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Unplugginf the battery shouldmt be any different than just resetting the codes with your obd2 scanner. Actually, unplugging the battery can return the ecu to base settings. And itll cause it to run crappy the first couple times you drive it, and itll need to relearn the drivers characteristics. I wouldnt unhook the battery. But try resetting the codes and them keeo the scannwr plugged in, see what codes return first, and how soon they return. You can also check your fuel trims and see if they are still way off? Or either bank is getting the fuel ratio?
I thought unhooking the battery and resetting the ecu to base would just make the car have bad acceleration unless you sat in idle with the engine on for like 5-10 minutes after first start before driving?
Also the fuel trims were more normal, maxing out at around 20-25 when flooring the gas pedal (I don't drive around just flooring the gas whenever I feel like it, I was just testing to see if codes would come back). The first p0172 and check engine light took about 4-5 hours of driving time to come back on. I know how to check the fuel trims but I'm not sure how to watch the ratio with the Blue Driver scanner on live data.
Removing battery is like reset most [very few are hard errors] and recenters the observations. I have only noticed a slight hesitation or higher rpms on the idle, but that again reestablishes pretty quickly.
Reset by scanner is code based reset [the cheepo scanner I have is pretty basic].
Well, good news and bad news...
Good news: I found out what the new issue is with my car
Bad news: it's an extremely annoying (to my knowledge) part to replace.
Looks like my Bank 2 Sensor 1 A/F sensor needs to be replaced. Anyone have any good videos/threads that help explain how to replace it?
Also is it a bad idea to get a cheap aftermarket A/F sensor or does it not matter for car performance as long as it works?
Just looked up a single video and watched for a few seconds and realized I might be dumb. Is bank 2 sensor 1 in the front or back of the engine? If it is the front then I answered my question of aftermarkets because I replaced that one and not the one I said earlier in this post...
I will replace this with a OEM / Denso part and get back to ya'll later on what happens
edit: I know I have the code and everything but I don't think it would hurt to take the car for a drive and look at the graphs for voltage, see what they are saying. Should I do that to make sure or does the code mean it's 100% this part. (just asking cause OEM is like $200)
Last edited by Obscurations; 07-03-24 at 02:02 PM.
Just looked up a single video and watched for a few seconds and realized I might be dumb. Is bank 2 sensor 1 in the front or back of the engine? If it is the front then I answered my question of aftermarkets because I replaced that one and not the one I said earlier in this post...
I will replace this with a OEM / Denso part and get back to ya'll later on what happens
edit: I know I have the code and everything but I don't think it would hurt to take the car for a drive and look at the graphs for voltage, see what they are saying. Should I do that to make sure or does the code mean it's 100% this part. (just asking cause OEM is like $200)
So the part that I replaced on the front was an eBay "OEM" a/f ratio sensor, but the graph of voltage for it is stuck between .630 and .660 so I'm 99% sure that it's a dud. It also had a 60 day return policy that expired 9 days ago, and it was probably a dud the entire time and I just didn't realize cause I was looking at bank 1 sensor 1 and not bank 2 sensor 1 where it was installed, whoops.
In order to avoid that, I will be buying a new one from Rock Auto which is "OEM Denso" but probably actually OEM this time, for $140 instead of $290 (from manufacturer). I will order this tomorrow unless someone says that's a bad idea before then.
So the part that I replaced on the front was an eBay "OEM" a/f ratio sensor, but the graph of voltage for it is stuck between .630 and .660 so I'm 99% sure that it's a dud. It also had a 60 day return policy that expired 9 days ago, and it was probably a dud the entire time and I just didn't realize cause I was looking at bank 1 sensor 1 and not bank 2 sensor 1 where it was installed, whoops.
In order to avoid that, I will be buying a new one from Rock Auto which is "OEM Denso" but probably actually OEM this time, for $140 instead of $290 (from manufacturer). I will order this tomorrow unless someone says that's a bad idea before then.
Just looked up a single video and watched for a few seconds and realized I might be dumb. Is bank 2 sensor 1 in the front or back of the engine? If it is the front then I answered my question of aftermarkets because I replaced that one and not the one I said earlier in this post...
I will replace this with a OEM / Denso part and get back to ya'll later on what happens
edit: I know I have the code and everything but I don't think it would hurt to take the car for a drive and look at the graphs for voltage, see what they are saying. Should I do that to make sure or does the code mean it's 100% this part. (just asking cause OEM is like $200)
don’t feel bad, it’s pretty unusual for bank #1 to be closer to the firewall and not the front of the car. The way you can always tell which bank is #1 is to first identify which way the engine is pointing. The side with accessories like the alternator and A/C compressor is the front of the engine and if you look at from the front the #1 is going to be on the right side. One bank will be a couple inches ahead of the other bank. And bank #1 will be the one that is ahead of the other side. Another topic, there should be a diagnostic port specifically for the O2 sensors under the hood. My memory is not great anymore but I am pretty sure your vehicle will have a diagnostic port for the emissions equipment somewhere under the hood near the ECU. You can pull up on YouTube how to use it. But it can be more helpful when trying to confirm the O2 sensors are working and can run a test on each one to make sure they are working correctly or not.
well this is annoying... I paid extra for shipping to get it on Wednesday (yesterday) and they won't even talk to me about it until Tuesday the 16th about it not being shipped.
anyone else ever have this problem with rockauto?
Edit: they gave the package to UPS a day after it was supposed to arrive, when I paid an extra 7 bucks in shipping to get it earlier, I am gonna be fuming if I don't get a refund on the shipping costs for getting it 3 days late due to their error.
Last edited by Obscurations; 07-11-24 at 04:11 PM.
Okay so new sensor installed, p0172 (bank 1 too rich) was still there after about 50 miles of driving time, it popped back up. I used the live graph on the blue driver scanner and the voltage is fluctuating normally now as it should. At this point the only thing I think it could be is either a VERY small vacuum leak, or the MAF sensor. (I did a smoke test on the car with a machine from amazon a few months back and im 95% confident there was no leaking smoke, but then again, it was hard to see the smoke.)
I say the MAF sensor because when the car is idling, it sits at 7 g/s ish when warm and around 17-19 at 2500 rpm's. I've been told normal is around 3 when the car is warm. We do swap the MAF sensor's between my car and my dad's because the 2006 Toyota highlander hybrid has the exact same part down to part number and they both sit at around 7's. The one thing I haven't tried yet is when cleaning it with MAF cleaner, I have only been cleaning the red bulb on there, but I saw a video a while ago that said you also need to clean the 2 hidden prongs behind and up above the red bulb as well. Could cleaning those prongs fix the high idle thing? Or should I try to get a junkyard OEM MAF sensor for like $30 and try that?
(Edit: I should mention, the car is running fine, 0 misfires at all. The only visible problems is the engine codes and the MPG average was 3 less than the original before the whole mess started.)
06-29-24, 05:20 PM
