>Somebody honked his horn and wrote:

>
> "Rick Clark" > wrote in
> message ...
> > > keith honked his horn and wrote:
> >
> > > "Fred W." <Fred.Wills@'remove this to reply to' myrealbox.com>
> > > wrote:
> > >
> > > >
> > > >"Somebody" > wrote in message
> > > > ...
> > > > >
> > > >> "FoggyBottom" > wrote in message
> > > - snip
> > >
> > > IIRC should it fail it wont leave the car and driver stranded..
> > > the worst case scenario is really poor fuel consumption., and
> > > probably a reduced top speed..
> > >
> > > it certainly wont prevent the engine starting or running, albeit
> > > poorly.
> > >
> > > keith
> >
> > The O2 sensor failed twice on my E36 325 Coupe. Still drove fine.
> > Only reason I knew was it failed its emissions tests.
>
> My E30M20 ran like crap when the O2 sensor failed, because the plugs
> got fouled badly.
>
> After replacing plugs and the sensor it was fine.
>
> -Russ.

Presumably the sensor had been faulty for a long time before it started
running that bad. I wouldn't have thought the plugs would foul quickly.
I change the plugs on mine every 15K - 20K and they always looked good
as new, even after the sensor failures. Of course my sensors could've
failed just before each MOT.

The real point is that you won't get stranded if it fails.

--
Cheers

Rick

'92 E36 325 Coupe
http://bmw.aqua-maniac.co.uk