Oxygen Sensor 2002 Toyota Rav4

[kevinvic]

Hi all, well the 2004 rav is still at toyota with a bust engine and in the meantime our 2002 Rav has the dreaded engine light on. Took it to toyota knowing full well they would tell me it was an oxygen sensor which of course they did. They told me it was sensor 1 and wanted £183 + fitting. I have decided to not to give Toyota any money after the hassled with them on my other car so am opting to fit it myself. I called them today to ask if it was bank 1 sensor 1 or bank 2 sensor 1 but they could not remember!!! Anyways I am a complete novice so here goes:

If I was told sensor 1 which one is it?

Where will i find it

How do I replace it

If there are 2 types of sensor 1 on a 2002 Rav should i buy them both

Does anyone have the part numbers

Has anyone got an idiots guide giving step by step instructions preferably with pics!!!

Where is the cheapest place to get them

I have heard it is a simple job but if i get stuck will take iot to my local garage.

The car is running fine and I initially got toyota to reset the computer, the light went off but 10 mins later it was back on. I have read all of the posts and just know that if i took it back to toyota it will end up being 4 oxygen sensors later and the light will still come on.

Thanks for any advice

Kev

[pmb]

sensor 1 means one of the top two. Bank 1 is on the right and Bank 2 on the left as you look in the bonnet.The plugs are easy to find so just follow the leads back to the engine. Do a search on the forum as there are several O2 sensor threads. Google oxygen sensor and there is a video on youtube on how to replace one. Mr T has relieved my wallet by replacing two of mine.I have a part no. of 89467-42010 for B1 S1 may be worth checking on toyota tech doc website. I think the difference is that the leads are different lengths but others on here are more knowlegeable. It's worth investing in a cheap OBDII reader , others on here say U480 but I have an Autel. If your near Huddersfield your welcome to come over and use it. I think you will still net to reset the code after you have changed it. You only need to change the faulty one , it will probably be the heater circuit o/c.

[kevinvic]

Thanks PMB. Unfortunately I am in Cyprus so no chance of popping to Huddersfield!! I will buy both that way I am bound to get it right! Will then take to the dreaded Toyota garage for a reset.

[Puma]

If you buy and fit the sensors yourself there's no need to got to Mr T to reset your light-Just disconnect the Battery for 5-10 minutes that should clear the fault light. Provided you've fitted the new sensors beforehand that is

[kevinvic]

Just out of curiosity I disconnected the Battery yesterday and the light has gone out. Will see how long it stays off as i am returning to the Uk in September and will be selling the car in a few weeks. If it comes back on then I will have no choice but to change the sensors. I noticed when doing a search that someone had used universal sensors form the USA which did the job, wiring had to be spliced but step by step instructions and a lot cheaper so may go down this road.

[bitman]

easy job, get our multimeter out (if not buy one at maplin) and check the ohms of all of them. there should be one with no ohms reading (means open circuit). take that one out and replace it.

have a search here on the forum as i bought one for £117 incl p&p but forgot the company name.

edit: found it;

HGL Motors

(Order) 1 x 250-54003 (Direct Fit Lambda)

(Cost) 117.50 - inc VAT and UK First Class Post

[pmb]

Just been having a trawl around the net for some spark plugs on unsurprisingly spark-plugs.co.uk and noticed they do denso O2 sensors. £63 for the top and £48 for the bottom ones, I think that is plus vat but so was the £145.53 and £138.93 that Mr T charged me. Anybody used them?

[zimboy]

Hi All,

I have just purchased a 2003 VX rav4. on the test drive i noticed the EML on, googled and found this site. i'm guessing it's nothing major to worry about just the duff senor (which following the previous owners records got replaced about 8k ago. However can it account for the bad milage i'm getting. so far i'm down to half a tank and just over 100miles, basically i think i'm getting around 22 mpg. It has been about a year since it's last service (in which the it only did 5k) my plan is to go through a tank before the service and then compare it after one.

