i have a 01 dakota, the check engine light came on and i checked the code it was P0141 when i looked it up it says Dwnstream oxygen sensor heating element circuit malfunction. has anyone ever had this happen? if so can it be easily fixed? any help woul be great.

 

Heater went out on the o2 sensor, you need to replace it. This is known problem with the rear o2s. I suggest getting oem style plugs they are more expensive but the 01+ are very picky on o2 sensors. I have used just about every brand and only 2 seem to work, Mopar (from dealership) and Denso (from Rockauto) but overall Mopar is what you need. Its gonna cost around 100$ per sensor unless you have a hookup. If you go to rockauto you can get a denso sensor for around 40-60$ i think...

If you want you can also do a test on the wires to see if you have a short before you spend the money, but most of the time the heater element shorts itself out within the sensor so there is no way to fix it. Just have to get a new one.

 

The code is for the Bank 1 Sensor 2 sensor. That will be the drivers side after the precat. Be sure to use some PB Blaster on the threads prior to trying to remove it. These things have a tendency over time to weld themselves in place.