute ago to get them replaced. the dealership will probably rape me, they always do but it's gotta be done i guess.

At least order the O2's yourself or ask how much the parts are. They will literally charge 2-3 times what you can get them for online.

Remember, when it comes to rape: no means no.

 

[rh71]

Yah I got the O2 sensor replaced on a 90 Accord a couple years back... it basically required a blowtorch to get the thing off so I had the local shop do it, but I bought the sensor myself first... they had it replaced for 1/2 hour cost of labor which is $35.

 

[Philippine Mango]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

Originally posted by: JohnCU

Originally posted by: Philippine Mango

Originally posted by: JohnCU

Originally posted by: DurocShark
Now, which O2 sensor? Lots of newer cars have a couple.

i think it's the pre-cat one. bank 1 sensor 1.

If you've never changed the O2 sensors, you should change them all at once as the others aren't far behind, you've gotten a decent life on your O2 sensors, now it's time for another pair to be installed. You could just buy the proper pair of O2 sensors and install them your self.

i'm electrically inclined, not mechanical. i won't touch my car unless it's installing a radio. i called and made an appt just a minute ago to get them replaced. the dealership will probably rape me, they always do but it's gotta be done i guess.

At least order the O2's yourself or ask how much the parts are. They will literally charge 2-3 times what you can get them for online.

Remember, when it comes to rape: no means no.

Lol on that last part. You'd be surprised that you can actually get a fairly good price on parts from a B&M store, I was doing a price quote on some O2 sensors for my lexus, I was thinking in the back of my head that hes probably charging this much so that he can make a nice profit, turns out online they were overall more expensive so. Check online, check in B&M for parts.

OP: Buy the parts and have the stealership or what ever install them, don't let them buy them for you.

 

[Philippine Mango]

Originally posted by: rh71
Yah I got the O2 sensor replaced on a 90 Accord a couple years back... it basically required a blowtorch to get the thing off so I had the local shop do it, but I bought the sensor myself first... they had it replaced for 1/2 hour cost of labor which is $35 total.

Nice... Pretty generous of them to only charge you for half an hour, most jobs are charged hourly even if it took 5 minutes, fscking scam.

 

[JohnCU]

God damn... even on this parts website that VW recommend the prices are outrageous


oxygen SENSOR, Jetta, 2.0L, Front, Sedan 02-04 $143.72
oxygen SENSOR, Jetta, 2.0L, Rear 02-04 $87.61

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: JohnCU
God damn... even on this parts website that VW recommend the prices are outrageous


oxygen SENSOR, Jetta, 2.0L, Front, Sedan 02-04 $143.72
oxygen SENSOR, Jetta, 2.0L, Rear 02-04 $87.61

The dealer probably charges double that, I kid you not.

Another thing you can do is get the "universal" O2's for your car which are the same sensor, but lack the factory wiring harness. You have to splice the harness with the old one and just requires basic wiring skills (You said electrical right? ) Not sure if the dealer would install that, but the universals are MUCH cheaper and work just fine.

Now I'm not sure what "brand" of aftermarket parts is generally recommended for VW's (For instance, from what I understand you shouldn't use Bosch spark plugs in imports. They just don't work as well as others), but I would maybe go to Bosch's webpage and lookup the O2 sensor model numbers for your car. Then go over to Froogle and search for that part number. By doing that I found the OEM O2 sensor for my Subbie like $20 cheaper than anywhere else.
I got mine at http://www.car-stuff.com and received it pretty quickly.

BTW, driving with a bad O2 for a little while won't hurt anything except your gas milage. Just get it swapped as soon as you can

 

[drnickriviera]

It's not a major problem. My dad's Lexus has the same code. What i'm trying to figure out is that there are trouble codes for the O2 sensors. If the O2's are bad, why didn't it trip those codes? The Lexus factory manual has a flow chart to diagnose that trouble code. The flowchart seems to indicate that the catalytic converters need to be replaced, but to completely test the O2 sensors, I need an osciliscope. So it's either $1000 for the cats or $300 for the sensors.

Keep the thread updated if the O2's fix the problem. I'd really like to know.

 

[JohnCU]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

Originally posted by: JohnCU
God damn... even on this parts website that VW recommend the prices are outrageous


oxygen SENSOR, Jetta, 2.0L, Front, Sedan 02-04 $143.72
oxygen SENSOR, Jetta, 2.0L, Rear 02-04 $87.61

The dealer probably charges double that, I kid you not.

Another thing you can do is get the "universal" O2's for your car which are the same sensor, but lack the factory wiring harness. You have to splice the harness with the old one and just requires basic wiring skills (You said electrical right? ) Not sure if the dealer would install that, but the universals are MUCH cheaper and work just fine.

Now I'm not sure what "brand" of aftermarket parts is generally recommended for VW's (For instance, from what I understand you shouldn't use Bosch spark plugs in imports. They just don't work as well as others), but I would maybe go to Bosch's webpage and lookup the O2 sensor model numbers for your car. Then go over to Froogle and search for that part number. By doing that I found the OEM O2 sensor for my Subbie like $20 cheaper than anywhere else.
I got mine at http://www.car-stuff.com and received it pretty quickly.

BTW, driving with a bad O2 for a little while won't hurt anything except your gas milage. Just get it swapped as soon as you can

I was looking through the archives on the VWvortex forum and they said you couldn't use universal plugs. Something about narrow band. I searched there to see if I could drive with the problem and found something about if I did, I could clog up the catalytic converter. So I decided to get a 2nd opinion from AT.

 

[Maximus96]

typically a 100k mile part. i got lucky and still on the originals at 137k. i bought some bosch (oem nissan) universal ones for $25 each on ebay but haven't got around to changing it. i save quite a bit by buying the universal and doing the splicing of wires myself.

 

[radioouman]

I wouldn't drive too long on bad O2 sensors. If they are causing the mixture to be too rich, you'll end up with some unburned gas in your catalytic converter, and over time the cat will get too hot and will start to break up. Takes a while for it to happen, but it will happen. Then you'll have to replace the cat too.

(Just had a new cat welded in my truck, and I replaced the O2 sensor in 5 minutes at home.)

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: JohnCU
I was looking through the archives on the VWvortex forum and they said you couldn't use universal plugs. Something about narrow band. I searched there to see if I could drive with the problem and found something about if I did, I could clog up the catalytic converter. So I decided to get a 2nd opinion from AT.

As long as the universal is designed for your model car, it should be the same sensor itself just no custom OEM harness. Can't hurt to spend a few extra bucks for the OEM if you've got the cash though

 

[JohnCU]

updated for that guy who asked for one