check engine light O2 sensor warranty?

neal · 07-13-2006, 05:11 PM

I'm at 3600 miles after a major road trip. Towards the end while I was on the way back home, I noticed the check engine light come on. It had been coming on intermittently and going away seemingly on its own. I thought it was the gas cap since closing it securely seemed to coincide with it going off later.

I had it checked at autozone just to be sure, and it turned out that the reader said something about "too rich" (I was looking over the guy's shoulder and didn't catch a code number or the rest of the description). He told me it was the oxygen sensor that had gone bad and that it would be safe to drive home.

I put on an aem sri and wanted to see if you guys thought that the dealer might be able to deny warranty service based on this installation. Should I put on the stock system just to be sure? Unfortunately, I took off all the stock tubing just by following instructions not realizing the difficulty of reinstallation. The dealer told me over the phone that it would be $191.xx, but I have not yet informed them of the modification. I think they told me the total it would be if it is not covered under warranty, as they are not able to promise that any repair is covered until the actual visit.

Sorry about the wordiness and thanks in advance for your replies/advice.

**ethlar** · 07-13-2006, 06:56 PM

the dealer i go to in NY told me that they had been seeing a lot of their civics come back with O2 sensor issues. they said something about improper instalation at the factory.

id suggest putting the stock intake back in if you are going to take it in unless you know your dealer isnt going to try to blame it on your intake.

inline4 · 07-13-2006, 07:07 PM

it might be caused by the MAF sensor on the intake. take it off and make sure its not dirty or anything. then disconnect the battery to clear the code.
also double check your installation, look for any leaks especially aft of the MAF sensor. if everything looks good, and the code comes back, i would call aem.

**atruhondagrl** · 07-13-2006, 07:45 PM

Holy Crap!!! Finally, I'm not alone. The same thing happened to me and when my service manager told me that the code it threw was for running to rich, I looked at him like he had 3 heads. That happened one time when my odometer was around 6100. Now I'm at 8800. So far so good.

neal · 08-01-2006, 05:11 PM

Update:

Well, it appears that my engine was throwing another code, the infamous engine overspeed code (overrev). The thing is, I know exactly when this happened and I have never felt any ill effects from the car since that point. The gas mileage is not great, but I guess my driving habits tend towards the aggressive side. Also, the check engine light was on before this incident. Of course the dealership has told me they can't do anything for me (Please no flames, I'm not blaming them, and I'm not a 16 y.o. street racer with his first manual...any other preemptive responses I've forgotten?)

I disconnected the neg battery terminal and did the whole 15 mins of idle thing to let the ecu reset, but the light has returned. I believe (and will confirm later tonight) that the code will once again be the mixture too rich code. Do you guys think this could be from bent valves? Wouldn't it be really noticeable if I had bent valves? I have not noticed any symptoms from the car other than the light and the relatively poor gas mileage (~20 mpg, city). The car has performed amazingly well before and after the incident. By the way, the light has been coming on and off intermittently over the past couple of weeks. It will be on for two or three days and then off for a couple days. I'm not exactly sure what to make of this.

From reading some posts, I've determined that the first thing to do is the compression test. Right? Any other tests I should have done? Anyone know somewhere in atlanta to get these done for a reasonable price? I have a feeling that my two light codes are not related and that my system is running too rich for another reason (As I mentioned earlier, the light was on before the incident and I've always been cognizant of the gas cap ever since blowing $90 on a diagnostic test that turned up a loose gas cap). I initially was told it was a bad O2 sensor before the other code was found. Is the only way to test this installing another O2 sensor and seeing what happens?

Thanks everyone for your input...

07-13-2006, 05:11 PM	#1 (permalink)
neal Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: atl Posts: 5 iTrader: 0 / 0%	check engine light O2 sensor warranty? I'm at 3600 miles after a major road trip. Towards the end while I was on the way back home, I noticed the check engine light come on. It had been coming on intermittently and going away seemingly on its own. I thought it was the gas cap since closing it securely seemed to coincide with it going off later. I had it checked at autozone just to be sure, and it turned out that the reader said something about "too rich" (I was looking over the guy's shoulder and didn't catch a code number or the rest of the description). He told me it was the oxygen sensor that had gone bad and that it would be safe to drive home. I put on an aem sri and wanted to see if you guys thought that the dealer might be able to deny warranty service based on this installation. Should I put on the stock system just to be sure? Unfortunately, I took off all the stock tubing just by following instructions not realizing the difficulty of reinstallation. The dealer told me over the phone that it would be $191.xx, but I have not yet informed them of the modification. I think they told me the total it would be if it is not covered under warranty, as they are not able to promise that any repair is covered until the actual visit. Sorry about the wordiness and thanks in advance for your replies/advice.

07-13-2006, 06:56 PM	#2 (permalink)
ethlar n00b retro whore Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 10,832 iTrader: 5 / 100%	the dealer i go to in NY told me that they had been seeing a lot of their civics come back with O2 sensor issues. they said something about improper instalation at the factory. id suggest putting the stock intake back in if you are going to take it in unless you know your dealer isnt going to try to blame it on your intake. __________________ 8thCivic FAQ\|NEW Marketplace Rules

07-13-2006, 07:45 PM	#4 (permalink)
atruhondagrl Brodie Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Near the escalator Posts: 24,200 iTrader: 24 / 100%	Holy Crap!!! Finally, I'm not alone. The same thing happened to me and when my service manager told me that the code it threw was for running to rich, I looked at him like he had 3 heads. That happened one time when my odometer was around 6100. Now I'm at 8800. So far so good. __________________ AWD is RWD with training wheels.

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07-13-2006, 07:07 PM	#3 (permalink)
inline4 Junior Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Boston Posts: 26 iTrader: 0 / 0%	it might be caused by the MAF sensor on the intake. take it off and make sure its not dirty or anything. then disconnect the battery to clear the code. also double check your installation, look for any leaks especially aft of the MAF sensor. if everything looks good, and the code comes back, i would call aem.

08-01-2006, 05:11 PM	#5 (permalink)
neal Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: atl Posts: 5 iTrader: 0 / 0%	Update: Well, it appears that my engine was throwing another code, the infamous engine overspeed code (overrev). The thing is, I know exactly when this happened and I have never felt any ill effects from the car since that point. The gas mileage is not great, but I guess my driving habits tend towards the aggressive side. Also, the check engine light was on before this incident. Of course the dealership has told me they can't do anything for me (Please no flames, I'm not blaming them, and I'm not a 16 y.o. street racer with his first manual...any other preemptive responses I've forgotten?) I disconnected the neg battery terminal and did the whole 15 mins of idle thing to let the ecu reset, but the light has returned. I believe (and will confirm later tonight) that the code will once again be the mixture too rich code. Do you guys think this could be from bent valves? Wouldn't it be really noticeable if I had bent valves? I have not noticed any symptoms from the car other than the light and the relatively poor gas mileage (~20 mpg, city). The car has performed amazingly well before and after the incident. By the way, the light has been coming on and off intermittently over the past couple of weeks. It will be on for two or three days and then off for a couple days. I'm not exactly sure what to make of this. From reading some posts, I've determined that the first thing to do is the compression test. Right? Any other tests I should have done? Anyone know somewhere in atlanta to get these done for a reasonable price? I have a feeling that my two light codes are not related and that my system is running too rich for another reason (As I mentioned earlier, the light was on before the incident and I've always been cognizant of the gas cap ever since blowing $90 on a diagnostic test that turned up a loose gas cap). I initially was told it was a bad O2 sensor before the other code was found. Is the only way to test this installing another O2 sensor and seeing what happens? Thanks everyone for your input...