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- Dan
- Father, musician, trail runner, reader, geographer, craft beer aficionado, meditator.
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Three Day Weekend14 years ago
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King New Year 201214 years ago
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Perfect Things.17 years ago
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In This I Believe
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2006
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September
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- My First True "The Show Must Go On" Moment!
- A Topic About Which I've Not Been Blogging A Bunch...
- Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!!!!!!
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- Stock Options: A First $tep into a Larger World Pa...
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- Anyone Ever Figure Out the "Oxygen Sensor?"
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September
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4 comments:
Others, most especially AJ could explain this better, but the oxygen sensor is there to make sure your emissions are up to snuff. While it seems to be the only thing that causes the check engine light to go on (why it's not named 'the oxygen sensor is fucked up' light, I do not know, but it doesn't deserve too much mockery.
My car has a 'maintenance' light that comes on every 5000 miles to remind me of oil changes. Why it's not called 'Change Your Oil' is beyond me. It truly has no other purpose.
Well, the oxygen sensor costs $12 to replace and $800 to access, so there's little desire to get in there and do anything about it. And we all (and by we, I mean me & anyone else who drives a used car) seem to be playing the crazy dance with this light. Having it come on sometimes, or all the time, and wishing it would not.
And why would the "Service Engine Soon" light be so similar to the "Check Engine Soon" light (indeed, you got it mixed up in your comment), which really does indicate something serious?
$800? Is that a joke? Standard labor at $80/hr=10 hours to replace? Bullshit. I would call around to different places. The 02 sensor is in the exhaust system, and I have a hard time believing that price. Krista and I have both had an O2 sensor replaced, and I know it wasn't even close to that. Like less than $150. If the O2 sensor has failed, the engine will run rich (too much fuel, and too little air) decreasing fuel efficiency, and increasing emissions. It won't hurt the engine itself, but it could end up fouling the sparkplugs.
The check engine light actually will come on for a variety of reasons, the O2 sensor just seems to be the most common. Mine came on, and it was the EGR valve (exhaust gas recirculation, or something like that) which reduces the amount of NO (nitrogen oxide which reacts with air to become NO2 (smog)) in the exhaust. That was less than $200 to replace.
Party pooper.
No, I appreciate the insight. The $800 thing was mentioned to me by a work colleague today.
Actually, my current issue with my car (today) involved a leaky water pump. $340. I've easily spent, per month, the cost of a new car payment, over the last year.
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