Saturday, July 4, 2009

car: OBD code P0125

My check engine light came on today. I didn't notice any driving issues, so I drove to the near car repair shop. After checking the odb code, I was told I have a bad oxygen sensor (odb code 0125). After spending $250 for replacing the sensor, I thought it was the end of the check engine light saga.
After couple of weeks, that darn light came back on again. This time I decided to find out the code and see what others are saying. I went to one of those "zone" shops and they hooked up a nice snap-on scanner and show me the code. "P0125-insufficient coolant temperature". I was very happy that they showed me the code and cleared it off and they were very happy to help me. When I asked what should I do about this code, they told me the stupidest answer that I ever heard from a car mechanic.
"Yo, you need to drain your coolant and put a gallon of 100% coolant (don't add any water) and this should be fine". Every single manual that I ever read told NEVER put the concentrated coolant.
Confused, I went to the dealer and asked for their opinion. They told to change the O2 sensor and I should be fine. When I told them they changed the O2 sensor last month, they told to change the thermostat. I came back home and after reading through some forums and consulting with my neighbour car guru, I decided to give it try.
Here is how to change the thermostat on 2000 Camry:
-Drain coolant from radiator
-Remove the two nuts holding the thermostat
-Pull the black pipe and remove the thermostat with the gasket
-Put in the new gasket and align the thermostat's mark to the mark on the engine body
-Tighten the nut
-Fill the coolant
-Start the engine and wait for 10-15 min to clear the check engine light


If you get P0125 obd code, before changing the expensive O2 sensor, try changing the thermostat. It is under $10 and all you need is a 10mm wrench and 10 min. Buy some nice tools for you jewelry for your lady for the money you saved.

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-paul