P0171 Code

[ThatDieselGuy]

I got the P0171 bank 1 system too low code today, I did a little searching but all I could find is that the o2 sensor might be going bad . I am hoping that the connection is either wet from the crazy rain we are having or covered in dust from living down a dirt road lol

So the question is: where is it located and how hard is it to replace? When I find it I plan on cleaning the terminals and putting some dielectric grease to see if that resolves it first. Will replace it if that does not help.


On another note, how hard is it to install the Eibach Pro-kit lowering springs? I need to change a rear strut so while I am in there I figured I would go ahead and lower the wife's car as a surprise

 

[Natesriv]

O2 sensors are on the downpipe and before the cat. You need a special socket to remove them..(has an open side)...easy! Just be careful with the plastic parts.

Springs are easy.. You'll need the right sized sockets, a shock absorber removal tool (I'll post a pic). You have shocks in the rear, not struts.

There's 2 bolts holding the bottom of the front strut(s). And a bolt up top, it's a larger one I think (there's some posts on here on that).. Undo the top bolt, undo the two lower bolts and the entire strut assembly comes out.
Get a spring compressor, compress, undo the next top bolt, remove spring, remove compressors, put on new spring, compress and put it all back together.. Not really any alignment needed, although I used cam bolts when I reinstalled.

Rears are, remove shock lower bolt(s) raise car carefully until rear spring is free, pull it out, put in new and reverse steps for install. We have a trailing arm rear suspension so you'll want to undo both, and raise/lower the car with care..

I did it all myself, no hassles, just go slow

 

[ThatDieselGuy]

O2 sensors are on the downpipe and before the cat. You need a special socket to remove them..(has an open side)...easy! Just be careful with the plastic parts.

Springs are easy.. You'll need the right sized sockets, a shock absorber removal tool (I'll post a pic). You have shocks in the rear, not struts.

There's 2 bolts holding the bottom of the front strut(s). And a bolt up top, it's a larger one I think (there's some posts on here on that).. Undo the top bolt, undo the two lower bolts and the entire strut assembly comes out.
Get a spring compressor, compress, undo the next top bolt, remove spring, remove compressors, put on new spring, compress and put it all back together.. Not really any alignment needed, although I used cam bolts when I reinstalled.

Rears are, remove shock lower bolt(s) raise car carefully until rear spring is free, pull it out, put in new and reverse steps for install. We have a trailing arm rear suspension so you'll want to undo both, and raise/lower the car with care..

I did it all myself, no hassles, just go slow

Great more plastic parts :blankface:, just what I need lol I have a knack of stripping/breaking plastic caps and parts on my truck lol I will make sure I am super careful with it.

As for the shocks, is the picture you posted the tool that I need to remove the shock absorber? (sorry I am on my phone and its a weird photo lol)

Where can I get a spring compressor? This job sounds easy enough but that is what I always say before sinking an extra 1-2 hours into something

Are there any videos that may also aide me in lowering? And for the last off topic question what would you recommend using as the lift point? I have never jacked up this car before and from what I have looked at there is not much I would trust to hold the weight while on jack stands lol

 

[eggsalad]

P0171 could mean the air intake hose is shot. If you haven't replaced yours yet, it probably is.

 

[Palmaris]

Great more plastic parts :blankface:, just what I need lol I have a knack of stripping/breaking plastic caps and parts on my truck lol I will make sure I am super careful with it.

As for the shocks, is the picture you posted the tool that I need to remove the shock absorber? (sorry I am on my phone and its a weird photo lol)

Where can I get a spring compressor? This job sounds easy enough but that is what I always say before sinking an extra 1-2 hours into something

Are there any videos that may also aide me in lowering? And for the last off topic question what would you recommend using as the lift point? I have never jacked up this car before and from what I have looked at there is not much I would trust to hold the weight while on jack stands lol

I agree with the hard time finding lift points for this car. Maybe I am just a bit blind and don't see it but it is not obvious like it should be.

I agree with checking the air intake tube after the filter first for the trouble code.

check this thread
http://www.sonicownersforum.com/for...iscussion/9876-cracked-air-intake-piping.html

 

[ThatDieselGuy]

Luckily we have already replace the intake hose before.....although we did not get the updated part because it was unknown to us at the time. However I cleaned the sensor out and threw some dielectric grease in it and the code went away. It appeared to be very wet the first day I looked at it so I believe it may have just been that.

Yea as far as the lift points go, I am just going to test different spots. I will be using the jack stands for my truck so it will be sitting up pretty high so hopefully I can snag some photos for anyone else who is curious.

 

[bluejay]

p 0171 is any un-metered air entering the system after the mass air flow . this is sometimes very tricky to solve . u may end up changing parts that are still good . i would do a vacuum check or smoke test .

 

[awilson40]

you guys are great, my wifes car just threw the same code and sure enough, the intake tube is split.
Thanks a ton.

 

[borockster]

The first thing to check if the air intake tube is not split or cracked is the PCV valve. My 13' RS just popped a 171 on Wednesday. I knew it wasn't the intake tube because I have a CAI. I popped off the coil cover and stuck my finger over the vent in the PCV valve and it was sucking air like crazy at idle.

The PCV is covered under the 100,000 mile powertrain warranty so I called the dealer and they had it fixed by Thursday afternoon. New PCV and intake manifold. No cost to me.

 

[ThatDieselGuy]

Yea I always check that stupid intake tubing anytime that I do anything under the hood lol

So I still get the same code anytime it rains.... So I start looking for how water can be getting to the sensor and sure enough I find that the entire plastic undercarriage cover has been removed. (Wife was on a murder rampage with small animals while I was deployed and she says it broke off from an impact lol) So it now anytime it rains or we hit a puddle of water the code gets thrown lol. Does anyone have a part number for the plastic piece? I will try to get an exact picture today or tomorrow of the missing part depending on daylight.

 

[nathaniel930]

I had a same code P0171, very bad gas mileage (7L/100km up to 20L!), shakes when idle. After I unplug upstream O2 sensor, everythings back to normal!

 

[14ltredeye]

I got the same code after upgrading my exhaust to a catless down and mid with a catback system all by zzp. My car starting idling really rough. I unplugged the oxygen sensor on the top of the downpipe and no more rough idling. The CEL still triggers registering no connection to the oxygen sensor but the car runs just fine. A tune can avoid this from happening but it is a quick temporary fix for now!

 

[orangeltz13]

Great discussion guys. I had this code as well after an oil change. I thought it was the maf so I changed it and the code came back. I took it to the dealer and they found that the oil cap wasn't on properly/tight. No problems with it now.