I have a yearly appointment (pretty much every November/December) at my friendly Renault Dealer to swap the Oxygen (Lambda) Sensor on my 2016 Talisman 1.6l dCi 130, doesnt matter if i drove 10k or 30k km.
Currently on my 5th sensor in 115000km and i usually drive 30-40km per trip, very rarely short trips.
According to them, the engine and mixture is fine, but this particular model (1.6l) likes to kill probes, especially when its getting cold, and there is nothing i could really do.
They recommended trying higher quality diesel (usually refueling at JET and OMV), because JET has bad quality and trying diesel cleaner additive every year in addition to the regular filter swap every 60k km.
So my would cost me per year:
• ~350€ new sensor
• ~150€ better brand fuel + additive
• ~500€ performance diesel
2 and 3 will not necessarily extrend the probes life by much.
Has anyone experience with such an issue and are there really no other options other than to get rid of the car?
lambda sensors are very sensitive to humidity. If the sensor is pointing downward, it might help to relocate it on the side or on the top (if possible). That can be done easily by anyone with a welder.
You probably kill it if you ride short trips. 30-40km is very little for a diesel.
At least weekly, push it on the highway to the redline to remove the carbot and sot buildup. Might be what‘s killing the probes.
I like this answer. Diesels definitely take longer to warm up and make more soot when they’re cold.
Another thing to try is to turn the key to “on” but do not start the engine for 10-15 seconds or so. Maybe cycle the key a few times. Heated o2 sensors are, well, heated, so if you can preheat the o2 sensors before starting the engine that might help too
40km is not a short trip at all. and a 1.6dci is not a 1974 detroit diesel. it’s just a city car engine that’s not one of the best, but mostly alright.
It’s diesel only because it makes economic sense to do it. not because it’s a long haul specialized trip machine it’s just a city car / commute car and 40km a day in europe is quite a bit. that’s like travelling from one city to another
Alright mate, it‘s not a 1974 Detroit Diesel because if it were, after 50 years it‘d still be running fine without a rebuild.
40km in Europe is a bit but 40km in Europe are mostly back roads where you drive at most 100km/h, 120km/h if you‘re a speed demon. Even then, you‘re in 6th gear at max of 1500rpm.
Not good for the engine, soot buildup, catalytic converters and O2 sensors.
I live in Germany and know very well what kind of roads these are and how fast you can drive on them.
Most of the time you can‘t even drive 100km/h.
I don‘t know where OP is from but I‘m pretty sure he knows what I‘m talking about.
Is there a crack near the sensor? I see this fairly often on GMs ecotec and the sensor is usually melted. A small crack could throw off the readings just enough to kill the sensor in the long run.