P0130 which is upsteam O2 sensor question
 

I had the infamous 'check engine' light come on and had it for a couple of days until I had time to get the code reader out and diagnose the problem. Car has been running flawlessly and decided to clear the code to see if it it comes back, a couple are days later driving the car often the light has not returned.

Question:
could it be one of those strange faults that crop up and yet everything is fine (once I had every fault such as ESP, BAS, SRS and bunch of others come on one time and when I shut the car down and turned it on, they all cleared away and never had an issue like that since ~4 years ago)

or

do I bit the bullet and put in a new O2 sensor, because obviously it tripped the light indicating a problem and I just put it to rest - temporarily?

P0130 = O2 Sensor Circuit Malfunction (Bank 1 Sensor 1)

Could either be the oil in the harness problem from leaking cam adjuster magnets or the sensor getting lazy & cycling to slowly. If it's the sensor the fuel trim will go out & you will notice a difference in consumption.

Monitor it & if no oil has migrated down the harness then replace the sensor.

Make sure the connections at the O2 sensor sender units are clean. The sender units hang near the bottom of the engine,... prone to oil coming from top along wiring harness,... water, corrosion and salt damage,.... going have to get at them from underneath the car. Spray some CRC Electronic Cleaner on them. Also disconnect and reconnect the sender units a few times,... that'll sand down the connectors of any oxidation or corrosion for a better connection.

no oil has migrated as I installed the 'pig-tails' as soon as that modification was available ~ two years ago (despite there was "no problem" or recall here in Canada)

Yes ~ we had no recall here in SA either but they sell the pigtales for a problem they say does not exist ~ go figure!

As SRT says you can try cleaning the sensor plug but otherwise you are probably heading for a new sensor. They don't last forever & they will fail if the engine ingests silicone.

I almost fell of the chair when I found how much MB Canada sells the O2 upstream sensor

$506 plus 13% tax ($571.78)

INSANE

I ordered from the US http://www.oediscountparts.com/ and having it shipped to a friend in Buffalo NY, total price all in - $201

I know we are a smaller country, economies of scale and have different import duties but at 2.5 times the US price is simply unexceptable, especially for a wear item that eventually has to be replaced

We get so ripped off up here

Hey, what about that wonderful free healthcare????:nix:

Part of the 13% tax goes towards healthcare (which I don't have a problem with), the extra $305 that the part is overpriced goes in to MB's pockets and does not contribute to our healthcare.

Our taxes pay for healthcare not the inflated prices that retailers or car companies charge us

Benz spare parts in the US are so cheap compared with SA that I order things I can wait for from RMeuropean & a buddy in Dallas with a business in SA sends or brings them to SA for me.
We get ripped off here as well.

I'm in Calgary and the steering angle sensor etc. went. They wanted $676 at the dealer. Its a very hard part to find online but got it at ECS Tuning for get this, $232 plus shipping etc. The best part is they ordered it in from MBUSA and still made money. We really get taken in Canada.