2003 Camry 4cyl
190,000khms
no mechanical problems.



The CEL had come on so we had the codes pulled up and it showed the AF sensor had gone.

took it into napa, they installed the new sensor, they ran the car for 10 minutes everything checked out perfect.

before we could leave the parking lot the CEL had come back on, and it was the same sensor.
Assuming it was just a faulty sensor I returned it and got a new one.

again had it installed, less then 25 minutes after running, the car had been off a couple hours after the test run and the CEL came on again and its the exact same sensor.

female end of the connector shorting??

car have to much power??
need to install turbo??

 

Which sensor is being replaced, Bank ?, Sensor ?

What are the codes?

What brand/type of replacement A/F sensor are you using. Type refers to universal or specific make/model.

 

The code is showing bank 1, sensor 1.
I would like to say its a NTK. "green/white box.
and Its a specific sensor.

ITs the sensor right there on the manifold when you open the hood. "on a camry"

 

What are the trouble code numbers?

What is the exact part number for the sensor?

 

1135.
and the NTK sensor part# was like 26634 I don't remember EXACTLY.

 

1135 is for the heater element on the A/F sensor.

The heater element operates just like a soldering iron heating element which heats up irons tip. In the case of the sensor it heats up the sensor end.

The computer will run a diagnostic test and set a code if the heater electrical circuit is drawing too much or too little current. Too much may mean a short in wiring or sensor heater, too little an open circuit in wiring or sensor.

The computer will take a number of minutes to complete the test and as such the check light will stay off until the test fails. When this happens the engine computer goes into a default operation mode.

Check 25A A/F fuse and A/F HTR relay located in different fuse/relay boxes left side of engine.

Can also check for DC voltage being sent to sensor heater but this requires accessing the engine computer wiring harness behind glove box.

There are California and Federal emissions sensors listed for the engine depending on if the car was built to Calif or Fed emissions standards. You need to use the correct sensor for your cars emission standard.

Could also be a computer issue but need to check out above first.

 

Hi Joey,
Do you know how one determines if car is California or Federal emissions? I'm dealing with new Air Fuel Ratio Sensor (& new Exhaust Manifold) and getting P0031 with check engine light on. (even after a re-set to double check) This is all at auto repair place. I'm not a mechanic.
The installed AFRS seems to have part # for California emissions. I have some memory my car being non-Cal. type, or Federal standard.
I could have a real mix-up here. How to determine which?

Thank you so much.
Massachusetts

 

See your other post for more info.

P0031 points to:
-Open A/F sensor heater circuit.
-A/F sensor heater (sensor 1).
-Engine compartment EFI relay.
-Engine computer.

Odds are it is the A/F sensor heater is bad. This heater is much like a soldiering iron electrical heating element. The heater warms up the A/F sensor to make it operate better. The heating element can burn out or short.

The location of the A/F sensor is Bank 1, Sensor 1. This is the first sensor on the exhaust system as it comes off the cylinder head. The sensor is located before the exhaust manifold/converter.

It is possible there are two sensors ahead of this converter (two converters whose exhaust comes together at the exit). If so Bank 1 is the sensor closest to the drivers side of the car when looking at the converter (engine) from the front of the car.

After market parts location references would be something like "upstream", "Loc Manifold". However the car may have another converter under the chassis thus make sure the description is not upstream before the converter under the chassis.

The link below provides examples:
2003 TOYOTA CAMRY 2.4L L4 Oxygen (O2) Sensor | RockAuto

This code only refers to the sensor, not converter. Why are you thinking about a new converter? There are codes to indicate if the converter is bad.

 

Joey,
You're the best.
I agree that the code points to the new sensor, and yes, at Bank 1 Sensor 1.(a separate mechanic tells me) It's the original mechanic saying probably to change the "2 other sensors and rear catalytic conv.". (They replaced the exh.manifold with AFRS.) But that doesn't make sense with the code.
I did call Toyota dealer today. They know my own car and checked, and told me it is "50 state emissions" and not "california emission". So that is settled.

It's the part # xx9041 that I noticed on my repair receipt. That's for California emission. I had looked up AFRS for my car and saw xxx-9010 for "non-Cal." and "xxx-9041" for Cal. I saw all this by accident and made the connection.
I like the mechanic but not sure what to make of all this.
So, I would think it is a problem to have the Cal. part installed in a non-Cal. car. Would that sound correct? In that phone call to Parts person at Toyota dealer, he wasn't fully sure but thought probably that's a problem. It's Saturday at the dealership. : )

Thank you for all the info about sensors and locations. It's still a puzzle if my car has total of 2 or 3 sensors in there. But I shall find out about that too.

Enjoy rest of weekend!

 

The number of sensors depends on the number of converters.

Do you mean Denso 2349010 and 2349041?

If different part numbers for for the same location then they are different parts.

You can check the Denso website.
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