2000 BMW 323 BMW with service engine soon light

2000 BMW 323
185,300 MILES • 6 CYL • 2WD • AUTOMATIC
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E46BIMMER
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I have a 2000 BMW 323i with the service engine soon light on. It has been on for about two weeks now. I scanned it and retreived the following codes: P1188, P1189, P1478, P0170, P0173. I replaced the thermostat yesterday because it was stuck open causing the engine to never warm up properly, then I cleared the codes. I thought this would correct the codes as they refer to the short term fuel trim, but it came back on today and when I scanned it I got P1188, P1189 which I looked up and they refer to the O2 sensors B1S1 and B2S2. I thought it was a pretty long shot that they are both bad at the same time. Any advice would be great. Thanks!
Dec 11, 2009 at 7:36 PM
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DOCHAGERTY
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At 185k, why not replace them?
Dec 12, 2009 at 9:51 AM
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E46BIMMER
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I find it hard to believe that both front sensors on bank 1 and 2 have gone out at the same time. Seems like it should be something common to both banks. I just hate to guess at the problem and not be sure that will fix it.
Dec 12, 2009 at 2:51 PM
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DOCHAGERTY
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Replacement is called for at 100k, you are at 185k. Is that correct?
Dec 12, 2009 at 9:34 PM
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E46BIMMER
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yes that is correct, but I just find it hard to believe that both of them went out at the same time. I was not aware that they replace them as preventive maintenance, why is that? I will try and scan it again tomorrow and look at the freeze frame data to see what that says.
Dec 17, 2009 at 10:57 PM
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DOCHAGERTY
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As Oxygen sensors age they often have a tendency to become biased towards the lean side. Freeze frame data indicates what voltage the sensor is producing, not it's calibration. You usually cannot perceive a lean condition sensor, but it will show up in reduced emissions, especially NOX. I hope this helps you out, it is always good to be able to make an informed decision.
Dec 19, 2009 at 11:16 AM