went to have an oil change. Standard procedure. Wife drives the 330 away and the check engine and VSC lights come on. I figure it's the maintenance indicator needing reset, but no..... the reset didn't work. Went back to my local mechanic who changed the oil to run codes and see what the problem is. Code P0157 = bad O2 sensor.

Now, I questioned him as to why these lights would come on DIRECTLY after they changed my oil. Is there any correlation there? NO, he says. No reason why these lights would come on immediately after the oil change and we've never seen these two lights come on at the same time before.

I've read every post and thread I can, but it seems like every issue is different. Some times it's a loose gas cap or gas cap that needs replacing. I have to drive 60 miles to the dealer some time soon to have a recall performed, but until then should I worry about this O2 sensor and these lights staying on?

Thanks in advance

 

One of the leading causes for senor failures, beyond time and wear, is dripping fluids on hot parts. Depending on the location of this particular sensor the mechanic could have dripped oil in a manner to get onto the O2 sensor causing it to fail. Just a guess though.

No need to worry about waiting. Car may run a bit rough but otherwise you should be fine.

 

completely coincidental, i would reset the light and see if it comes back on, could be a one time deal.

no issue with driving around with the light on except that if you get a new problem, you will never know because the light is already on. and you will burn more fuel (might be hard to notice though) because the computer goes into a default mode instead of reading the oxygen sensor to adjust fuel mixture, with that said, the default is to run a little too rich.

again, i would reset the light and if it comes back on for the same problem, i would just replace the O2 sensor. they arent that pricey.

 

You may want to take the vehicle to your local Toyota dealership for service in the future. Most have an express lube and the cost is reasonable. I doubt they would be sloppy with the fluids.

Also when you visit Lexus for the recall roll in there with the gas tank just about empty. Most all Lexus dealerships will fill the gas tank after doing recall work.

 

+1 for using a local Toyota shop and their Express Lube services.

Instead of "[m]ost all Lexus dealerships" I might have said, "[m]any Lexus dealerships" regarding the topic of filling your gas tank when in for recall work. They never added gas into my RX for any of its trips in for recalls done here in FL and there are many threads where other owners did not as well. Consider it a pleasant surprise if they do, but you should not count on it.

 

thanks for the replies.

My mechanic did clear the codes before I left which caused the lights to go off, but just before I got home they came on again. I assume that's a sign that there is some sort of problem.

I've had a recall done at this Lexus dealer(Greenville, SC) before and they did not top off the gas. We'll see what happens there...

I am certainly going to take it to the Toyota dealership from now on. I thought my guy could handle the Lex, but they can be sensitive and I'd rather have someone working on it who is more familiar.

Thanks again, folks.

 

clearly no one above does there own oil changes. no fluid drips on any components when doing it. you would have to make quite the mistake to spill fluids on stuff.

not only that, but the sensors are deisnged to be exposed to the outdoors, rain etc.

FYI the average life span of an O2 sensor is about 100,000 km (60,000 miles) you are probably just due.

 

I am not sure about average. In my case, O2 sensor lasted longer. My other truck, Ford Explorer, had OS2 sensors failed at 100K miles and 110K miles. My Camry, O2 sensor still works well at 130k miles.

Replacing the O2 sensor to see whether the code goes off or not.

 

Uh, I would NOT drive it that way! Not good for the Catalytic converters at all. At least try a reset preferably with a scanner. Or disconnecting the neg batt. terminal for a while and see if it returns.

 

Hi

I have been unable to find anything online to find the location of the Bank 2 Sensor 2. I got this same exact code and I want to replace it. I can do the replacement myself just don't know where it is. Could anyone help?
Thanks

 

The exact same thing just happened to me, I just had my oil changed in my 2005 Lexus RX330 and both the engine light and VSC lights came on. The folks who changed the oil said it wasn't anything that they did. What was your outcome??

 

I also have a P0157 error (low voltage on Bank 2 Sensor 2). From what I understand it should be around 0.1V-1.0V. This will fluctuate quite a bit depending on how much I am accelerating. I have seen it below and above this range and I would assume this is normal although I could be wrong. However, during normal driving the voltage shows as ~1.00V so definitely not high so I am a little confused about that since it is at the upper range although the P0157 code says voltage is too low. I was thinking about changing the sensor, actually just ordered one, but not sure if the problem is the sensor or the catalytic converter.