Hello all

I have a 98 Avalon XL with 57,000 miles on it, Fed and Calif emissions, that developed a crack/split in the flex pipe. The local shop replaced the pipe and converter (one piece unit). Within an hour the check engine light came on, the car began running rough, smoke and stink from exhaust, surging... I put my OBD-II on it and came up with a lean condition, multiple mis-fires in cyls 1,3,5 and the Bank 1 Sensor 2 AF/O2 reads a dead o.oooV under all rpm. If I clear the codes, it runs ok for a few minutes, continuous monitoring still shows 000V from the rearmost monitor/sensor, check engine light then comes on and it goes back to running rough. Almost as though the sensor was disconnected.

I brought it to the same shop who put his OBD on it, came up with the same and a few more readings but was defensive to the point where "it couldn't be anything I did" which unfortunately I expected. Seems too coincidental, thoughts please?

As I'm a newby to the list, I hope this post is OK. If off-list responses are more appropriate, please PM me or call 860-601-8788

doc

You really need to go back to the shop that did the work, ask to speak with the manager (not the assistant manager) or owner of the shop and blow the B.S. whistle very loudly. If need be - offer that you're next step is to contact your state's attorney general's office asking them to investigate this.

I don't know if you've checked it already, but there's a chance they may have missed replacing the oxygen sensor. There is a sensor about 12" past the cat, on the passenger side of the pipe I believe. If this is not installed or damaged, it may cause some problems. Never had this problem before but maybe it'll help you out.