I have a 2004 Dodge Grand Caravan, Anniversary Edition.

My check engine light has been on for some time now. I went to O'Reilly's and had the codes read and it came back an error in 02 Sensor, Bank 1, Sensor 1. The guy at the part store told me that that means that it is the upstream sensor. I bought that and had it put on, but after it was replaced, the check engine light is still on. Do I need to drive it for a while before it goes off or could it be possible that I had the wrong one replaced. I am trying to get my van to pass emission so that i can get my tag.


Any advice/suggestions will be greatly appreciated!!

 

The PCM has to see a certain amount of "good trips" before it will turn the light off. You need to erase the memory (do a battery disconnect 15 minutes) after you replace any sensor like that, especially if you're trying to get through emissions. Even when the CEL goes off, the code MIGHT still be stored. They will fail you for stored ones too. You will need a few days of combined city/highway driving to get the CARB monitors to run and pass after the memory reset also.

 

Thanks for the info. I told my husband to do what you stated above. My husband is going to drive it to work tomorrow, so it will get some highway miles. I just pray that he doesn't get stopped by the police for expired tag while driving it to see if it goes off.

 

I don't know about where you live, but here we have 28 days from the date of emissions fail to get it resolved and get tagged. Your emissions slip that you get from a failed inspection should have that on it somewhere. We also get one retest for free within that time period. You may want to go get failed just to cover yourselves for a couple weeks. There IS the slight chance that the new O2 sensor didn't fix it.

 

What brand was the Oxygen Sensor you bought?

 

I just bought one from O'Reilly's Auto Parts which is where I always buy parts for my van. I was told that I may have to buy one from the dealer because aftermarket sensors don't always work. I think this may be the case because I had the codes cleared on the morning of Feb 15th and that evening, I had an emissions done even though the light was on. The emission test revealed that the O2 sensor was "NOT READY". It also reveal to two problems as to why it didnt pass. My paperwork is in the car and I will get it a little later and post what those two codes are, one of which is the O2 sensor. Thanks for all the input.