Oxygen sensors on '06 Sonata

Is it really necessary to replace the O2 sensors at 45,000 miles as stated
in the maintenance list? Don't most sensors last much longer, and isn't the
normal procedure for most vehicles to wait until they fail or get slow as
indicated by the PCM throwing a code? Well over $400 for parts that really
are not needed seems a little steep. Granted, I am nowhere near that
mileage, but what other little surprises await us?

 

No, it isn't necessary to replace your oxygen sensors at 45k. Nor is it
recommended by Hyundai. I'm not sure what maintenance list you're looking
at (possibly you're dealer's wish-list), but oxygen sensor's are not on
Hyundai's maintenance schedule for this car anywhere.

You should probably get out your owners' manual and look through the
maintenance schedule there and compare it to whatever load of crap you're
currently using as a maintenance guide.

And you've got the oxygen sensor idea correct. Once one causes a check
engine lamp to illuminate, then it's time to replace it.

 

Okay, well I'm definitely confused. I looked at a Sonata owner's manual
and it's definitely not in there.

 

the Hyundai site that Bob mentions also shows replacing the FUEL TANK AIR
FILTER that I have been asking about that no one sems to know about, but
dealer where I tried to order the fuel tank air filter, said that it
involves revmoing the tank and the dealer has to do it....another dealer
gouge??

 

Another dealer gouge? What should the dealer do - provide you with written
instructions on how the home-owner can drop the tank and repair it himself
in under 1 hour as if this were an HGTV episode? It's an '06. Why are you
not just taking this to the dealer for warranty work?

 

I have been building/rebuilding cars for 40 years and there is nothing that
I haven't done, including changing tank fuel pumps. rebuilt lots of engines
, differentials and trannys. I can change plugs, oil, tranny fluid etc. As
far as I'm concerned the dealer is there to provide the warranty service
and sell cars.

 

I'm mostly just confused on this. The address linked in Bob's post is the
Hyunda USA official website. I don't understand why the requirements
there don't match the owner's manual. I suspect they have put in another
country's maintenance requirements (maybe they don't have the same
sophisticated electronics that can monitor the oxygen sensors for failure)
and also translated very poorly out of whatever language they were written
in. Fuel tank air filter? What the heck is that, anyway?

 

Who are you replying to? Including the text you're replying to makes it a
heck of a lot easier to understand your point.

So - you've worked on cars for as long as a lot of us. Then get brassy and
drop the tank. Should not be that hard.

As to dealers and warranties... I asked in a previous post - why aren't you
just taking this to the dealer as a warranty repair? Your reply is that
dealers are only good for warranty service... Ok - I'm confused.

 

warranty repair is one thing. service to maintain the warranty is another.
If they require oil change, brake inspection, air filter change. thats
not warranty repair. that is service to keep the warranty in force.

 

There really does appear to be such a thing! Hmaservice... Fuel syste > Fuel
delivery system > Components > Item #8 It looks like it's mounted up near
the fuel filler.

 

Deck - for cripe's sake - if you don't include the text that you are
responding to, no one knows what your talking about.

Service to maintain warranty is nothing new. If you never changed the oil
in your Ford or GM car or truck, do you think you'd have any warranty?
Hyundai does not require you to have the service performed by a Hyundai
dealer - though for some parts they do require Hyundai parts to be used for
the warranty on that part to remain in effect - or failures related to that
part. Nothing really so unique about that either. Ford or GM don't stand
behind anyone else's parts.

 

I'd like to clarify a bit..... In the US, Hyundai - or anyone else selling a
consumer type thing with a warranty - cannot require you to have maintenance
or repair work done by anyone specific. They also cannot make you use a
certain brand of anything to do that work.

What they can and do do is provide specifications - SP ABDC123 transmission
fluid, 10w-30 SUZ motor oil, DOT 9 brake fluid, etc. for things to be used
in the repair or maintenance of the vehicle. Now, we all know that the only
place that you can buy the Hyundai specified ATF is at Hyundai, Kia, or
Mitsubishi dealers, but they are not saying you have to buy it from them.
They just say something to the effect that if damage occurs from the use of
non-specified fluid, they are not fixing it free. The third party - "can be
used in place of Hyundai xxx fluid" - suppliers mostly say that if it can be
shown that their fluid broke it, they'll pay to fix it. If you put what they
say to in the vehicle's transmission when they say to in the manual, and the
transmission smokes at less than 100,000 miles, they can't say you didn't
maintain it properly. If on the other hand you decide to do a flush at
10,000 miles and put Type-F fluid in the transmission, and it cooks while it
should be under warranty, they get to fix / replace it, and hand you a bill
for the repairs, and Valvoline will say it's not their problem because they
didn't say Type F works in a Hyundai, either.

As for repairs under warranty, things that break that are listed as being
covered by warranty need to be repaired by whoever Hyundai says honors the
Hyundai warranty - the Hyundai dealer system- or you get to pay whoever does
the repairs. Things that break while the vehicle is mostly under warranty
that are not covered by warranty - tires, brake pads, the rear bumper if you
back into a tree, etc. - don't have to be worked on by a Hyundai dealer.
Lets say your left rear wheel bearing goes bad, and you decide get Sears to
replace it. You pay Sears (no, I don't know if they actually replace wheel
bearings) to do the work. Everything on the vehicle that was under warranty
is still under warranty except the left rear wheel bearing. If the left rear
bearing goes bad again, it's Sears warranty, not Hyundai's. If the right
rear bearing goes bad, it's still under the Hyundai warranty.

Same thing goes for add-ons. If you put a 400 amp alternator in the vehicle
to run the thumpmobile amplifier, and the engine throws a rod, as long as
you've been changing the oil on time with the right stuff, it would be
covered under warranty. If the water pump, or power steering pump goes bad,
and they figure out that the 12 inch pulley on the new alternator made the
belt tighter, you will be paying for a new pump, and tensioner, and etc. If
you leave the non-stock alternator on, and stuff breaks again, you will pay
again. If the regulator in the non-stock alternator decides to make 36
volts, and blows up everything electrical in the car, that's not warranty
either.

Bottom line... You can work on it yourself - they even say so in the manual.
If you don't do what they say to do, and something breaks because of what
you didn't do, THE THING that breaks is your problem. I asked about the O2
sensors because if they say to replace them, and I don't, and the care fails
an emissions test what would otherwise be Hyundai's problem to fix now is
mine - like if the cat. fails because of high HC to the exhaust. Of course,
if the O2 sensors are that bad, it will never go closed loop, and it will
throw a code long before the cat gets damaged - especially with three in the
stream.

 

That's the filter for the charcoal canister.