Do California/NY Spec'd Camrys Use Different Air/Fuel Sensors?

[SaganGathering]

From what i gather reading the TN boards here, NY, Mass and a few other states use the California exhaust standards.

That made me wonder if the Air/Fuel Ratio Sensor ideally meant for those cars standards differ from the ones plugged into cars not intended for those states?

IE., are there different part #'s for "California" Camry Air Fuel Ratio Sensors?

I'm going to stick with OE A/F sensors either way.

[SaganGathering]

UPDATE: The question has changed!

My pal's dad at the Toyota dealership confirmed that "California" spec'd Camrys (also sold in several other emissions-conscious states like NY, Mass, etc.) do indeed use different Air/Fuel Sensors than other non-California Camrys.

So that means we need to know if a Camry is a "California" unit in order to pick the right sensor.

He said his repair guy could tell by the VIN # if a car was California spec'd. I gave that, as well as the part # on the current Air/Fuel sensor (89467 33020). The VIN # came back as NOT being a California car. He said the part # for the A/F sensor in my car now IS for a Califrnia-compliant sensor. TAnd there is a sticker under the hood claiming the car compleis with federal and CAIFORNIA standards.

So my VIN # says it's not a Calif spec'd car. The sticker says otherwise. Now what?
This is not a chopped up salvage car. I bought this from another friend's mom who bought it new.

Is there a VIN lookup online somewhere to get at this info?

[hill8570]

Originally Posted by SaganGathering

UPDATE: The question has changed!

My pal's dad at the Toyota dealership confirmed that "California" spec'd Camrys (also sold in several other emissions-conscious states like NY, Mass, etc.) do indeed use different Air/Fuel Sensors than other non-California Camrys.

So that means we need to know if a Camry is a "California" unit in order to pick the right sensor.

He said his repair guy could tell by the VIN # if a car was California spec'd. I gave that, as well as the part # on the current Air/Fuel sensor (89467 33020). The VIN # came back as NOT being a California car. He said the part # for the A/F sensor in my car now IS for a Califrnia-compliant sensor. TAnd there is a sticker under the hood claiming the car compleis with federal and CAIFORNIA standards.

So my VIN # says it's not a Calif spec'd car. The sticker says otherwise. Now what?
This is not a chopped up salvage car. I bought this from another friend's mom who bought it new.

Is there a VIN lookup online somewhere to get at this info?

I'd go with the hood sticker and the fact that an A/F sensor has been working in the rig for the last couple of years, if not longer.

I'm pretty sure the parts lookup section at http://www.toyodiy.com/parts will take a VIN and come back with a "build" of the car along with the acceptable parts. Decoding the "build" string is sometimes a bit tricky, but it's better than nothing.

[bigbird]

i may be wrong here but i though thought the cali spec 1mz's had an extra cat. i had the same issue. my 97's hood says cali but my vin says otherwise. my motor has only the one cat and is NOT cali spec.

and i wouldnt trust the hood sticker over the vin#. a hood(and its stickers) can be replaced a vin cant...well not easly anyways.

[95WhiteCamry]

just for shits and giggles, see if the vin number on the hood is the same as that on the dashboard then.

[freeyellow2000]

States that "follow California emissions standard"do they also follow the same smog check rules. Im curious as I know Calif has a tough emission standard but does NY follows it as well do they follow the smog check rules as well?

[JohnGD]

In the US, there is either the California standard or the Non-California standard. So it's best to select oxygen sensors according to that.

The AF sensor is what Toyota calls a wide-band oxygen sensor. Non-California cars can also use wide-band sensors. Therefore, buy according to California or Non-California sensors.

People can call oxygen sensors whatever they want. But in general:

"There are five fundamentally different types of oxygen sensors: unheated thimble, heated thimble, planar, wide-band and titania. Within each sensor type, sensors vary in the design of the ceramic element, heater element and protection tube design, all of which affect sensor operation."

Unheated Thimble: This was the first oxygen sensor design and Bosch has been producing them since 1976. These sensors either have one wire or two (for purposes of grounding), since they do not require power for a heater element. They use a zirconia ceramic element to generate a voltage in a rich (insufficient oxygen) gas environment. They can take several minutes to reach operating temperatures of 625 degrees Fahrenheit after a cold start, however this varies with application as the location of the sensor determines the rate at which it heats.

Heated Thimble: These sensors were introduced by Bosch in 1982 and function in the same manner as the unheated thimble, however inside the thimble is a special heating element that brings the sensor up to operating temperature in about 30-60 seconds. The additional wires to power the heater- typically a total of 3-4 wires (dependent on grounding scenario) can identify these sensors.

Planar: This sensor was introduced by Bosch in 1997 and also uses the zirconia ceramic sensing technology, but placed in a more compact thin flat shape (hence the name) instead of a thimble or conical shape. This allows the sensor to be smaller and lighter. They also require less electrical power as the heater is integrated into the smaller sensing element. By model year 2004, planar oxygen sensors are expected to account for over 30% of all new oxygen sensor applications and by 2007 for over 50% of new oxygen sensors. These sensors also have only four wires.
Click here for a diagram of a planar oxygen sensor.

Wideband: This is the newest design of oxygen sensor and it offers the increased accuracy needed to meet the latest emissions requirements. Unlike all the other types of oxygen sensors, the wide-band sensor can actually measure the air/fuel ratio from 11:1 (excess fuel condition) all the way to straight air (no fuel)! (The ideal air/fuel ratio is 14.7/1.) This improved measurement allows the engine control system to measure the actual air/fuel ratio and eliminates the switching between lean and rich associated with a traditional type of oxygen sensor. These sensors use a planar zirconia ceramic element, so that they heat up much faster than other types of sensors- reducing cold start emissions. These sensors can be identified with having five or more wires. In addition, these sensors are used with the newly developed gasoline direct injection engines. Direct injection engines can use stratified charges, which produce a very lean mixture in the combustion chamber, and these sensors must be used because of their ability to measure from very lean to very rich accurately.
Click here for a diagram of a wideband oxygen sensor.

Titania: These sensors use a different type of oxygen sensing technology and instead of generating a voltage signal that changes with the air/fuel ratio, the sensor’s resistance changes. These sensors are used on less than 0.5% of all oxygen sensor equipped vehicles.

Full description at:
http://www.boschautoparts.com/Resour...genSensors.htm

Originally Posted by SaganGathering

From what i gather reading the TN boards here, NY, Mass and a few other states use the California exhaust standards.

That made me wonder if the Air/Fuel Ratio Sensor ideally meant for those cars standards differ from the ones plugged into cars not intended for those states?

IE., are there different part #'s for "California" Camry Air Fuel Ratio Sensors?

I'm going to stick with OE A/F sensors either way.