Is a bad o2 sensor dangerous for a car?
I have an older car and the check engine light keeps coming on. So I bough an OBD scanner and the codes that come out have to do with my O2 sensor. I don't have any problems with my car. Is this something that needs to be fixed?
Comments
a bad 02 sensor can cause your car's computer to throw the air-fuel mix off, making for problems well down the road, but nothing to panic about.
in some cases, you can pull the 02 sensor out, clean it off, put it back and it will be fine.
they get soot and crap on them, and quit sending good signal.
put some product called 'sea foam' through your motor -the guy at the counter of your local auto parts place will help you find it, and the instructions are fairly straight forward.
Sometimes, that stuff will clean off your sensors and make them work again.
not always, but sometimes, an at the very least it will clean your valves and such and you might get a little boost from that.
plus, one of the main things that happens when your sensors go bad is you run too rich or too lean (an imbalance one way or another in the air/fuel mix) making for more carbon and crap on your valves, which is the main problem mentioned before, and can lead to other troubles. sea foam will help get rid of this junk, and along with some periodic gas treatment (stp or lucas or some such) to clean out injectors and so forth, you can dive forever with a bad 02 sensor.
I'd say just replace it, but they generally aren't cheap.
More then likely the problem is not the O2 sensor, but an exhaust leak between the head and the sensor which is giving you an out of range error. This can cause other problems, such as excessive fuel consumption which leads to catalytic failure. These can be expensive to fix, so have the exhaust system checked for leaks. Exhaust leaks also cause driver fatigue due to carbon monoxide poisoning and can contribute to accidents in a car.
A bad 02 sensor is not dangerous, but can be costly.
Don't focus on the sensor itself, ask yourself why it's defective.
Sometimes a problem with the fuel system or catalytic converter can cause a sensor to go bad.
Best to check out the car thoroughly and find out why the sensor went bad.
Lots of help on the internet, just ask. I've included a few links below for more information on oxygen sensors.
It won't hurt anything but your mileage unless it starts running too rich and ruins your converter. Not that expensive of a part. Some you have to have a socket made to remove and replace them. (it has a slot up the side for the wires) Rent one at an auto parts store if you can't use a regular wrench.
for starters change the air filter if its dirty
and look in the air intake manifold for debris that isnt getting burned off
not dangerous just annoying