Hello all - I'm considering replacing the O2 sensor on our '09 Mazda 5. The car's running well and is not generating any "check engine" codes, but some O2 sensor manufacturers (and some independent sources) recommend replacing the upstream sensor at 100K miles/160K km. Our car is at 170K km now. There is a little bit of surging at low speed and I'm wondering whether this is an early symptom of a weak O2 sensor. (I changed the spark plugs only a few months ago, so it shouldn't be them.)
My main reason for replacing would be that by this mileage the upstream sensor will have likely become a bit 'lazy' (though not badly enough to throw a code). (I'm not sure whether this is due to the material in the sensor being depleted, or is due to the sensor being contaminated.) If it's even deteriorated enough to use 5% more fuel, that will take a toll on the catalytic convertor (besides the wasted fuel, of course). If the slight drivability issue goes away, great!
Denso and NTK appear to offer similar replacements, and ordinarily I'd be fine with either of them, but on another forum a well-respected mechanic pointed out that the 5 uses the Ford Duratec engine (a.k.a. Mazda L-series) which may use a Bosch sensor. Further, the NTK and Denso are narrowband, whereas the Bosch is a wideband sensor. If the engine is designed to use a wideband sensor, I'd rather stick with that.
I could avoid any confusion by simply buying a sensor from the dealer, but it's quite a bit more money. So, here's my multipart question:
1. Who is the OEM for the Mazda 5 O2 sensor?
2. Does anyone know whether the OEM sensor is wideband or narrowband?
3. Who has used Bosch, and are you happy with it?
4. Similarly, who has used NTK or Denso, and are you happy with it/them?
Thanks in advance!
My main reason for replacing would be that by this mileage the upstream sensor will have likely become a bit 'lazy' (though not badly enough to throw a code). (I'm not sure whether this is due to the material in the sensor being depleted, or is due to the sensor being contaminated.) If it's even deteriorated enough to use 5% more fuel, that will take a toll on the catalytic convertor (besides the wasted fuel, of course). If the slight drivability issue goes away, great!
Denso and NTK appear to offer similar replacements, and ordinarily I'd be fine with either of them, but on another forum a well-respected mechanic pointed out that the 5 uses the Ford Duratec engine (a.k.a. Mazda L-series) which may use a Bosch sensor. Further, the NTK and Denso are narrowband, whereas the Bosch is a wideband sensor. If the engine is designed to use a wideband sensor, I'd rather stick with that.
I could avoid any confusion by simply buying a sensor from the dealer, but it's quite a bit more money. So, here's my multipart question:
1. Who is the OEM for the Mazda 5 O2 sensor?
2. Does anyone know whether the OEM sensor is wideband or narrowband?
3. Who has used Bosch, and are you happy with it?
4. Similarly, who has used NTK or Denso, and are you happy with it/them?
Thanks in advance!