My dad's 1997 Carina E has just been diagnosed with a faulty oxygen sensor (second one within it's life) and has been quoted nearly £400 for the 30 minute job by the local Toyota dealer. It is currently running ok as it is. Does anybody know either of any reliable independent garage in the West Midlands that may be able to offer a better deal than that, is it a part that can be self fitted, or what the potential implications might be if he doesn't have the part changed. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Paul
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These oxygen sensors are about £250 from Toyota in the UK,so the extra £150 must be fitting and VAT.Unfortuneately the Toyota system does not accept the universal oxygen sensors which are available,the fitting is different and they are not electrically compatible.I'm sure you could self-fit this part(two bolts and an electrical connector)so if you feel the price is excessive(I believe it is) you could try searching for a good used sensor or even order one via the internet from the USA where they are a little cheaper.If you delay changing the sensor after it has failed you risk damage to the converter and possible breakdown if it blocks up completely,of course it would also fail the MOT emissions test.
David Davies (Tune-Up Raglan)
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Thanks for the advice. The Toyota dealer has quoted £300 for the sensor alone so they have obviously marked it up. Still looking like an expensive job all the same. Will shop around now we know how much they should be.
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My Father has exactly the same car and suffered the same problem. The first sensor was replaced under warranty. When it happened again just recently, I Emailed the details from HJ's Car-by-car breakdown, which refers to sensor failure being a known fault. Dad printed this out and after a bit of discussion with the dealership (with emphasis on the key words 'known fault') they agreed to do it as a goodwill gesture for about £150+vat.
The car does have full Toyota sevice history, so if the circumstances are the same, it would be worth at try.
Good luck!
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I believe the Carina does not have a conventional sensor which only checks if the mixture is rich or weak of stoichmetric but a much more expensive device which actually checks the air/fuel ratio and can adjust the mixture as required.
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Could be faulty memory, but didn't Toyota extend the warranty on these to 100K. I have vague recollections of an article a couple of years ago
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Turns out that toyota make two versions of the oxygen sensor one of which is £80 cheaper than the other. According to one main dealer who was prepared to say they have about equal failure rates for both. Also toyota head office said they do not let any dealer overcharge (they can discount at the dealer's discretion) and anyone doing so will be in trouble. All toyota need is a part number and they can quote the part price directly from head office. Anyone know what the part number is please?
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Anyone know what the part number is please?
Yes Paul my local Toyota dealer in Peterborough UK give part # 89463 - 29055 priced £297.65 with 0.5 fitting time another £100 odd. For the moment I am sticking to the yellow light rather than parting with the cash, but the MOT is due soon.
Paul, which dealer was willing to do it for less?
Anyone know how to get parts from USA and will they be warrantied over here?
I\'d be glad to know
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Try Fuel Parts UK in Bromsgrove (can't remember their URL, do a Google).
They should have these at much less than the dealer.
The Carina E uses 'lean burn' technology and the sensor gives out a voltage in proportion to mixture ratio - its not 'rich/lean' as per a 'normal' sensor.
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My dad ended up getting the job done for £350 at his local Toyota dealer which was Westlands in Stourbridge. They had originally quoted around £400 but what my dad did was ring round all the dealers within about 30 mile radius and got the best price and Westlands agreed to match it. It will fail the MOT if you don't have the sensor changed plus it may be wrecking the catyliser the longer you leave it before having it changed.
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If anyone else has this problem, it's worth running a petrol injector cleaner through. I once failed the MOT on it and was quoted the standard 400 quid. I tried an injector cleaner and it passed with flying colours. 395 quid better off.
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I have run my 1996 Carina E 1.8 without an oxygen sensor for 4 years and it has always passed it's MOT, much to the amazement of the Toyota Dealers Technicians!
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Thanks for this Charmoll ! Mine failed in Feb and, based on a similiar comment I noticed on the Toyota users site, I did nothing until the MOT in July (it's called the NCT here in Ireland). I have not noticed any significant change in fuel consumption. The test is the same as the MOT (though the test equipment may be different). The technician noticed the needles flying up and down the scale but, much to his disgust, it still passed ! Maybe the test equipment does a "best case" rather than an "average" reading.
My car is a 96 Carina E with 120K miles on the clock and I now have two years until the next test. I have no plans to fix this !
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