Chariot of ire

I recently bought a Y reg BMW Z3 with 3 months warranty from a dealer in Nottingham. (I live in Huntingdon.) I filled up with Shell petrol last week and put in some Redex fuel injector cleaner, which I’ve used before. 20 minutes later I had a yellow light come on my dashboard and went to a local garage to find out what it was. The mechanic said that the oxygen sensor needed replacing. I phoned the garage where I bought my car and explained what had happened. They told me that it was my fault for using Redex. They agreed to pay half of the bill, which left me to pay £57.50. I phoned Redex and told them about it, and today received an email telling me that it was very unlikely that Redex caused the problem. Sensors apparently only last a few years. Where do I stand now and what can I do please?

Asked on 8 August 2009 by

Answered by Honest John

Unfortunately, manufacturers warn against using additives and the garage can use this to dispute your claim for £57.50. Llambda sensors usually sit in the extremely hostile environment of the exhaust manifold. (Though can also be duplicated at other points in the exhaust system on some cars. One of ours has three.) Sooting up is the usual problem. And it is possible that adding Redex dislodged some hydrocarbon deposits that sooted up yours. But generally, if a lambda light comes on, I recommend using a fuel system cleaner and some decent petrol (Shell V-Power), then giving it some revs to try to burn any gunge off the lambda sensor.

Tags: warranties technical issues lambda sensor owning

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