Thread: Check Engine Light on With P2096 Code Investigation

For about a year now my wife has been the primary driver of our 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8L V6. The car has been driving great for over two years and we've done a good job to keep up with service and such. Not too long ago she noticed that the car's check engine light had come on. When I had time I checked the codes out with a scan tool and found a P2096 code which was something about "engine lean on bank..."

After doing some research on this code I found out that it could have been bad fuel, leak in the intake system or a problematic/dead O2 sensor. After clearing the code and checking the intake for proper seal as well as putting a clean tank of gas in the car seemed to have cleared it's code. Well after about 3-4 drive cycles (typically how long it takes for a code to re-appear) we noticed the light back on.

I scheduled a service appointment with David Maus Hyundai in Deland to have it looked at and mentioned upon write up that I believe it was a faulty O2 sensor and that they should look at it. Well after about 4-5 hours they called me back and said the car was ready to go. When I got there the tech explained that they saw a "history code" and cleared it out with their scan tool. "Tech drove vehicle and was unable to get the light to come back on." Of course I had asked if they looked at the O2 sensor but was told after the code was cleared they had no reason to check it as no light came back on. Trusting their "expert" training I set off back home.

Keep in mind the dealership is about 25 miles from home so this makes for a rather inconvinient trip everytime I need service. Once I got home I parked the car and told my wife it was good to go for the week. Well fast forward two to three days later and after again 3-4 drive cycles (WHY DIDN'T THE TECHNICIAN DO THIS?!) the light came right back on with the same codes.

My wife took the car in again yesterday to have it further investigated and for the first two hours they told her "the car needed to cool down further" and that "when it's hot the metal in the exhaust expands and makes it hard to spot any problems". I can understand for about 30 minutes but after 2 hours you figure it's cool enough to at least get it up on the stands and look underneath for any obvious exhaust leaks. About an hour and a half later the technician said that he found a bad O2 sensor (NO SHI*) and that he didnt' check it last time because that was not the code he received. He claimed that the code this time was different....

Anyways to make things even more frustrating the technician also said that it's not because of the O2 sensor it's because "they installed the O2 opening crooked on the downpipe from the factory" and that they would need to order parts (entirely new downpipes for both sides and O2 sensors) and it could take several days.

Whether I believe this or not I'm still not sure because the car has been driving fine for over 25,000 miles already and after having looked at the exhaust system in depth with my friend who did the custom exhaust back for our October 2010 meet we both did not notice any problems with the O2 sensor opening or it's original location.

Anyways I'm just a litte frustrated and venting but it seems like any dealership I've ever visited for service just gives you the runaround and takes forever and is lazy...

I'll let you know how the fix goes once they call me with the parts in.