Or am i just getting my hopes up, sadly most of my driving is around town or small country lanes, so i'm expecting the millage to be bad, but hopefully better than 200 miles a tank. Are there any other tips anyone can recommend apart from the obvious less acceleration, (i'm already driving it like i'm driving a diesel) and properly inflated tyres. I'm guessing there aren't many of the aftermaket products that will help (ie K&N filters etc?

Thanks.

[anchorman]

Welcome to the club.

Most owners get about 30mpg so it would seem yours is low. The oxy sensors are there to make adjustments to the mixture so that is obviously the first step. You can buy a code reader off eBay these days for about £25 so if you get the code, we'll try and tell you which sensor to replace. Finally, don't go off the gauge for making your calcs, you need to fill up and work it out manually - the auge is only a guide.

[zimboy]

It's probably sensor 2, i see it has been replaced before in the service history, is it possible it has gone faulty again, or do you think it might be the cat converter?

and great minds think alike i was going to do a fuel estimation from a full tank instead of relying on the gage.

Thanks for the help.

[anchorman]

With the price of oxy sensors as they are, I would invest in a code reader;

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Diagnostic-Scanner-CAN-Code-Reader-OBD2-EOBD-II-U480_W0QQitemZ290396908844QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Diagnostic_Tools_Equipment?hash=item439d012d2c

or see if any of these are near you;

http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=85601&st=0

It isn't foolproof but it should point you in the right direction.

[tlworkroom]

I know what you mean. I got a 2002 Rav4 with 50K original miles on it, and it was getting about 30mpg. I experimented with new spark plugs, used synthetic oil, and was able to get 32+ mpg hiway and 27+ mpg city, which I was very proud of. But last summer, I drove thru a cloudburst, with water up to hubcaps. I sprayed some carb cleaner into air intake (after air filter) to clean out any moisture that might have gotten into engine, and thusly messed up the mass airflow sensor (MAS), and was then getting only 20 mpg. It's finally gotten up to 24-5 mpg, but won't go any higher. Even tried a new one, but that got same 24-5 mpg, no different, so reinstalled older one. I'm still hoping to get at least 30 mpg again, I'll even take 28, at least it's better than the 20-25 I've been getting now.

But now I"m thinking maybe it might be something else than the MAS, perhaps oxygen sensor, so I'm starting to investigate that, and saw this thread.

I haven't taken it to Toyota dealer here in US yet, because I can't afford it yet. I've tried to find out if a new MAS needs to be recalibrated or reset at Toyota, or you just drop it in and it's "Plug and play", the car's computer does the work. it's the only reason why the new MAS didn't do any better than the older one, unless an oxygen sensor needs replacing. Car is now up to 60K original miles.

I found that NGK Iridium plugs are the best, tried various other brands too. They say not to gap Iridium plugs, but car info says plugs should be .43 gap, so I make sure it is that, and it has worked great for me.....well, until the cloudburst. I also find that synthetic oil greatly helps engine to run smoother and easier. It costs lots more than normal oil, but I"ve had great results in other cars with it, too.

Good luck with your efforts. I hope to find out more myself. Terry in US

Hi All,

I have just purchased a 2003 VX rav4. on the test drive i noticed the EML on, googled and found this site. i'm guessing it's nothing major to worry about just the duff senor (which following the previous owners records got replaced about 8k ago. However can it account for the bad milage i'm getting. so far i'm down to half a tank and just over 100miles, basically i think i'm getting around 22 mpg. It has been about a year since it's last service (in which the it only did 5k) my plan is to go through a tank before the service and then compare it after one.

Or am i just getting my hopes up, sadly most of my driving is around town or small country lanes, so i'm expecting the millage to be bad, but hopefully better than 200 miles a tank. Are there any other tips anyone can recommend apart from the obvious less acceleration, (i'm already driving it like i'm driving a diesel) and properly inflated tyres. I'm guessing there aren't many of the aftermaket products that will help (ie K&N filters etc?

Thanks.