How to Replace an Oxygen Sensor [VIDEO]

Thought I'd share with my readers this video I made “How to Replace an Oxygen Sensor.”  While the car in the video is a Toyota Camry the process is the same on the majority of cars with 4-cylinder engines out on the road.

How to Replace an Oxygen Sensor

Technically on this Toyota Camry it is called an Air/Fuel Sensor.  It was throwing engine code P1135 Bank 1 Sensor 1, which means it was the Upstream Sensor on this Toyota Camry.

Tools I used for replacing the Air/Fuel Sensor on this Toyota Camry.

New Air/Fuel Sensor – http://www.adamsautoadvice.com/go/denso2349010

Metric Gearwrench Set  – http://www.adamsautoadvice.com/go/gwflex

Used for getting off Exhaust Manifold Cover

Adjustable Wrench – http://www.adamsautoadvice.com/go/crescent10

Magnetic Parts Dish – http://www.adamsautoadvice.com/go/magneticdish

Rubber Gloves – http://www.adamsautoadvice.com/go/rubbergloves

Mechanic's Gloves – http://www.adamsautoadvice.com/go/mechanixgloves

Fender Cover – http://www.adamsautoadvice.com/go/pbfendercover

Actron Code Scanner – http://www.adamsautoadvice.com/go/pocketscan

2012 WAPA Rally was a Blast!

Last Friday I attended the 2012 WAPA (Washington Automotive Press Association) Rally at Indigo Landing.   The WAPA Rally was quite a lot of fun and I got to test drive a lot of cool cars, all on the same day! The vehicles I got to drive at the 2012 WAPA Rally included the Lexus GS350, Mecedes-Benz GLK, Ford Escape, Hyundai Veloster, Jaguar XF, Kia Optima, and the Subaru BRZ.  I probably would have driven more cars if I had gotten to the WAPA Rally on time.  I got held-up on the I-83 on ramp heading South, due to this.

honda accord

Not sure how this Honda Accord got into an accident, just glad I didn't get into an accident getting on the freeway.  Anyway I drove about 1/4 of the vehicles there that were available to drive.  I wanted to drive the BMW 640i, Audi A8L, Dodge Dart, and VW Golf but most of these were being driven by other auto journalists.  I just didn't have time to test drive them all but hopefully I will be have a chance in the future.

By far my favorite car that I drove at the WAPA Rally was the Subaru BRZ.  The handling is tight, acceleration amazing, and the car seemed to fit me like a glove.  I joked with a guy who came back from driving the Subaru BRZ, “I was almost tempted to drive it home!” his reply “Oh yeah! Me too!”  I only wish it was a stick shift.  The PR rep from ESI, the company that was handling the fleet vehicles, said they have a Scion FR-S (same car as the Subaru BRZ) that is a stick shift but most are automatics.

subaru brz 1
Subaru BRZ- Beautiful!
subaru brz
Subaru BRZ – Beautiful Behind!

The car I was most impressed would have to be the Kia Optima.  Compared to other Kias I have driven the Optima I was drove actually felt like a car and not a toy car.   Kia has definitely stepped up their game and it showed.  The Optima wasn't fast, but was agile and responsive and the interior was quite nice.  My only gripe would be the audio and navigation controls are a little confusing.  Still I am sure the other PR reps were looking over at the Kia and thinking, “How did Kia get that good so fast?”  That is something everyone is wondering.

The Ford Escape Titanium I drove was also much better then any other Ford SUV I have driven in the past.  The interior felt plush and well-appointed and the handling wasn't bad either.  It still felt like an SUV but a capable small SUV which is exactly what Ford was aiming for.  At $33,000 for the Ford Escape Titanium model I drove, I guess you get what you pay for.

My favorite luxury car at the WAPA Rally was definitely the Jaguar XF.  I mean it just looks sooo pretty and when you get in you feel great about yourself.  In my opinion this is just what luxury car should do.  The Jaguar XF also felt fast and responsive compared to some of the other luxury cars I drove at the WAPA Rally.  It's not a driver's car, but it sure fools you.  Like most people, I don't like the dial shifter for changing gears.  Seems cool at first until you use it.  If I owned a Jaguar XF I feel I would go into the wrong gear by accident a lot.

After the driving the cars there was a nice catered lunch.  Jessica Anderson, President of WAPA, handed out awards for Best Tweet, Best Picture, and a few other awards I can't remember.  You got points for filling out a questionnaire and driving as many cars as you could.  As well you were supposed to spot WAPA signs that were set out on the 3 different driving routes.  Apparently there were 10 but I only noticed 3.  Also I hardly took any pictures or tweeted since I was focused on driving as many vehicles as possible.  I guess I was having too much fun!

hyundai veloster
Hyundai Veloster
WAPA Rally
WAPA Rally

I love my Toyota Camry since it is a great and reliable car.  However, it is a bit disappointing when you get back into your own car after having driven so many other cars you want to own, all on the same day!

