I have a 1999 Mitsubishi Carisma 1.6. It has done around 280,000 km, but is still in perfect shape.

Anyway, I have realized lately that the car is over spending on fuel. It has been driving me crazy.

From time to time, the Engine light also comes on, but only when idle----> When I press the gas, the light turns off.

I was looking at this person's problem when it sort of rang a bell:

Just a quick word of advice based on my out of pocket experience:

If you have a yellow light on and the car is using 20% more fuel AND is over 40k miles OR you haven't had a new oxygen sensor for 40k miles then the probable cause is the sensor as they only last 40k miles approx, once the sensor dies the cars brain runs of default settings - hence the 20% more fuel use.

DON'T pay you local Mitsubishi dealer to read the fault with his machine - he will charge you about £45 plus vat PER GO - a fault fix may need several go's

DO Buy a OBDC reader from ebay for about £35 - Mine is a CAR CARE u480 CAN OBD2 AUTOSCANNER car diagnostic tool - this box will also allow you to turn off the yellow light
(which will re illuminate again if the fault remains) it has a error code book that will take you to the faulty part

Also you can reset the yellow light by resetting the whole electronic ignition unit by simply removing the red + battery lead for 10 seconds. (again expect the light to illuminate again after a few minutes ... each time ... that is until the actual fault is resolved)

ALSO Mitsubishi wanted £130 for a new Lambda oxygen sensor - I found one available from the NGK replacement oxygen sensor catalogue HOWEVER the correct one for ENGINE 4G92 was incorrectly listed against the 1.8 engine anyway buy this part - its about £48 to £78 once you have found a supplier for NGK Oxygen sensors
don't fit a generic one as i did they DO NOT WORK , they all have specific amperages and heat tolerances - you cant just use anything THIS IS THE CORRECT PART

NGK Oxygen Sensor Part No NGK 0ZA448-E53 Stock No 0448 Book Ref 460000448010

well looks like that might save someone about £150 on their dealer bill.

Oh finally the sensor is on the outlet manifold, it looks like a spark plug, you can buy an open sided socket from ebay to fit these with to protect the wiring.
it takes 10 mins
> disconnect its connector block > wrench out the old one >
wrench in the new sensor > reconnect the connector block > DONE
fitting is the same as with plugs - wait until threads are just about biting then wap it in 1/4 of a turn - no more.

SHARE THE KNOWLEDGE !!! SAVE A FORTUNE

I was wondering if it could be the same problem that I am facing as the lambda or oxygen sensor has not been touched ever since I don't even recall? And the car has done a lot of mileage!

Note: I do not have access to any sort of ECU readers and would be very costly if I wanted to hook my car on one. The only place that has that sort of thing here is the Mitsubishi Company, and I will certainly have a big whole in my pocket after I give them a visit!!

thanks

 

More than likely that 02 sensor is your problam. Im assuming you dont live in the US, otherwise i would suggest taking it to autozone and have them scan it because they dont charge anything.

 

Ya, But I don't. I am just going to take risk and try to look for a new sensor!

Is there any other sensors that control fuel consumption?

 

sure there are plenty such as the MAF sensor tells the computer how much air is comming and and how much fuel to add to compensate, and there are a couple more i just cant think right now, to early in the morning, haha

 

I have been researching it for days, and the only thing that seems to be the problem is the O2 sensor.

How many O2 sensors are there in my 1.6L 1999 Mitsubishi Carisma?

And if I want to remove the sensor, how do I do that? How can I detach the plug? I was reading something about being "under the drivers seat" but I didn't really understand what it meant!