51,000 Miles and 1st CEL??

[new05vibeowner]

Hope someone can help. Got my oil changed at the dealer last Friday at 51,000 miles. Drove the car home, and maybe put 20 miles on it between Friday and Tuesday. Jumped in it yesterday AM, and the CEL is on. Tried tightening the gas cap, and statring/restaring a few times, but the damn light is still on. Car seems to be running OK, so I'm a bit perplexed. Could a bad tank of gas cause the CEL to come on? I noticed a little rough idle on Friday, but it went away in short order. I've now driven about 200 miles on the CEL.

[northvibe]

you could unplug the negative on the battery for 5-10 min to reset the cel and see if it comes back on. Also check to see if you have the right amount of oil in your car and if they tightened the drain plug and pour in plug tight enough.

[Mase]

Get the code read. It's better than us trying to guess which of the 1,800 codes your car is throwing at you.

[new05vibeowner]

I stopped at the dealer, who says that the code indicates that the right O2 sensor is bad. Huh? 51K in 19 months, and I have a bad O2 sensor?? They want $300 to install a new one. I told them to clear the code and we'll see if it comes back. Also, I picked up some Techron fuel system cleaner this morning and poured it in. To the dealer's credit, he said that if the CEL lights again to give him a call and he'll see what Pontiac will do under a "goodwill" measure, since I now am on PCM #3.Is $300 installed for the O2 sensor the right number, and has anyone heard of one giving up the ghost at 51K?I'll keep everyone posted.

[mspalmer]

I received my first CEL at 24000 miles and it turned out to be the oxygen sensor as well. Thankfully still under warranty so I have no idea how much they would have charged otherwise.Mike

[new05vibeowner]

Well, the CEL came on again yesterday. So, when I got home, I disconnected the negative battery terminal to shut the damn light off. Alas, It's back on this morning.Called my trusty Pontiac service manager, who said that he'd give Pontiac a call to see what, if any, of the cost of the repaid (new O2 sensor) they'll absorb, since I'm now on my 3rd PCM.I researched the warranty info, and the ONLY things covered under the Federal Emission Warranty are the cat and the PCM. However, IF I lived in California, the list of covered emission parts takes two pages to list in the book!If the service manager gets nowhere with Pontiac, I plan to make the call to Detroit myself. This is the perfect example of what drives me absolutely nuts about dealing with dealerships and auto manufacturers. Overall, I like my Vibe, but I shouldn't have to be putting $300+ out of my pocket when this car hasn't even been on the road two years yet. Sorry, had to vent.........Has anyone who's had their PCM replaced had this same problem?

[kevera]

What happened to have your pcm replaced 3 times.I'm just about to get my new pcm and cat on warranty,so I would like to be forewarned.

[new05vibeowner]

The original PCM was the blame for the "hot soak" issue widely discussed on this board. PCM replacement #1 didn't fix the issue, so after one GenViber contacted Pontiac via a letter writing campaign, Pontiac contacted the dealer and shipped a "new, re-reprogrammed PCM" for my '05 base. That seemed to lick the hot soak issue, and now I've got the damn CEL on.Make absolute sure that if they're replacing your PCM that it has the latest programming, or you'll be taking another trip back to the dealer.BTW, the PCM is covered under warranty until 80K.

[joatmon]

The Bosch brand replacement O2 sensor is probably about $100, and the install isn't that difficult, so if you were sure that was the problem and which O2 sensor it was, then you could get by cheaper doing it yourself.However, there are two O2 sensors, one in front of the cat converter, one behind. No idea which one is the "right: one, since they told you "the code indicates that the right O2 sensor is bad" The front sensor monitors things like fuel/air mix, can affect engine performance. The rear one is used to monitor the performance of the cat converter. I don't have confidence in the codes being able to fully accurately identify the exact part causing the CEL. One concern I would have is that if either of the first two bad PCMs has caused a problem with the cat converter, replacing the O2 sensor won't fix that. If you have the dealer replace the O2 sensor, try to get them to refund the cost if it turns out that replacing the sensor doesn't fix the problem. I don't know if dealers do that, but they should have the tools and documents that tell them how to be absolutely sure what the problem is, don't let them have you fund troubleshooting by a series of replacement parts.

[new05vibeowner]

Thanks Joatmon. I swung into an AutoZone and had them read the code. It now is a "171 - bank 1 lean". What do you think of replacing the PCV valve now that I've got 51K on the odo?

[new05vibeowner]

Went back to the dealer, who was successful in getting Pontiac to take care of the cost of a new O2 sensor and installation.BTW, the car now has 52K on it, and Pontiac agreed that the sensor should not have gone bad so soon.It will be installed tomorrow. Hurray!

[teamnix]

The code P0171 can also be caused by a dirty MAF sensor. Hopefully the 02 replacement took care of your problem.

[new05vibeowner]

Dunno. The O2 sensor is on backorder. I appreciate your thoughts on the MAF sensor. I did a search, and found info on how to clean it, which I intend to do as soon as the weather breaks.Also, now the CEL is off. Go figure........

[new05vibeowner]

Pontiac's gonna buy me one. The only question is "when"?I thought that you needed a special tool to get it out?