My check engine light goes on and stays on for a few days then goes off for a few days. My mechanic pulled the code and said it was the rear oxygen sensor and wants to charge me $500 to fix it parts and labor. Is this too much for them to charge for this?
The O2 sensors go from $130-240, depending on whether you buy off-brand sensors, dealer supplied sensor, or anything in between. The mechanic will add additional markup to the part - as it should be. Charging an hour labor for R&R on a Toyota V6 sounds in line for some of the older toyota V6 engines I’ve replaced.
So, $500 sounds high to me. But depending on where your mechanic gets the part and the cost of labor in your area of the country, it could only be marginally high.
Most Bosch sensors sell for $70-$110…Changing the rear one, on most cars, takes about 10 minutes.
$500 is an outrage.
On the Napa website for a 2006 Toyota V6, all the Bosch sensors which are upstream of the catalytic converter list for over $203. The mechanic should pay some percentage less.
Update: After thinking about this a bit more, I concur with Caddyman - the $500 charge is way to high. You should be able to get it done for much less.
Corolla’s have no V6 option. It’s a 1.8L 4 cylinder. The rear sensor is a Bosch 15290 available at AutoZone for $80, with an original equipment connector. For the budget minded, a Bosch 15733 is available for $68 but you will have to splice on your old connector…
$500 to have a shop replace this part is highway robbery…
I too think the price is way high. Is this all the work being done for this price?
Interesting, the rear sensor does not have a connector, at least not one accessible from the bottom of the car. In the FSM, it looks like the wires go all the way to the computer. If the shop uses the Toyota OEM sensor and runs the wires all the way to the computer, it might just cost $500 and take more than one hour to replace.
The picture of the Bosch 15290 OEM sensor shows a 4-wire connector on an 18" pigtail…
I agree that an 18" pigtail sounds right. I’ve replaced the rear sensor on other Toyotas. The connector is often under the seat, a few inches above the floorboard. The recommended Toyota procedure is to remove the seat and lift the rug. I’ve been able to change them by leaving the seat in place, slicing the rug with a razor, and slipping needle nose pliers in there.
I dropped off the car at the dealer. I usually do not go to the dealer because I do not trust them. But, in this case, they came through! They replaced the engine transmission computer at no charge to me at all!! They said about a year ago there was a technical bulletin about this. I am so glad I took it to the dealer. I do not understand why my mechanic did not know about this bulletin. I guess it always pays to check to see if something is under warrantee before spending hundreds of dollars for a repair.