Your Toyota Camry check engine light is on, causing some driveability issues. Not only that but you can’t pass your Camry smog test or state emissions inspection. Using a OBDII scan tool, you’ve found that you have a Toyota Camry P0141 trouble code. This Toyota check engine light problem centers around your oxygen sensor.
There are two kinds of Camry oxygen sensor. Upstream and downstream oxygen sensors. The downstream oxygen sensor is also known as the secondary 02 sensor or rear oxygen sensor. When this sensor goes bad you are going to see a OBDII stored code in your Toyota.
How To Troubleshoot – Camry P0141 trouble code
The Toyota Camry P0141 OBDII trouble code is one that indicates a problem with the downstream 02 sensor. This sensor is not meant to provide engine or fuel management values to your Toyota computer, but rather tell your Powertrain Control Module (PCM) that the catalytic converter is working properly.
This means that there’s one of 2 possible Toyota issues causing your Camry P0141 trouble code. Either your primary catalytic converter is failing or failed, or your rear 02 sensor has fouled. In order to troubleshoot the problem at hand, you can use this Test Camry Rear Oxygen Sensor guide here.
What does the P0141 trouble code mean?
The specific language for the Toyota Camry P0141 check engine code is Oxygen 02 Sensor Heater Circuit Malfunction for the Bank1 – Sensor 2 02 sensor. One of the most common Camry trouble code questions I’m always asked is; “How can I tell which side is what? How can I tell which 02 sensor is which?”
Today I’ll be explaining this to you, as well as walking you through fixing your Camry P0141 error code. Our test vehicle happens to be a four cylinder Toyota, equipeed with a VVTi 2.2 liter engine. When your 2.2 liter Toyota Camry has a check engine light turned on, you’ll need to use the right OBDII scan tool to get the code in question
Before you begin working on your Toyota, make sure you have the tools needed. If you don’t own jackstands and the proper automotive jack, consider taking your vehicle to an experienced mechanic Always work on your vehicle with the proper safety measures in place.
The important part of my Camry P0141 guide is a digital multimeter to test the Toyota oxygen sensor as well as the wiring.
The four wire rear Toyota 02 sensor is a easily disconnected, and located after your catalytic converter. Once you’ve got this sensor disconnected, put in your Toyota key and turn the ignition to the “ON” position. Don’t forget that the Toyota Camry P0141 is for your rear 02 sensor, not the front or primary / upstream oxygen sensor.
Testing your Toyota Camry downstream oxygen sensor
There’s two primary grounds that should be checked first and foremost. Using your multimeter, disconnect and probe the Toyota harness side of the downstream 02 sensor. Remember you are not testing the sensor loom or the sensor itself here. Gently touch the multimeter lead to PIN A on the engine harness side, which is a PINK wire with a BLACK stripe in it. This represents your downstream oxygen sensor heater ground.
The next wire to move to is the PIN D on the engine harness side of your Toyota. This is the primary ground signal or low reference wire sent by your Toyota PCM. The wire for PIN D is a BROWN wire and there should be a ground signal here.
Once you’ve tested both of those move onto PIN B on the ENGINE harness side. This should be a switched power signal and the wire should be BLACK with a YELLOW stripe in it. Now if you have power and ground at these three terminals the last part of the test is to check the internal resistance of your rear 02 sensor.
Testing your downstream 02 sensor – Toyota Camry P0141
With your multimeter turned to read OHMS or resistance, now gently test both PIN A and PIN B on the OXYGEN SENSOR side. Testing these two pins should return a base resistance that will show you if the downstream oxygen sensor is any good or not. The downstream Toyota 02 sensor should read between 11 to 16 Ω worth of resistance.
If your rear Camry 02 sensor doesn’t return these values at these terminals, it’s time for a rear 02 sensor replacement.
What if my Camry 02 sensor checks out?
Unfortunately, if your downstream oxygen sensor is okay it means that your catalytic converter has failed. This is usually a very expensive part, and if you live in a state like California you’ll need a brand new cat from the dealer.
Have any questions on this Camry P0141 guide? Leave me a comment below and let me know!
