Hello all i've been here alot, but never registered until today (how dose that saying go, "long time listener first time caller")
anways i've got a 199 mazada protege with the 1.6l motor, recently my check engine light came on, so i went over to autozone to have them perform a "free" diagnostic test on it what it said was 02 sensor bad.....
this seems kinda of strange to me, because the car only has 48,000 miles on it, and the oxygen sensor is already bad??? my question to all of you experts is this

can a malfunictioning mass air flow sensor cause this problem?? and if so is there any easy way to determine if its functioning correctly or incorrectly?? (e.g. voltmeter measure the voltage between two wires)

thanks for your time and response

joe a.k.a wIgGy

 

yo sup

welcome to the forum Joe...and well u know Sir Nuke will be here to greet you soon

my check engine light just recently came on too....

i have about 60,000km on it....around there

and all of a sudden the check engine light came on

we were driving it for some time with the check engine light on..about a 1/2 a month to a month

warranty is over so damn....
we took it in for servicing this weekend

they said the gaskets were gone
and they would fix it for $250....and they said they'll do something else for $250

I have a 1999 Pro LX Touring Edition(ES for u americans)
5spd...well all this info can be seen in my sig

well one question....what could have caused the gaskets to have gone....and is it alright to drive around with them like this....(until we can get money to fix it)...
and well does the price quoted above seem right...

well i don't wanna take the thread away from the original poster...so answer his first...then you can address my problem

 

joe, it is possible.. and your best bet is to take it to a mazda dealer if you're close enough for them to accurately assess what's wrong with your mazda. ;D i don't trust them places like autozone/pepboys/etc. i've seen a few threads about the o2 sensors going out though on the 1.6's.. so it doesnt sound too uncommon for these young cars unfortunately. but, you may be able to just buy the part and do the work yourself if you have the tools.

 

I actually called the mazda dealership, and the cost of the oxygen sensor just makes me want to cry. There are two oxygen sensors on the car, (not sure which one is bad yet) but the cost of the oxygen sensors is VERY pricey, Dhale Mazda of utah quoted me $377.50 for a SINGLE oxygen sensor

I really don't want to take it to the dealership because they have given me tons of problems here are just a few that standout in my mind
1. Took the car in for a/c relay under warranty, and they LOST my keys they found them three days latter
2. Took the car in to get a new fuel pump under warranty and they lost the plastic diffuser (a.k.a light cover for the dome light) and told me it was missing when i brought it in
3. The last time my check engine light came on, i took it in under warranty and they REPLACED the transmission (that only took a week)

other than that car runs great, is great on gas, and for the most part is fun and economical to drive

i just don't want to spend 377.50 for an oxygen sensor when it may be the mass air flow,

(i'm going to check the o2 sensor tonight, i was reading how to check it dosen't sound to difficult) here is the web page incase any of you want to look at it http://www.howstuffworks.com/question257.htm


thanks for your quick replys fellas'

joe a.k.a WiGgY

 

wiggy, go to www.mazdastuff.com and e-mail them for a quote on the part. I know for sure that if they have it, it will be much cheaper. Still, take your car to a Mazda dealership and have them look at it. Don't trust pepboys, etc.....



Is there anyone else from Utah, that could give him a good dealership to go to?

 

Go back to AutoZone and see if they can tell you which O2 sensor it is? I think there is a different code for each one. OBD-II cars such as ours have an O2 sensor both before and after the catalyst.

Get a price from AutoZone for the sensor also. Back when I had my MX-6, the O2 sensors from Mazda were well over $150 each. At AutoZone, they were $64 each.

O2 sensor replacement is a pretty simple task but you need to clear the code after the repair normally, something you can't do without an OBD-II scan tool.