98 Civic CX Oxygen Sensor

The dealer tells me I have to replace my front oxygen sensor and
wants to charge me $225 for the part and $110/hour labor. What
a rip off! Does anyone know a cheaper way to do that? Does anyone
have a reliable mechanical service shop to recommend in the SF
Bay Area (peninsula)?

Thank you !!!
-H

 

The part sells for $151 + shipping at Majestic online auto parts,
http://tinyurl.com/24l62 and $160 + shipping at www.slhonda.com (look under
engine, exhaust manifold).

If you can't wait for shipping, call around to some non-dealer import shops. I
have one locally that sells OEM Honda parts typically about in the middle of the
price range from an online purchase to a dealer price.

One resource for locating mechanics is the Car Talk site:
http://www.cartalk.com/content/mechx/find.html . People post here with their
reviews of mechanics in the area. You go in with your zip code.

You might also want to check out a Chilton's manual from the library. If you're
handy, this might be a do-it-yourself job.

I plan to replace the oxygen sensor myself on my 1991 Civic (or at least give it
my best shot).

 

Thanks for the info. It seems to be cheaper at www.thepartsbin.com. However,
under Honda -> 1998 -> CX -> Civic 1.6 CX/DX 3dr -> Fuel Injection ->
Oxygen Sensor -> Automatic there are three options:

1) Oxygen Sensor Bosch, price $63.19
2) Oxygen Sensor Denso, price $144.03
3) Oxygen Sensor OE Connector Bosch, $170.90

But on top of screen it shows "rear (at cat. outlet)". So, probably this
is not the one I want, right? I need to find the front one. Couldn't find it
at that
website... maybe you can spot it in there? And is the Denso brand
that much superior to Bosch? Why such a price disparity?

What a wonderful web resource!

Hmm, I have a Haynes manual at home, will take a look at it when I get there
tonight.

Thank you very much for the suggestions, I really appreciate!
-H

 

The beauty of the OEM O2 sensor is that it has the right connector and
plugs right in to the existing wiring harness. The $63.19 Bosch is a
generic unit, and you need to cut the wires of the original one and
splice onto the new one. It comes with a somewhat bulky set of splices
to do the job.

For a good mechanic in the SF Bay area, go to Steve Smith Autoservice
(http://www.smittylube.com) in Mountain View.

 

FYI, the slhonda.com website gave me the part number for the oxygen
sensor I need ($159 in there); then I went to prostreetonline.com
and ordered a compatible OEM for $88. Once I get it I'll take it
somewhere to install... hopefully a friend I have will be able to do that;
if not, Steve Smith was willing to do the job even if I bring the part
myself
- something other mechanics weren't willing to do.

Thanks guys for the sugestions!
My fingers are crossed...
-H

 

Hermes, did you check to see whether this is covered under the Federal emissions
warranty or California emissions warranty? The dealer is *supposed* to know
this.

For example, see http://www.auto-extended-warranty.com/basics/emmisions/ :
"In California, the time/mileage period of the design and defect provision
exceeds federal standards, remaining in effect for seven years or 70,000 miles,
whichever occurs first, and the time/mileage period of the performance warranty
remains in effect for three years or 50,000 miles, whichever occurs first."

Mention this warranty, and make your dealer's service department explain why
your car is or is not covered.

More below.

I agree these appear to be for the rear and so are not what you want.

I have looked up parts at the "thepartsbin" site in the past, and it seems like
this company simply does not carry as many parts as other sites. You could call
them and double check that they do not carry the front O2 sensor. Alternatively,
here's another site with what appears to be really good bargains:
https://www.automedicsupply.com/index.php?target=&ref=Google . It lists two OEM
front Oxygen sensors by Walker and Denso for your car for under $80 each. It has
photos of each sensor. Notice that the universal oxygen sensor for your car is
as Randolph said: You'd have to do some splicing.

I'm just doing a little surfing to find these, in preparation for when I have to
change mine out.

I think if I were you I might call the dealer and also ask who makes the OEM
oxygen sensor they want to sell you. Maybe they'll give you an opinion as to
whether they like Walker or Denso. I really don't know. OTOH, these are not
complicated devices. Barring anyone else commenting on this, I bet you'll be
just fine with either the Walker or Denso. Groups.googling for both didn't turn
up anything negative. I did see a warning about Non-OEM oxygen sensors: Don't
buy them. (I don't feel this way about all non-OEM parts. Probably most of them,
though, after learning the hard way.)

snip

You're welcome. How many miles are on your Civic? What were the symptoms for
your front oxygen sensor failing? (I have an idea but I'm still interested in
your specific experience.)

 

is the engine check light on?
did it give a code P0135?
was the light reset a few times and still came back on?

been through the same exact thing a month ago... same year, same car. even
paid $100 for the code/reader/resetter at pep boys. neat toy!

reset the code and it would go out for a week, then a day, then it wouldnt
reset. checked the helm manual, and the resistance between the 2 black wires
on the bottom of the plug was *zero*. so i bit the bullet, and went
OEM/dealer with the sensor. same price as your dealer. took about 10
minutes... plug and play. easier than changing a spark plug.

if you can wait, and want a better price, try

http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/

there are cheaper sensors out there that involve splicing wires and using
the original plug. i didnt feel like going that route, since the car isnt
that old and its the first thing thats gone wrong with it.

your call... but good luck! and yes, its the one in the exhaust manifold.
the bottom one is still ok, harder to get to also.

