Do Oxygen Sensors fix themselves?

**herculesrider1** · 08-10-2013, 06:13 PM

My car has been throwing P1153 or P0153 for a while...Heated Oxygen Sensor Insufficient Switching Bank 2 Sensor 1. I changed plugs and wires, cleaned the MAF and all of a sudden I am not getting ANY CODES??? My understanding of O2 Sensors is that upon startup, they switch from high to low frequency for about a minute during open loop and then go closed loop turning control over to the PCM. How does an O2 Sensor show bad countless times, and then just go good? Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, even though I have purchased two new Bosch 13111's, but was wondering if anyone on the technical staff might know the reasoning behind this?????

**theorangeguy** · 08-10-2013, 08:04 PM

I've seen a dirty MAF throw some weird codes, but I've never seen it make o2 sensors come back to life...

**pajeff02** · 08-12-2013, 03:09 AM

Agree. An O2 sender's performance will degrade over time, or they can suddenly fail with it unlikely that they simply "come back to life". The most common failure is probably a blown heater circuit. Each senser is equipped with a heating element that brings them up to operating temperature sooner. The PCM ignores the O2 senders on cold startup, but then when a specified coolant temp is reached it switches from open to closed loop and accepts sensor input from them. A properly functioning O2 sender's voltage should rapidly cycle up and down with around 450 mV being the moving target as that generally represents a stoichiometric air/fuel mixture. A sender with a stagnant or slow signal is usually a sign that it needs replaced. As the PCM expects to see a certain range of operation from the O2 senders, something that causes them to run outside this parameter (other than a bad O2) may cause a false O2 sender code to be set.

**2002ssslp** · 08-12-2013, 05:46 AM

Once an O2 sensor is gone, it is gone. Think of it as a paper air filter or a used oil filter. The sensors get dirty inside and that's it.

**herculesrider1** · 08-12-2013, 07:53 AM

Precisely the motivation behind my question. That is exactly what the code was saying..."Heated O2 sensor insufficient switching". Therefore is it a correct assumption that after so long, the computer will just stop throwing codes? I wouldn't think so. But the fact remains...it was throwing the P1153 code right and left, but now it is not. IF O2 sensors DO NOT come back into the preset parameters, once they register outside of those parameters, why is mine doing what everyone is saying it can't? Is it a miracle? May be.... I appreciate all the input and I don't want to sound ungrateful, because I value this site and it's members, just confused is all.... Thank you!

**98TransAmWs-6** · 08-12-2013, 10:19 AM

Originally Posted by herculesrider1

Precisely the motivation behind my question. That is exactly what the code was saying..."Heated O2 sensor insufficient switching". Therefore is it a correct assumption that after so long, the computer will just stop throwing codes? I wouldn't think so. But the fact remains...it was throwing the P1153 code right and left, but now it is not. IF O2 sensors DO NOT come back into the preset parameters, once they register outside of those parameters, why is mine doing what everyone is saying it can't? Is it a miracle? May be.... I appreciate all the input and I don't want to sound ungrateful, because I value this site and it's members, just confused is all.... Thank you!

If the computer stops throwing a code it is because of this:

A code is thrown because it detects a condition after so many engine cycles. The code will go away on its own if the condition is no longer found after so many engine cycles as well. It would be possible if you fixed something else that was the actual cause of the code for it to just go away after the amount of required engine cycles if the condition was no longer detected. But no O2 sensors do not fix themselves.

**herculesrider1** · 08-13-2013, 08:34 AM

Originally Posted by 98TransAmWs-6

If the computer stops throwing a code it is because of this:

A code is thrown because it detects a condition after so many engine cycles. The code will go away on its own if the condition is no longer found after so many engine cycles as well. It would be possible if you fixed something else that was the actual cause of the code for it to just go away after the amount of required engine cycles if the condition was no longer detected. But no O2 sensors do not fix themselves.

I agree Will, an O2 Sensor should not be able to fix itself. The code specifically stated Insufficient Switching...in other words a 'lazy' sensor. Automatic replacement. I wouldn't think new plugs and wires and a cleaned MAF sensor would stop an O2 sensor from being 'lazy'. But the code stopped. I had already ordered new O2's, so when I got them I went ahead and installed them. Thanks for the input....

**98TransAmWs-6** · 08-13-2013, 01:09 PM

Also to add the problem could be intermittent. I wouldn't think so in this case but I would suppose it is possible and that could cause the problem to "go away".