Oxygen sensor

EMDJEMBE

MEMBER
TOYOTA COROLLA

I have a 95 toyota corolla with 75,000 miles on it.
it stalls when I make a hard left turn (really, i'm not kidding). Yesterday it stalled out and would not start again, I had it towed. The mechanics at the garage I took it to found that the fuse in the computer had been blown and when they replaced it it turned on and worked fine. They believe the reason it blew was the oxygen sensor is broken. Oxygen sensor repair at their garage is over $300. I don't have that kind of money and the oxygen sensor has been broken since I got the car (and it ran fine for 2 months except the whole left turn thing). So my question is this: is drivng my car with a busted oxygen filter a really bad idea? What are the possible things that might happen?
thank you so much
Emily

1 Reply

BACKYARDMECHANIC

MECHANIC
337 POSTS

Dear Emilly,
The O2 sensor montiors the exhaust to determine howto adjust the air/fuel mixture for the car to run properly. With a faulty O2 sensor the car may run and you may not even notice a change in performance. However you could be wasting gas and causing the car to produce more pollution. I don't know what state your in but almost all states require your pass a emmissions test at least once a year. I don't recommend you drive around like this but if you do remember eventually you will have to change it. Good luck Hope this is helpful :)