Oxygen Sensors
 

Okay. I looked up oxygen sensors, and I have a basic idea of how they work. My check engine came on a week or two ago, so I finally got it taken in to the shop to have a diagnostic run. They called me this morning, and told me that I needed a new sensor. I wanted to do my homework to see if this might cause things that I've noticed about the car. I have noticed that my fuel mileage hasn't been as good. This can be caused by having a lean mixture of oxygen, so that makes sense. I'm wondering, and I will continue to research but thought I would ask you car gurus, if something like that could make your car run a little differently. I'm not going to say how, as I just want to find out what could happen and see if it compares to how I feel my car has been running.

Also, the part and labor is going to cost me $390. I wanted to see if that was fair or not. It's a 2002 Lexus IS300.

The part is 100 bucks retail, leaving you at about 300 dollars labor. That's high.

It's not the Mass Airflow Sensor is it?

I was thinking that, since it was electrical, it would be a little more. I hadn't gotten that far in my research though, so thanks for the tip.

Is that the same thing as an oxygen sensor? He said oxygen sensor, and that it was a cable that ran up from the bottom of the car.

It's an "unplug and replace" part. It shouldn't take more than an hour for an experienced mechanic to replace it, depending of course on how much disassembly is required to get to the actual part.

Bad O2 sensors are a common cause of cars running rough and poor fuel mileage. $390.00 seems a little high for diagnosing and replacing one. It's possible that the O2 sensor on your car is hard to get to and requires a little more labor to get the job done though.

So I should look up my car and see where it would be at on there and determine if it's a little difficult to get to. This is helpful information.

EDIT: So far, it looks like the average cost for a 2001-2005 Lexus four-wire sensor is $117 (found everywhere from $108 to $149 though). I'm guessing they're replacing the whole thing, as the average price for just the replacement part is $40.

Luv there is one o2 in your car ( I think it was bank one) that we looked at on a friends car that was a PITA to get to. He ended up taking it to the dealer and was charged 300.00.

No. If you want to know what the approx. time is then you need to call another shop and ask them what the labor time is for replacing one. Or buy yourself a Chilton Labor Guide.

Best thing you could do is find a shop you trust. Not all of them are going to rip you off.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you...s_IS300_bank_2

It's the sensor under the passenger seat near your Y pipe. (The IS has 4 sensors.....3 near the engine, and this one) Unscrew it (VERY hard to get off) then cut the wires. Splice the wires from a new one, solder, heat shring wrap it, disconnect battery to reset ecu, and you are good to go.

Labor time ? 1 hour ? 1.5 ? 2.0 ?

About all shops use a Chilton or Mitchel Labor guide to determine how much they charge for a particular repair.

Did they tell you what O2 was bad? Number 1 is a royal PITA.

If you dont buy a cheap O2 you should not have to cut and splice anything.

Take the car to JASONS AUTO. He gives a Chiefs Planet discount.