I had a P0133 error on my Toyota Matrix indicating a bad O2 Sensor. I purchased the O2 sensor to see if it would make the code go away. I had a very difficult time removing the old sensor. I ended up breaking my wrench using a breaker bar. After much work I got it out. I started threading the new sensor in and turned it a couple of times around by hand until I could not turn it anymore. It seemed straight. I put the breaker bar and tightened it. When I looked it was crooked and cross threaded. My friend told me to leave it because if I took it out it could mess the threads up worse and I may not be able to get it to stay. The sensor was tight and I don’t think it will come out but it’s visibly crooked. I left it in that way. So far I don’t have an error code and the car seems to be driving fine.
My question is will it be OK to leave the cross threaded O2 sensor in or would this be bad to do and why?