I got an after market Remote Starter installed on my Toyota Matrix
2005 (manual) and couple of weeks later I got a Check engine error
P138 - Oxygen Sensor Circuit High Voltage (Bank 1 Sensor 2). The
sensor was replaced by Toyota dealer but poped back again 2 days
later. I was wondering if a wrong wiring of the remote starter could
cause this Oxygen sensor problem. Here is the timeline of the events:
- Remote starter was installed
- Third day an airback light went ON, after a restart disapeared and
never came back.
- 1 month later, in very cold wheather the starter didn't start, the
garage did a patch (diode on the hand brake??)
- It worked for a week, then the check engine error 138 poped up
- 2 days without the check engine error, then poped again, the sensor
was verified by Toyota dealer and it seemed ok.

I read in some threads that the ECU could be dammaged if the key entry
bypass was not done properly, but I guess that I would have seen the
problem right after installation no?

Thanks for any help or suggestions on how to solve this problem.

POINT OF ORDER
That code is P0138.

Each digit of the code number has meaning, one can not go around willy-nilly
dropping digits.


I seriously doubt the remote starter circuit is smoking sensors. I suppose
it's a remote (no pun intended) possibility, but I do not see any link.



"mpohanka" <mpohanka (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

Hi Jeff,
thanks for answering. The code is correctly P0138. I just find it hard
to belive that the Oxygen Sensor is defectuous as it was back order in
canada and needs to be ordered from us. It must be a very rare
problem, no? I was thinking about uninstalling the remote started but
there is no way to verify where the problem comes from. Perhaps
unplugging the remote started and see for some time if the P0138
appears again.

Thanks

I wouldn't be surprised if it's a Denso oxygen sensor. IMO those are
junk. There are TSBs on the heated oxygen sensors since the 1997
generation. Sometimes even the converters get damaged. It's costing
Toyota and owners alike a lot of money.

So make sure you get things fixed during the warranty period or it's
going to cost you after that.



On Feb 21, 7:25 pm, "mpohanka" <mpoha... (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote:

"mpohanka" <mpohanka (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

The remote starter probably did not cause the oxygen sensor fault, unless
whoever installed the remote starter really messed things up, like tapping
into the O2 sensor circuit.

I am not a fan of aftermarket remote starters and security systems because
they tend to be very troublesome, and to compound things, installers tend to
not know what they are doing.

My recommendation is to let the dealership work out the problem.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)