 

is that w/ OE connector too?

at that price point, id spend the extra and spring for OEM/dealer. bosch
reputation is spotty, at best. some stuff is good, some isnt. whats the
warranty on the bosch? i might risk it for a "lifetime warranty" autozone
one, if there is such a thing.

BTW: when i tried autozone, kragen, and pep boys NONE of them had the sensor
in stock! made me feel a *little* better about going to the dealer. they had
it, double-checked the part number, and i had it changed within `5 mins of
getting back home.

denso is the shit... they supply to honda. get the dealer/OEM one, and
everything is exactly the same, right up to the rubber grommet that fits in
the wire holder. and it comes with anti-sieze on it.

and YES- you need the top/front one... not bottom/rear. if you have an
ohmmeter yo9u can check it yourself... the 2 bottom wires(black) of the 4 in
the plug. should read between 15 and 40(IIRC) ohms. mine read nada! meaning?
the heater element inside was burned out.

you dont even need as oxygen sensor socket... just a regular combination
socket, once you get the heat shield off.

 

dude... its a piece of cake! unplug the old one, undo the 2 heat shield
bolts, unscrew the O2 sensor.

 

Hey, nice try! My car is six years old but has 83,000 miles on it, so it
is not covered by that warranty. Thanks anyway.

-H

 

my manual says 02 sensors arent covered aside from the 3/36... its a "wear
item", like a spark plug.

not

AFAIK, denso is the only OEM supplier. my old one was denso, the new dealer
one is denso. walker might make the exhaust tubing, cat, and muffler...
dunno.

mine was at 45k, engine light came on, car ran rough and stumbled.

 

Just for the record, I'm a little doubtful about this. At least, I think O2
sensors *may* fall into the "defect" category of the federal and California
emissions warranties. They're a major component of emissions control, after all,
so it makes sense to me that they'd be covered to some extent. So, just saying,
I'd google more on this before assuming O2 sensors are never covered.

(Sorry to second-guess you, but I hope no one ever just trusts a Usenet post by
itself, including of course my own posts. Instead, Usenet is to give people
ideas of how to get a job done right. JMO)

Thanks.

snip

[On Mike's 98 Civic--]

Much obliged.

Also, glad to read your report of how easy the change-out was, etc.

 

One week ago I brought the car to the dealer with the light on (it had been
on
for a few months). Paid $110 for labor (including the code check) and
$251 for the rear oxygen sensor (code was P0141). Ouch. The engine check
light was cleared. Went back home. Four days after that the engine check
light
was on again...

Took back to the dealer and they got the P0135 code (at least they didn't
charge for that). They cleared the light and suggested that I put high
octane
Chevrion gas and that I drove "rough" (definitely not my style). The light
came
back on that same day. Back to the dealer, I'd have to pay another $391 to
replace the part. I haggled a bit to get it down to $306. Then I decided to
do
it on my own.

Well, as I said in other entry I paid $88 for an OEM part. Hopefully
it will be allright and that scary yellow light will go away.

Cool. Thanks!
-H

 

ugh... so your bottom one already went? ill be keeping an eye out on mine, i
guess. i figure this time around, ill buy off the www.

 

[snip]

I hadn't noticed this part of your message so here we go...

As I said in other message I purchased from www.prostreetonline.com, as
they have OEM parts that match the part number I got from the San Leandro
dealer website you provided. The price was fair. It looks like there will
be no need to do any splicing.

turn

One of the mechanics I called said he's more worried about fitting the
sensor
than with the brand itself. He said there we should avoid soldering with
oxygen
sensors.

About 83,000 miles, six years. For four years I drove it everyday and it
was averaging 35 mpg. When my wife started to drive it changed to about
25 mpg. A few months ago the engine check light came on and it was the
rear oxygen sensor. Replaced that and the engine accused the front sensor.

FYI, one of the mechanics I talked to said he always replaces both. The
guys at the dealer said that a failure in one of them puts more strain
on the other (don't ask me why...)

I am not sure if the lower mpg was due to a failure in the sensor or if the
failure is due to my wife's more aggressive driving style. Or if it failed
because
we always put the 87 gasoline. The manual recommends changing those
parts at 100,000 miles, so these ones had a short life.

-H

 

snip

Dunno... the website has hardly any information.

snip

 

Could be. The problem is that I'm a computer geek, not a car geek
I'll give a shot. You make it sound very easy.

-H

 

I meant to mention that. The wires are stainless steel, not copper. It
is virtually impossible to get a good solder joint with stainless steel.

 

and he gets to mark-up both parts and hopefully, no callbacks.

87 is all i use, and all the manual calls for. mebbe we had em both from a
bad batch? dunno.

 

just open the hood, and there itll be, staring at you. ive had HP computer
cases that were harder to figure out how to take apart.

if you do take it to the mechanic, they should be able to do it in 15 mins
or less, while you wait. course, they might charge ya the full hour of shop
time...