BumpShox Protects Front Bumpers from Bad Drivers

BumpShox, Front Bumper Protection!

Do you hate it when bad drivers hit your bumper? Sooo annoying… especially if it's a brand new car!

BumpShox might be your solution. The BumpShox bumper protector is a relatively new foam-based automotive product that looks like a big oversized license plate holder (well it is), but it is a bumper protector. It fits in place of any standard license plate and can be installed easily on virtually any car.

I have been testing the BumpShox for awhile, on several vehicles. I liked using the BumpShox on all of our cars (a 2002 Toyota Camry, 1996 Honda Accord.) Not that it really adds to the look of the Camry or Accord, but it sure is a conversation starter when people notice it, point, and ask “Hey, what's that?”

However, one of the points of the The BumpShox is it's unobtrusive, small, and does not detract too much from the look of the car, at least when compared to other bumper protectors. Typically other bumper protectors or bumper guards will cover the whole bumper and are pretty damn ugly. What's the point of owning a Mustang if you can't enjoy the beautiful lines?

For the most part the BumpShox is not that noticeable. Once you get used to it, it's sort of a fun little addition to your car.

On one of my roadtrips, I parked my Accord in a large parking lot with a few cars. You would assume there was little use for a BumpShox in this situation. When I came out of the store, to my surprise someone had parked a tad to close to my car! The BumpShox was cushioning my car's bumper against a hideous Dodge Caliber.  (Who drives a Caliber anyway?)  I was quite pleased with this and the BumpShox saved me a a weekend of DIY bodywork, which probably would have come out with bad results.

So for protecting your front bumper against stupid and bad drivers, even in large parking lots, the BumpShox can work well.

Where the BumpShox supposedly really shines is in tight parallel parking spaces in cities. The only issue is that it is only going to protect your bumper when you are in the space or parking and moving forward to reposition your car.

Because the BumpShox is unobtrusive and small it won't protect the majority of your bumper at various angles when parking. Only slow front end taps will the foam cushion work.

For complete bumper protection, the BumpShox is not necessarily ideal. Of course larger bumper protectors that cover your whole bumper cost $150+. That's a lot to shell out! If you are tired of having bad drivers hit your beautiful bumper, the $35 bucks it costs to buy a BumpShox is probably a good investment. If you want to buy two, it will cost $60.

I can't guarantee that the BumpShox will work in all situations. For light front-end taps and bumper protection from bad drivers who can't park, even in a large parking lot, it did it's job well on my Accord. That's good enough for me! 🙂

Baltimore Auto Show Coverage with Pictures!

I am a bit late in posting these pictures of the Baltimore Auto Show, but better late than never.  The 2012 Baltimore Auto Show was not too much to brag about though.  There were considerably less cars this year and no luxury brands like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, and Porsche. Baltimore being poor, I guess it isn't surprising they didn't show this year.  Also there were no exotic cars like Ferraris, Lamborghinis, etc.  Worst part of all, no tuner alley!  It was a big letdown compared to the Washington Auto Show.

While I love seeing the new models automakers are offering and what is in store for new year in the car world, I felt the recent Baltimore Auto Show showed how depressed the economy was.  Through the grapevine I heard the convention center tripled there rates, which explained most of it.  Even considering that the displays weren't anything to brag about and people were generally not having much fun it seemed.  It sort of felt like 2008 was happening in the all over again, but hey this is 2012.

I hope next year will reflect a more robust car market and economy.  Also hopefully the Convention Center will lower their rates!

 

Dirty Wheels? Try Griot’s Garage Heavy Duty Wheel Cleaner

It has been awhile since you have cleaned your car. I understand cleaning your vehicle is low on your To-Do list. When you finally do get around to cleaning your car though, you immediately notice you have black and dirty wheels. Don't you just hate that? Makes the car look a bit tired and old. You try to clean the front wheels of all that caked-on brake dust, to no avail. Man, that stuff is really on there! How do you get it off?

What you need to do is get some wheel cleaner that will help loosen that dirt and grime off those wheels, such as Griot's Garage Heavy Duty Wheel Cleaner. This product helps get off all that dirty and ugly brake dust off your cars wheels.

I got this wheel cleaner and it only took me a few minutes and a old car washing brush to use it.  Click on my pictures below and see the before and after.

Oh, yeah! Clean wheels make the car look a lot better, right? You can see how dirty the front wheels were compared to the back. That is because the front of the car experiences 70% of the braking force, therefore releasing more brake dust onto those wheels.

A few nice shots of the Griot's Garage Heavy Duty Wheel Spray Cleaner worked extremely well to get off the annoying brake dust. Now our Toyota Camry looks and feels better. So don't forgot to pick-up a bottle of wheel cleaner next time you want to do a really good job cleaning your car.