I have a question about the severity of a check engine cody that has been coming up on my 2002 Nissan Xterra. It is currently giving an error code that states P1148. When I googled it, it stated the following:
“The Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) will set when the closed-loop control function for bank 1 does not operate even when the vehicle is driving in the specified condition, the closed-loop control function for bank 2 does not operate even when the vehicle is driving in the specified condition.”
A little background info. My catalytic converter has been bad for several years but in the state I live in I am not required to fix it nor do I have the money to do so just yet. I am not sure if this had anything to do with this code.
What I’m curious if any of you could tell me is if this is something that is detrimental to the performance of the vehicle if I do not get this looked into immediately? I have not noticed any substatial performance degradation in my vehicle in the recent few days since the light has come on except for every once and a while a bit of a strong fuel smell when I start it. I have noticed an error code P1143 code which will come on as well and has to do with air fuel ratio. However, everything I have found online seems to mention it is not majorly detrimental to the functioning of the vehicle except for fuel economy. And I have not noticed a major decrease. I noticed when I was looking into error code P1148 that other error codes would come up as well that were of similar nature. Any insight provided is much appreciated and thank you all very much.
Thanks Tester. Do you know if you can drive for a few months without it causing further damage? A lot of what I’ve read just states you lose fuel economy. Also, do you know if an oxygen sensor is very difficult to fix on my own?
If you own a floor jack, a set of decent jack stands (or some extra wheels to place under the front wheels), and the necessary tools (wrenches, breaker bar) it’s not difficult at all. If doing it yourself, the parts are not expensive either, when purchased online from RockAuto.
Also, even if you are not required to pass an emissions test, I would still replace the oxygen sensors, in order to maintain efficient operation. I would not spend the money on catalytic converter(s), nor would I spend money trying to repair evaporative emissions leaks unless required to pass an emissions test. Even then, there are techniques which will allow one to get a car through emissions without paying to fix a problem if it’s a “monitor” which is not continuous.
So I looked into the 02 sensor part on Rockauto.com and I found options from $20-$47 per unit. I don’t really know if theres much difference in the quality of these units. I also saw that in the specifications of some of these models it said something like “upstream left or downstream right” could you explain what this means? Is this particular unit listed below one that would fix the issue? Also, do I need to replace more than one sensor or is it just one? Thanks so much!
