The Henchman wrote:
> I have a 2004 Sebring Touring 2.7L with almost 100 000kms (60 000miles).
> Gas mileage has suffered recently. Check Engine light has been on and I
have
> scanned it...
>
> I have an OBDII error code of 0137. Am I correct that is the oxygen
sensor
> on the driver's side of the tail pipe that is faulty?
It is the downstream sensor on the bank that is the side of the engine
that the a.c. compressor is on (opposite side from the power steering
pump).
> I'm taking the car in to have a tyranny flush and new serpentine belt
done,
> should I just have the dealer replace all 4 Oxygen sensors or replace
the
> faulty one. The cost of the oxygen sensors is $47 each from the dealer,
not
> including the labor which was half the price from several auto parts
dealers
> in my area.
>
> Would their be any benefits to replacing all 4 oxygen sensors?? I
really
> want to get another 100 I kames (60 K miles) from this car.
The downstream O2 sensors only monitor catalytic converter health, and
are not in the closed loop engine controls like the upstream sensors
are. So that one sensor would not affect fuel mileage. However, the
upstream sensors *could* be causing poor mileage without setting a code,
but they aren't necessarily the cause of the poor mileage.
FYI - my daily driver is a Concorde with the same engine in it - it has
190k miles on it and is on the original O2 sensors, and gets 26 to 28
mpg on my 80 mile daily commute (gets over 30 mpg on continuous
interstate driving). And the Concorde is a much heavier car. BUT -
something is causing your poor mileage - could be the O2 sensors, but
not necessarily. So it would be a gamble either way.
Maybe someone else can offer ideas on how to rule them out as the cause
of the poor mileage, or whether the gamble would be in your favor by
just going ahead and replacing them all. BTW - *DO* get the sensros
from the dealer. While there are some good sensors in aftermarket,
unless you know which brands are the good ones, you're likely to get
really bad ones - even among some respected name brands (hint - Bosch no
good, NGK are good). If you do go aftermarket, make sure you get ones
that come with the factory-type connectors already installed, otherwise
you would have some splicing to do.
As long as you religiously change the oil at less than 4000 mile
intervals, you should be able to get another 60k miles out of the
engine. Like I said - I'm at 190k miles and running strong (however, I
do need new exhaust valve seals, which do tend to typically be required
somewhere beyond 110k miles on this engine, and manifest themselves in a
code that says the catalytic converter is not working efficiently - code
P0420 or P0432, which means the catalytic converter is shot due to too
much oil in the exhaust).
As you may know, this engine has a timing chain instead of a belt, so
there is no change interval on that. HOWEVER, the water pump is run by
the chain, and the pumps have been known to fail.
> Thanks for the input!!
You're welcome!
Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')
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