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Okay, my 95 Ex coupe has been struggling with a few issues, nothing crippling, but a bit of a limp, and I am wondering if all the things in concert might point to a different problem than would otherwise be. The obvious issue is a CEL (41 = "Primary Oxygen sensor Heater circuit malfunction")

First and foremost, she barely passed smog last time, and now with the CEL pretty sure I need to do something for her to get certified... Have been getting pretty **** poor mileage for a while even before the CEL came on and was thinking she might need to be examined just for that, but now since gas is near 5$/gal I don't drive much anymore so it wasn't pressing. However, when I do drive, it is often on vapors, so I don't know if that may have caused any issues also, as I think it did play havok with my fuel gage at one point.

She's got less than 150K miles on her, maybe mid 145,000 by now and was cared for tenderly for at least the first 90K though less so due to tight budget afterwards. From what I see thus far its looking like she will need her third O2 sensor. I had to replace this already once, and earlier than I would have expected so what am I doing to my car that is causing this to fail again?

Additionally I am wondering if maybe the problem isn't related to me banging her up a bit too (couple of good knocks in the last few years, but did much of the body work ourselves and she isn't in too bad of shape considering...) I am thinking maybe one of the times I missed the driveway and wracked the bottom pretty good might have taken a toll on something in the exhaust maybe?


The reason I say that is because of an odd idle hunting problem I was briefly experiencing for a couple days, but may have been a bubble in the coolant system since it hasn't resurfaced since I topped off the coolant. But then again I read that a vaccuum leak might also cause that CEL code 41 for the primary 02 sensor heater circuit also. The idle isn't particularly rough, though maybe a bit more than it used to be and has a tendency to drop really low after it gets warmed up a bit, and up over 26k rpm when she starts up cold before that. AND my battery recently went completely kaput (100 month from Costo, lasted to somewhere between 50-60 months) and also blew a 7.5 fuse under the hood (both fixed now) but wondered if could be related to electrical fault indications?


Took it in to my guy, who is pretty decent according to the YELP reviews, but maybe the new techs might be getting sloppy if the tune up on my Mom's Acura is indicative (returned to us with loose bolts and dry fluids) - he pulled the code and ran through the computer with the proclaimation that it could possibly one of three things (O2 sensor, wiring, bad ecu), but in all his time he had only see it be one of those things as the culprit = O2 sensor and quoted $225 and at the most 2-3 hours to fix, maybe less. Considering all things, which I didn't get to talk to my mechanic about because he was kind of swamped so he may only know about the CEL code info out of context of the rest... Does that change anything or is he still on the right track?


Should I just go with that or what? He says there are 2 sensors on this vehicle though I see others that say there is only 1 - so that makes me a bit nervous. Is this the possible 10 minute fix I have seen some claim it to be? And if I attempt this myself, which friggin O2 sensor to buy? They range from $35.00 all the way to $421.00!! WTF?


Any thoughts/warnings/advice?

Thanks!

 
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Im having the same issue, but let me tell you.....a typical 4 wire sensor only runs about 50 bucks and 5 wire if ur unlucky like me is much pricier. The cheapest I found is 171 on rockauto. Anyhow its a 10 minute job and easy to do at home. Unplug it, let engine get warm and then shut off. Unscrew it from exhaust w a large open end wrench. Replace. Then unplug neg bat cable for a few minutes to reset the computer and then plug it back in and start up the car. If that was ur issue you should get no codes. However if you are unlucky as I am, you will end up w/ the same code. Ugh. From what I understand tho there are a few culprits......ie vacuum hose leak, or the termostat sensor. I am currently trying to figure out which one. Good luck. I hope this saves you some money at the mechanic!