Hey guys I bought a 2004 Matrix last year in May. Anyways car has been trating us good, but only thing is that gas mileage I think should be better. Its a 5 spd 1zz fe motor. Im currently getting about 400km city or 500km (All highway) to a tank. My civic which should get about the same fuel mileage will get 500 city and 600 highway.
Some of the work I have done to the car since we bought it is new air filter, new spark plugs (Iridium ngk), full synthetic oil changes, fuel injector cleaners, aerosol brake booster air induction system cleaning. Other stuff has been done but not fuel related.
Also a couple weeks ago a had a CEL come on saying O2 sensor circuit malfunction. (1st sensor.) The light went off 2 days later and hasnt come back on since but i still think it could be an issue. So i bought a new sensor (HOLY CRAP $200!) Then buddies at work told me not to change it but to just clean it witch some throttle body cleaner and used a wire wheel. So I will probably just return it. So I did that and did an idle relearn, and I dont think it made a difference. Should I replace the sensor? Or any other gas mileage imrpoving tips?
Reply 1 : Gas mileage not great. Looking for some tips (Maybe an O2 sensor?)
Do you have the exact CEL code? Was there only one CEL code stored or multiple ones?
You may have killed the O2 sensor in your attempt to clean it. O2 sensors in general, cannot be serviced, they are a wear item and must be replaced. You can clean the carbon on the outside of the 02 sensor, but does nothing to clean the actual element hidden inside a "cage" behind the outer sheath. Using throttle body cleaner or other solvents that can dissolve carbon, could make things worse as it would dissolve contaminants and push them further into the sensor substrate, causing the sensor to read incorrectly. Old fix was to heat the sensor with a torch until it hit a certain temperature to "cook" off the contaminants. Even that was a shot in the dark, as if temperatures are not watched or the sensor heated too unevenly (too cool or too hot), you'll end up fouling the sensor.
There is a MAF sensor on the intake that owners have reported good results after cleaning with a MAF sensor safe solvent. Same goes to the IAT sensor, which is right next to the MAF sensor (same module). For a DIY guide, just do a quick search on this forum and others - lots of decent DIY guides out there. Cleaning the throttle body can also help with fuel economy. Other simple things to do are checking tire pressures, making sure the tires are plumped with air, especially in this colder weather is very important.
Since the fuel economy didn't change that much after the attempted "cleaning" it sounds like the O2 sensor was dead or dying to start off with. For now, start with the simple stuff, see what that does for fuel economy. Pretty much have to replace the sensor - as there is no guarantee that it will read correctly now. Smack your buddies at work as well - for trying to convince you to clean the O2 sensor.
Reply 2 : Gas mileage not great. Looking for some tips (Maybe an O2 sensor?)
Hey thanks for the reply. So when I cleaned the sensor I used a wire wheel to clean off the carbon and I used oxygen sensor safe TBC. If the engine was still having problems with the O2 sensor shouldnt a code be popping up? We just did 2 6 hour drives this weekend in the car and I thought for sure the light would come on if there was still an issue. The engine code that was on was P0135 O2 Sensor Heater Circuit Malfunction (Bank 1 Sensor 1). Anyways the light only stayed on for 3 days and then went off by itself and hasnt came back on since.
Reply 3 : Gas mileage not great. Looking for some tips (Maybe an O2 sensor?)
CELs will turn themselves off after a number of drive cycles, but that doesn't mean that the problem was "fixed". Reset the ECM and see if the same CEL code comes back. The P0135 is a general electrical fault in the O2 sensor's heater circuit.
Sometimes it is as simple as corrosion on the connector pins or an intermittent connection between the sensor and chassis ground/harness connector. You could have affected "fix" in that case by just reseating the connector/cleaning off any surface corrosion on the sensor itself.
Toyota's can also limp around with a very lazy (slow to react O2 sensor) or slowly dying O2 sensor without setting a CEL. Those are hard to see unless you had the car new and saw the gas mileage drop over time.
Reply 4 : Gas mileage not great. Looking for some tips (Maybe an O2 sensor?)
Well I guess Ill just wait to see if CEL comes back on. I already reset the ecm . (I just disconected the battery and reconected it and let it do an idle relearn. I assume thats ok?) I dont want to toss out $200 unless im sure that its that sensor that needs to be replaced. Also if I do need to replace it, could anyone direct me to a website that would sell discounted parts? Or should I just go through ebay or something?
Reply 5 : Gas mileage not great. Looking for some tips (Maybe an O2 sensor?)
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Originally Posted by Protan 
Well I guess Ill just wait to see if CEL comes back on. I already reset the ecm . (I just disconected the battery and reconected it and let it do an idle relearn. I assume thats ok?) I dont want to toss out $200 unless im sure that its that sensor that needs to be replaced. Also if I do need to replace it, could anyone direct me to a website that would sell discounted parts? Or should I just go through ebay or something?
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The rockauto.com is the best online parts dealer. I have used many times, it really gives good price and fast shipping with low cost.
Reply 6 : Gas mileage not great. Looking for some tips (Maybe an O2 sensor?)
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Originally Posted by zq_frank
I just bought a 2007 matrix, the gas milage is even worse than my 1999 v6 camry. I am trying to find the problems. The car drives well and emission is OK. I still believe the best of toyota is the one made in Japan.
The rockauto.com is the best online parts dealer. I have used many times, it really gives good price and fast shipping with low cost. |
-Air filter
-spark plugs
-Fuel system cleaning (Injectors and seafoam for induction system)
-Tire pressure (35psi suggest)
-Engine oil (make sure no sludge build up in motor)
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