Okay. I'm ready to strangle my dealer...

I have a recurring "check engine" light CEL. It has only begun in the last 2k miles (36k on the odometer now). I have brought it to the dealer three times--the last for a 2 day stay, and it still is not solved. It will go away for about 3 or 4 restarts and a half a day, then mysteriously comes on.

All of my mods were done A LONG TIME AGO, and never have I gotten a CEL before (headers, cai, tps, ypipe, cats, grounding kit--things that might have some affect). The code is flashes is P1273 defective a/f sensor Bank 1, though bank 2 is entirely unplugged. The part is the 22693-CD700 heated oxygen sensor. It has been replaced twice.

Now, about 6 months ago my gas cap supposedly was loose and caused my whole car to freeze up (see old post) cutting all fuel over 1k rpms and I was stranded in Tampa. It was attributed to the gas cap only, reset, and the car was fine. Every time I have brought it back in, they ask about the gas cap again.

The car itself runs fine. I believe I may here a slight exhaust leak on the right side near the yipe/cat, but the dealer said they checked for leaks and found nothing.

Anyone have a freakin' clue what the deal is???

 

Did you ever receive an answer regarding the P1273 code? I am having the same issue. My mechanic replaced the gaskets on the passenger side, took it to the dealership to have the code reset/self learning diagnostic procedure completed per the NTB04-126. I drove it approximately 50 miles, SES light pops back on. I take it to the mechanic again and there it is.....P1273 AGAIN!

Any help will be appreciated.

 

Guys, what the dealership is doing is resetting your ecu. This clears all monitors/parameters that your ecu has stored as memeory, thus turning your check engine light off. Unless the problem is fixed, when the ecu relearns the monitors and sees the problem again, your cel will come back on. The proper way a mechanic is supposed to fix a car is to first tackle the problem and then clear the ecu. After clearing the ecu, the mechanic is supposed to drive the car until the ecu has ran all monitors/parameters. If all monitors are complete and the check engine light is still off, then the repair corrected the problem. However if the light comes back on for the same code, whatever the mechanic did did not fix the problem; he was wrong in his diagnostic. Before taking your car back from the dealership next time, make sure they have ran the monitors and they've all ran. They should be able to give you a printout to verify this as well.

 

vthao,

My mechanic did the repair regarding an exhaust manifold leak. The gasket and seal was replaced from the manifold and cat. The car is running fine and seems more responsive. But after 50 miles the SES light came back on. I am trying to find some ideas as to what else may be causing this issue.

The next time I take it to my mechanic, I will have him drive it and check the monitors. I know he drove it because he took it to the dealership to have the ECU reset and self learning procedure performed.

In the mean time, have you any other ideas as to what may be causing the P1273 code to appear?

Thanks!

 

Make sure you guys are having the correct o2s being replaced. The heated o2 is totally different from the a/f o2. The a/f o2s are usually 4 wired, and 3-4x the price of a heated o2 sensor.