Hi All,

I have a 1999 RX 300 with 140k - the 02 Sensor began showing a reading about 4-5 months ago, haven't had it replaced yet... Can this harm my car?

Thanks!!

 

not really, but you will notice 2 things...

first, your gas mileage will suffer by a lot. The performance side of it will suffer as well. I had my car running on faulty 02 sensor wires for about 3 months and the thing just burn gas like there is no tomorrow...however, when I fixed it, there is a noticeable performance increase. Second, your bumper will get dirtier much faster. All the black soot from the exhaust will end up in your bumper...I'm talking within days.

 

Hi Kaydee,

Thanks for the reply. Yes, my gas mileage has gone downhill, and it does run much more roughly. I have had to replace 5 of my coil packs in the past year too, so it hasn't been running too smoothly for a while.

I also realized that the 02 sensor has been bad for 9 months, not 4-5... I was just concerned that it would damage my catalytic converter, that would be incredibly expensive! I know I am going to have to have it replaced, just wish it wasn't right now...

 

It would take more than a bad 02 sensor to damage the cat. So don't worry much about the cat.

 

Don't be so sure about that... excessive fuel fouling can speed up the cats degradation... That is, in fact, the biggest concern, IMO, with bad O2 sensors... Excessive fuel fouls the cat and it actually gets too hot, causing it to degrade much faster than it should...

Cats are very expensive on newer style vehicles...