Does anyone know how to change 1996 maxima oxygen sensor. Is it a DIY task and how much is this going to cost me if I have to go to a mechanic? (need to save money
Thanks


Maxjoey

 

Which one of your 3? one for each bank of cylinders and one after the last catalytic... The last one is usually hard to remove without stripping it or at least it's harder than the forward 2

 

Need to save money? The cheapest price is free. Some '95-'96 Maximas got replacement Oxygen Sensors as a no-charge warranty item. Contact your local friendly Nissan dealer. With your Vehicle Identification Number he can do a computer lookup to find out whether your car is eligible and if the warranty replacement was already done on your car.

Perhaps your car does not qualify for a free replacement. In that case, yes, you can Do-It-Yourself. This repair is covered in the Chilton manual (page 4-14) and the Haynes manual (page 6-14).

PartsAmerica.com lists Bosch Oxygen Sensors in the range of $78 + shipping.

 

When i got my Y-pipe installed the rear manifold bank O2 sensor got stripped and i had to order a new one. I got the discount from ultimateZ and got it for 66 shipped and it's the OEM part too. It looks really easy to install even with the pipe on. Daniel, missing an O2 sensor would cause decreased performance and irregular gas mileage right?

 

The answer depends on which Oxygen Sensor is missing.

The Engine Control Unit relies on signals from the two front Oxygen Sensors to accurately control the fuel mixture. A bad signal (or no signal) from either of the front Oxygen Sensors would affect performance and fuel consumption, just as you said.

When the front Oxygen Sensors are operating properly, the function of the rear Oxygen Sensor is to monitor the performance of the Catalytic Converter. A bad signal from the rear Oxygen Sensor will turn on the Service Engine Soon light but should not hurt performance or economy.

 

Ok that confirms and somewhat eases my fear because i am missing one of the front two and haven't seen a big performance increase yet and am getting bad fuel economy. When i can my ECU check because the light is on i also got the knock sensor code. This could be causes by a voltage drop from O2 sensor or the extra fuel it's detecting?
The new sensor is in the mail, no one, not even the dealer had one. I'll let you know the difference with it. I should have just ordered another new one for the front-most one too, i have 80K on my car and it couldn't have hurt. Oh well, next week before my NOS.

 

what would we do without you daniel, damn your the man.

 

True! Where is he from again. I saw we all fly him to maxus!!!!

 

than he can share his expertise to all.

 

It is possible that your two Diagnostic Trouble Codes are related. The Oxygen Sensor code is the more serious of the two, so tackle that one first. After you install a new Oxygen Sensor, reset the Service Engine Soon light. Perhaps that one repair will resolve both codes. Good luck.

 

I have a 1999 Maxima whose "service engine soon" light turned-on this weekend. The car only has 41K miles on it. Could this still possibly be covered under warranty? The car runs fine with no noticeable gas mileage change. I just want to get the light turned off. Based on your post, it sounds like the rear O2 sensor. Could you tell me where it is located? How can I trouble shoot to verify this is the offending sensor before replacing? Other than the O2 sensors are there other things that can turn on the service engine soon light? How do reset the service engine soon light?

Also, is it possible that there was an errant signal which tripped the light and if the light was reset everything could be OK(wishful thinking)?

Thanks in advance,
Stephen Maye

 

Your '99 Maxima has a 36 month / 36K mile basic warranty. At 41K miles, you are out of the warranty period. However, certain components of the exhauyst emission controls are covered by a seperate Federal Emission Long Term Defect warranty. Refer to the inside cover of your Warranty Information booklet. At this moment we have no idea of what caused your Service Engine Soon light to go on, so we also have no idea whether that defect is a warranty item.

Check Engine Light = Service Engine Soon light = Malfunction Indicator Light.
Three names for the same thing.

The Check Engine Light is evidence that something is wrong. That
"something" may be any number of things, some major and some minor. It
might be nothing more than a loose fuel filler cap. The Engine Control
Module (the computer) detected a problem and turned on the Check Engine
Light. At the same time it stored one or more Diagnostic Trouble Codes.
Get someone to do a DTC readout for you. This is not a big deal, does not
require specialized "dealer only" test equipment, and should take less than
an hour. When you know the stored DTCs, you will have a fair idea of what
repairs are needed.

If you like to do your own "wrenching" you can do the DTC readout for yourself.
No special tools are required.

You will find instructions to do a DTC readout and reset
the Check Engine light at:
http://vbxmaxima.8m.com/ecu.html

The DTC "translations" are found at:
http://vbxmaxima.8m.com/ecudecoder.html