Luscombe8A

So I have had my car for 1-1/2 weeks with no issues. Put 1,300 miles on it to date. This afternoon it threw two fault codes.
Both showed up as Historic Fault on my Android OBD Check Professional.
The codes are:
P0139-Powertrain -02 Sensor Circuit Slow Response (Bank 1 Sensor 2)
P0159-Powertrain -02 Sensor Circuit Slow Response (Bank 2 Sensor 2)

Couple questions for CL'rs.
Does the "Historic Fault mean these were present and reset by the dealer before I picked up the car? I did not have the OBD when I picked up the car.

What is the most likely implication of these codes? Interesting that they both register at same time on Sensor 2.

Any guidance, explanation would be helpful before I call the dealer tomorrow morning.

TIA

Kennyr44

Whatever you do don't spend any money till you cancel them and see if and how often they return.

ALK

If historic and not current it means that it detected then recorded it then the system did not detected it again in the next trip . it could that the both HEATED OXYGEN SENSOR 2 in both left and right side need replacing . This is taken out of the service manual for mechanics. 21. READ VALUE USING DTC OUTPUT (DTC P0139 OR P0159 IS OUTPUT AGAIN)

1. Connect the Techstream to the DLC3.

1. Turn the engine switch on (IG).

1. Turn the Techstream on.

1. Clear the DTCs (Click here).

1. Turn the engine switch off and wait for 30 seconds.

1. Start the engine and turn the Techstream on [A].

1. Warm-up the engine until the engine coolant temperature is 75°C (167°F) or more [B].

1. Drive the vehicle 40 mph (64 km/h) and decelerate the vehicle for 9 seconds or more [C].

1. Turn the Techstream on.

1. Enter the following menus: Powertrain / Engine / Utility / All Readiness.

1. Input DTCs: P0139 and P0159.

1. Check that DTC Monitor is NORMAL. If DTC Monitor is INCOMPLETE, perform the driving pattern adding the vehicle speed and using the second gear to decelerate the vehicle [D].

ResultProceed to
NORMAL(DTC is not output)
A ABNORMAL (for 2WD)(DTC P0139 or P0159 is output)
REPLACE HEATED OXYGEN SENSOR 2 bank 1
REPLACE HEATED OXYGEN SENSOR 2 bank 2

BMW7_LS430

Odds are that they were there when you picked up the car. You should definitely take it back to the dealer. Do you have any kind of warranty. Most dealers give 3 months 3K miles.

I learned from one youtube video that you should always check OBDII codes when purchasing a car. I didn't do that before and paid a big price. With my latest purchase I made sure I check the codes. Emissions is mandatory for renewing annual registration where I live and now I have OBDII permanently plugged in to keep on top of codes.

Luscombe8A

Threw this fault this afternoon
Thanks for the replies.
I did clear the codes to see if they return and if so when.
The dealer I purchased it from is 700 miles away so no taking it back.

Is there any way to determine the date codes were first thrown? Is that info stored in the system? I have techstream on my laptop but have not connected it to the vehicle yet. I thought I would use the OBD scanner on my phone.

After clearing the codes I did take a short ride and everything operated fine. Cruise control came back to life and no other issues

ALK

Well the O2 sensors rely on heat since they are heated oxygen sensors . So keep driving then observe . If they come then you need to replace them .

BMW7_LS430

Your car is just 18K miles. I didn't notice that before. That is a bummer. I hope that is a non issue and just goes away. Good Luck!

Luscombe8A

What is involved with replacing them?
Is that a huge effort or something I could do myself?

BMW7_LS430

I have replaced O2 sensors on other cars and it was easy. It was little hard to get hands to unplug connectors and get the wrench in but not too bad. I do not know about LS460 but I guess it should be easy as well.

Luscombe8A

I suppose the task has to do with their location and how much stuff has to be disassembled to get to them. I take it from reading about the codes that these are post catalytic converter sensors.

Does that mean they are downstream of the converters located on the exhaust pipes?
Is it possible the previous owner(s) used some kind of fuel that burnt out the converters and they need to be replaced?
It just seems kinda weird that both sides have faulted at the same time.

BMW7_LS430

Bank 1 Sensor 2 and Bank 2 Sensor 2 are downstream after the cats.
It is very hard for me to believe that anything could be wrong with 18K miles car.

You may want to check couple of thing before you start replacing O2 sensors. Battery and gas you use. Use only top tier gas. I use Shell only as much as possible but there are other top tier gas options. https://www.toptiergas.com/

Luscombe8A

Yeah,
I am not jumping into any significant actions yet. I want to see if the codes come back. Interestingly though after I cleared them, they show up on the OBD as historic but do not trigger the codes on the ECU or any dash indicators.

I am careful about the fuel and use premium of course and only 100% free of alcohol. KwikTrip has some great premium fuel around here.

Where would I find an illustration showing the location of these sensors?

Mbbarron

Oh, no Gary! I'm sorry that you're having trouble. Does anyone know how long it takes before these codes present themselves after being cleared. Does the car need to be driven for a certain amount of time? Would a PPI have picked up these codes if they were cleared by the dealer or original owner?

UDel

That sucks, nothing worse then researching and researching and likely paying top dollar for a car you think should be problem free for it to start having issues shortly after ownership.

How much do these senors cost, are they DIY? I would contact the dealer you bought it from and tell them, you really should not have to pay for this.

Luscombe8A

Put about 60 miles on the car today with no codes. Forwarded photos of the faults to dealer and will follow up again tomorrow with them.
Heard back from my local dealer today and they will honor/work with the CNA VSC that I have. Also sent the codes to them for comments. I am not really concerned about these two faults. I think they were the result of the fuel I used.

Time will tell. Yeah it does suck when you spend all that time, effort and $ to find just what you were looking for and then have problems shortly after purchase. I am not taking this issue too seriously, learned my lesson on the last vehicle purchase we made.

Had a celebratory purchase of a brand new 2012 X5 3.5D in 2012. First new car my wife and I purchased in 34 years. we researched it and decided on the X5 Diesel with lots of options, freaking awesome vehicle, torque out the wazoo, HID, adaptive drive, ++, great road car, yeah really nice. Even went up to the assembly plant in Spartanburg, NC to pick it up and get a plant tour, etc. We were pumped, absolutely one of the best and exciting days we had spent in a long time. First new car in 34 years, WOW, excited.

Stopped on the way home to have dinner with friends, about 150 miles from the factory. When we got done with dinner, got in the car and it would not back up. Transmission would not engage. Brand spanking new and we had to call BMW and have it towed to the dealer. They had to replace the transmission. Turned into one of the most disappointing days ever, highest of highs and lowest of lows all in the same day. Reminded me of the movie City Slickers.

Anyway, vowed that day we would never purchase a new car again. And if the X5 became problematic, we would get rid of it. It did and we did, traded it in for an RX350 for my wife in 2016. Took a hit on the trade but at that point did not care. BMW reliability just plain sucks, never again!

So a little code that may be caused by the fuel and my OBD app that lets me reset the ECU, no worries, life is good.