Q: I own a 2001 Z28 Camaro and in June of last year I had the same problem -- the check engine light came on and I had to replace an oxygen sensor. My check engine light is on again so I took the car to the dealer and they told me it was the oxygen sensor and air pump, which cost $814.00 to replace. With 67,000 miles is it worth it to fix again? I didn't have this problem the past six years, now its every year.
A: The air pump keeps fresh air flowing to the exhaust system, this is critical to the catalytic converters because without this fresh airflow, the "cats" will overheat, resulting in internal clogging and burning of catalyst baffles. Plus, when you leave a faulty O2 sensor in the engine, it causes fuel delivery malfunction. Finally, if your state has emissions laws, you won't pass state emissions inspection. I recommend you get it fixed.
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Bad Oxygen Sensor on Camaro
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1. I had an O2 sensor go on my VW GTI, with low miles too, they are a pain and commonly cause people grief.
Posted at 4:58PM on Jun 5th 2008 by Chris
2. We are in the midst of an energy crisis. The price of a gallon of gas is sky high and there is a great deal of trouble-brewing in the Middle East, Iraq and Iran and other areas. These problems have made it clear to many United States citizens that we have an oil-driven economy.
As Americans we need to develop new directions for energy supply and the production of it. We certainly need to reduce the dependency on oil and look for alternative resources. Experts believe there is no such thing as cheap oil and they will continue to pay a high price and in the future, it will be much higher. This expense will grow in the future unless we can locate alternative sources of fueling our technologically advanced civilization. We need to find innovative sources that can be alternatives to oil...
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Posted at 3:34AM on Aug 7th 2008 by Sir Simon D.
3. the question of renewing a failed o2 sensor is or should be a no brainer. the usual failure mode of the sensor causes a rich mixture condition. very bad thing.even a 10 year old car will perk up a bit with new 02 sensors as these sensors degrade over time and use. their response time gets longer-remember that we are talking about milliseconds here. the sensor is telling the ecu the difference in the oxygen quantity in the exhaust stream vs. atmospheric.(lambda)
A rich running condition would cause your catalitic converters to run hot-hot-hot! over time they will fail from that. the air pump supplies additional air for the chemical reaction in the second catalist bed because the first catalist uses up all the available oxygen in the air stream.
For $814 I would try rebuilding the pump first. couple of bearings and vanes...
as much as some folks deride emmission controls and electronics, I will take the new engine management systems over carburators and points type distributors any time. can you say quadrajet or delco? no muss no fuss right out of the box runs perfect every time all the time and when they do crap out they let you limp home. heck, I have an 98 continental that failed once. turned on the check engine light. cam position sensor failed.$16 for the part one screw out and in done reset the ecu and we're on the road again. duh.
Posted at 12:46AM on Oct 10th 2008 by jez
4. So I've got an '01 Camaro. 6cyl AT.
Last time I had to smog it two years ago, the OBD threw a P0420 (catalyst/o2). Replaced the catalyst and after the drive cycle it was fine. Registered the car.
After a few months, while on a road trip, one of the three ignition coils malfunctioned, basically taking the spark away from two cylinders. I wasn't able to get it to the shop till after I'd limped it along this way for a few hundred miles.
Then the computer threw P0420 again. I figured I'd ruined the cat by running the engine on four cylinders instead of six. :)
After getting the codes cleared each time I changed my oil (and asking the guy @ the oil place what the codes were), it'd thrown a P0463 or something (evap can). So the guy cleared it (yes I'm an idiot) and then later on down the pike I took it to the shop. $90.
Shop said "oh, P0420 is all you got in there. You got a bad catalyst." They didn't do any welding, so I bought a generic catalyst (2.25"OD) from the auto parts store. $90. And I picked up my own OBDII scanner. :)
SO I get the new cat welded on at the shop ($90) and do the drive cycle. The *second* the drive cycle actually completes (1 day after installation) guess what code it throws again.
I am thinking O2 sensors (both) are next on the list. Probably a couple hundred apiece. I want to take it to the smog place and let it fail (this is WA) so I can get the waiver. But the waiver ain't gonna cover the $300 I blew cause I thought I knew what I was doing.
Now for my questions:
What can ruin a brand new catalyst in a *day* (40 miles max)? Or should I replace both O2 sensors & bite the bullet?
How long does an O2 sensor generally last? (car's got 140k or so)
I'm pretty sure I been running rich, a little rough running at low-rpm under-load conditions... Is that further evidence to blame the O2 sensor?
Posted at 11:12PM on Nov 11th 2008 by Mikey
5. My 06 Camaro's oxygen sensor went bad. What a nightmare!!!!
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Posted at 3:33PM on Mar 15th 2009 by WindshieldGuy
6. My check engine light came on (2002 ford expedition) and I took it to Pep Boys. They
did the dianogstic test and told me that air
intake hose was loosely connected to the air filter. After a month it came back on, now I have
been to two different repair shop and t he same
code keep coming up and they seems to can't find the
problem and each time they keep charging me $150. Can someone please help me.
Posted at 12:47AM on Mar 16th 2009 by julia
7. Well there is a Customized online store
http://astore.amazon.com/2000.toyota.oxygen.sensor-20
All types of Toyota OXYGEN SENSOR O2 Parts - Buy it online might just help u
Posted at 10:39PM on Mar 22nd 2009 by karan
8. Hey Also check out this FULL OXYGEN SENSOR Auto Parts Online Store - Customized for ur needs. Consists of specially Replacement Auto Parts.
Oxygen Sensor Parts!
Posted at 7:50AM on Mar 24th 2009 by karan
9. I lost the link for OXYGEN SENSOR AUTO PARTS
Just got it. Check out O2 Sensor Car Parts - The Replacement Customized Online Store HUB!
http://astore.amazon.com/oxygen.sensor.parts.usa-20
Posted at 7:55AM on Mar 24th 2009 by karan
10. I have a 2004 Chev Cavilier 4-door. The ABS light-Trac Off light-Service lights come on when I first start the car. If I turn off the car and restart they usually go off. What is worng and is it covered by my 72,000 Mile new owners policy?
Posted at 8:02AM on May 19th 2009 by Karen
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Posted at 7:34AM on Oct 23rd 2009 by Pontiac engines