So after dropping $270 on parts at Honda (hatch wouldn't open so I needed a new handle thing, and decided to pick up parts for a timing belt job which I plan to do in a couple months while I was there..) my CEL comes on the next day.

I check it via the method illustrated in this sticky, and it's code #1: O2A - Oxygen sensor #1.

Is that the one that stares you right in the eye when you pop the hood (the one pointing up on the headers) ? I just checked and the list price on that is $200 . I remember paying liek $50 for my other car for an o2 sensor, but that was an aftermarket one not OEM.

Anyways, my car runs perfectly, and gets AMAZING gas milage even after the CEL. Is it cool if I just drive it like that for a month or so or should I get it fixed ASAP as it will damage other things (clog up the cat due to running rich or something?).

I might just see if I can grab a used one off someone parting their car, $200+ for a sensor is a bit steep There is no way to fix it (by like cleaning it) right ?

Thanks for any tips.

Car is a 100% stock 2000 DX hatch btw.

 

yes o2 sensor 1 is the very first one thats on the exhaust manifold..if ur motor is stock and has the manifold/cat together then u might wanna pull off the heatshield on the cat and see if its cracked..thats very common on those style manifolds..if it is cracked try calling ur local dealership and see if they will replace that under warranty

 

I also do not have an O2 sensor right now. You DONT NEED IT to run the car however you might want to get one. Your car will run rich( inject more fuel than needed) just to make sure its combusting correctly so you will get lower MPG without an o2 sensor. 200 dollars for one is nonsense in a honda. You wont clog the cat, dont worry about that. You can run your car for a month without it though.

Someone recommended me to get a sensor at www.sparkplugs.com and search for your model and then choose o2 sensors on the top left after the search. They have some there for like 30-60 bucks. You might want to get one with a plug already.

 

Interesting, thanks guys. I checked and my manifold is cracked, heh. Maybe I should've checked that when I bought the car, I only got it like a couple months ago. Do you think it just cracked now when the CEL came on?

So is the CEL because of the cracked manifold and the o2 is probably fine ? Or is the o2 bad (which is caused by the cracked manifold) ?

Wondering what to do now... is it bad for the car to be running with a cracked mani like that? Don't really want to throw too much money at this.. hmm..

 

if it said 02 its most likey the o2
but sence you manifold is cracked replace it and see if it goes away if not just get a ngk o2
it does have to be oem to work

 

buy ngk 02 censor for like 60 bucks

 

Change out the manifold first. More than likely that is why, The O2 sensor is sending bad info to the ecu because of the crack. This causes the ecu to change the A/F ratio, when the ecu can't change it far enough to correct the A/F ratio it throws a code.

The crack might have got worse and that is why the code now.

 

Thanks guys... I'm having trouble finding a (used) manifold though. They're $500+ at Honda, so I'm not really interested in that...

The design is weird, it seems like the manifold and the catalytic converter are one piece ? Is that right? So I would have to replace both ?