Can an oxygen sensor stop your car from starting correctly?

Question

I got my car scanned and the system said i had a bad o2 sensor. can that be the reason y my car isnt starting correctly? also i have been having problems with my fuel gauge. it seems to stay on F until i stop my car completely then it levels off right SOMETIMES. what can that be?

Answer 1

I had a bad O2 sensor that made my car start hard and then the idle would go up and down until the car was warmed up. It was a super easy and inexpensive repair that cured the problem right away. I'm not saying that it's the problem your car is having, but it was an issue with my VW.

Answer 2

The O2 sensor measure exhaust O2. If the engine isn't running you wouldn't have any exhaust to measure, so it couldn't affect starting.

Answer 3

no a bad 0-2 sensor wont stop it from starting good,theres other problems with it besides a bad 0-2 if it isnt starting good,you may have a bad fuel pump in it that may be the starting problem with it,have it scanned to see if it has any bad sensors on it,this might help in repairing it also,good luck.

Answer 4

Yeah an O2 sensor could do that, it would be telling the CPU that theres too much air and then result in it closing off all the air!

Answer 5

ok the first thing yes a O2 sensor will make the car not start correctly because its not letting enough air into the system where its needed,it will also make the car stall for unknown reasons as well.

second it sounds like you need a fuel sensor as well. that is what will normally happen before it finally stops working, if you can track your mileage its not a big deal i have been doing it for 4 years with my suburban and is actually more accurate than the gauge.dont know that car or i could be more specific sorry.  

Answer 6

No, oxygen sensors have nothing to do with a car starting, O2 sensors are more of a mileage sensor.   You have an air flow meter that may be bad ( out of calibration ). Have the ignition system checked too.

Answer 7

O2 sensor data is not monitored during starting, so no, it does not affect starting.  If that's the only code you have, and have a starting problem, then you might have a coolant temp sensor malfunction, telling the computer the coolant temp is like -40 degrees, which causes the injection system to run extremely rich, which in turn will cause on O2 sensor code to set.  

On the fuel gauge problem, the diagnoses is fairly simple with a schematic and multimeter.  Most likely the problem is the fuel sender, but get it diagnosed properly so you don't waste money guessing.