Hi folks,

Last year Honda announced service bulletin 11-044 which offered warranty extension/reimbursement for secondary/third oxygen sensors (O2). I had replaced one of my O2 and sent my documents. Now, they are telling me that I had replaced the first O2 and that is not included in this. Can someone tell me the difference between first vs secondary/third sensors? And how can I verify that I have indeed replaced the first one? In the mechanic invoice I can read 'replaced air fuel ratio sensor'. Does this indicate it is the first O2?

Thanks very much,
H

 

Hello H,

From what I've been able to find, the first sensor, the air/fuel ratio sensor is an "upstream" sensor, located between the cat and the engine.
The secondary and third sensors get replaced together and are "downstream", located between the cat and the tailpipe.

"First" sensor:

http://www.hondapartsunlimited.com/p...pza-a01-honda/

"Second and third" sensors:

http://www.hondapartsunlimited.com/p...pza-a00-honda/

 

Wow! Thanks very much Gairwyn for the detailed information! A last question, do you know if the 'air fue ratio' name is only used for the first O2 sensor or is it interchangeably used for the second and third one also?

Thanks again,
Hamid

 

As far as I have seen, only the first O2 sensor was being referred to as the air/fuel ratio sensor.

 

This is exactly what happened to me—I sent in my paperwork last year for having replaced an O2 sensor, and they denied the claim because what had been replaced was the primary O2 sensor, not the secondary and third O2 sensors.

Here's what I'm wondering: Has anyone successfully gotten Honda to reimburse them even partially for the secondary and third O2 sensors once they were past the extended mileage (80,000 miles) for that set to still be under warranty? Mine just went out, just past 85,000 miles, and I'm PISSED, because literally about a week ago I had to replace the IMA battery, which ran me a little over $3,000.

Luckily, the latter repair was within the extended mileage for it to still be under warranty, due to the recent class-action settlement, so I should eventually be getting reimbursed for that...but nonetheless, I'm going to have paid more than $4,000 out of pocket this month for repairs to faulty parts on my 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid.

Anyway, if anyone's heard of getting Honda to reimburse them even partially for the secondary and third O2 sensors once they were out of that extended warranty mileage, could you let me know?