I have a Mazda Tribute lx v6, 6 cylinder engine. I had bought it as my first car last year at 198k miles and now its at 204k miles. The engine light has been going off and on since then and I wanted to get it fixed before me and bf get an apartment, now I called 2 mechanics and the first one said three o2 sensors coming on at the same time is rare and could be something else or even the catalac converter which i highly doubt but, he said my o2 sensors if it were the case, would cost about 800 plus in repair. That sounds like a lot , i bought o2 sensors last year for my car and have asks some ppl to help me with them from my moms truck driving job and my boyfriends moms business since one of them worked on cars. But they never responded. Now I just want to know if that would be the price of it cause I work minimum wage less than 30 hrs a week right now, I just got a job due to the whole corona virus and I got to work my way up with hours. Any information would be appreciated !
Until we know the DTC code(s) we won’t have a clue.
P0123
We’ll need the exact codes, not the I think it’s code
Get a second opinion from a trusted shop. Sounds like the opinion you got is not worthy.
yeah I should definitely do that, thank you.
The codes I got when I took it to auto zone was P0136, P1131, and 1151
They haven’t taken it to a shop, they’re doing it over the phone.
Does this car have an aftermarket CIA (cold air intake)?
Are all vacuum lines hooked up and not leaking ?
Is the tube from the air filter box to the throttle body in good condition, no leaks/no cracks?
the 1131 and 1151 can both be caused by a vacuum leak or un-metered air
It does have a leak but I don’t know where the light will sometimes flash but not stay fully on. And no not that I know of, when I got the oil change on it last summer they replaced the air filter , they would have told me if the tube was cracked or leaking. Only way to find out if this is really the issue is to take it in to run diagnostics and pay 99 bucks
It is generally best to pay the diagnostic fee rather than throwing parts at it and hoping you get it right.
I understand with a minimum wage job this can be a large expense but will save you money in the long run.
BTW, you need your oil changed again since you had it done last summer.
When the check-engine light flashes, it’s telling you that damage is being caused, so you need to stop the car immediately. If you’re worried about paying for this repair, I strongly suggest that you do this.
All of these codes point to the rear O2 sensor. You have two O2 sensors in front of the warm up cats (AKA pre-cat) and one just behind the main cat. The one behind the main cat is pegged lean, meaning that it is dead. It is not sending out a signal. It could be because the connector to it has come loose, gotten water in it or gotten corroded internally, or the sensor could be coated with carbon or the surface has eroded away. I would at least check that it is plugged in before doing anything else.
the engine light doesn’t come on because of the leak its the oil leak light that does
how would I check to see if its plugged in? I cant physically see the o2 sensor from engine view, maybe once i get paid and get diagnostics run on it I can tell them whats happening
You would need to run the car up on a set of ramps and crawl under it. It is located just behind the cat, has wires running to it.
What is the “oil leak light”? Cars don’t have this. If you mean the oil pressure light, then you have a whole other serious issue to worry about here.
Yeah it would be the oil pressure light, great I mean now I guess i have to get it checked out asap and either get it fixed if its not too bad or just save up for a new car but either way its gonna cost a lot of money so idk if i even have a choice but to get it fixed
Do you have two problems. I was answering to the codes you posted, which should be fixed. The rear O2 sensor is not as critical as the front O2 sensors are as all it does is monitor the efficiency of the catalytic converter. A bad front sensor can do damage to the engine and/or the cat and would be an urgent repair.
You may have two oil lights. One measures the oil level and is yellow/orange. The other is the oil pressure light, it is red and that is an immediate issue. When it is on, damage is being done to your engine. If it is blinking, then oil pressure is on the edge, if it is on steady, engine life can be measured in minutes or even seconds.
First check the oil level. Fill the oil up to the full mark on the dipstick. If the oil level is up to the full mark and you still get an occasional blink of the oil light, AND if it has been a while since the last oil change, you may have sludge clogging the oil filter. An oil and filter change may correct this, but if you have reached this point, you will have a lot of sludge throughout your engine. At this point I’d recommend an oil change every 3k miles or three months which ever comes first. The oil changes will help flush the engine of sludge but you don’t want all the sludge breaking loose at once Slow cleaning is the key here.
Oil is the life blood of your engine. You cannot ignore the oil change schedule. It is like gas for the engine. If you don’t fill the tank as needed, you don;t go anywhere. If you don’t change the oil as needed, you also don’t go anywhere. Engine coolant (antifreeze) needs to be changed on schedule too but that is only once every 5 years. If the coolant sludges up, it will damage the engine. If your coolant is cloudy, it needs to be changed. Check that tire pressure also, they will last longer if you keep them at the right pressure.
If the oil light is blinking after an oil and filter change, start saving for a new vehicle. The engine has been damaged and there is no cheap fix for that.
Agreed, if the red oil light is coming on the engine is likely in trouble. Any 02 problem is the least of your worries.
Did that oil light not come on during a test drive or did you test drive it before buying it? How far did you test drive it if at all?
Not changing the oil since last summer certainly did not help things and may have even helped cause this problem.
my step dad told me things he thought would help like getting engine swell oil, which now i know obviously isn’t a leak so there’s no reason to have put that in with the oil. When he test drove it for me at the time (cause I didnt have a license at the time) no lights came on we took it on a 20 minute drive and i had no problems with it until 3 months ish later. the guy told us he used to drive it from kent to seattle for his job every day. So as I’m reading this , Keith , you think i should get an oil change once i get paid to see if they still come on after? and then if it doesn’t come on to get an oil change every three months to flush it out? I’m wondering if i should still go take it in for diagnostics fir any other problem while i get that oil change.
The first thing to do is check yjr oil with the dipstick and if it is more than a quaet low either put in enough oil to get to the full marl or get it changed. NOW.
It would be a good idea to check the oil pressure with a manual external gauge.
Just because the oil pressure light is off does not guarantee you that there is no oil pressure problem. The light goes off at around 3 to 5 PSI of oil pressure. That’s enough oil pressure to turn off the light but that’s not enough to protect an engine.