If a car has a check engine light on and has P0171 and P0174 codes stored, the most likely cause is a vacuum leak. These codes are set by the car’s computer when it sees too much oxygen in the exhaust. Excessive oxygen readings in the exhaust will set lean codes. This does not mean that the oxygen sensors are defective. It is a common mistake for people to replace oxygen sensors when lean codes are present. Just because the code is related to oxygen sensor readings, it doesn’t mean that the oxygen sensors are bad. If both of these codes are stored this means that both banks of the engine have excessive oxygen in the exhaust. If the oxygen sensors are replaced it’s most likely that the same codes will reappear. It is very uncommon for two oxygen sensors to fail at the same time.
Therefore the most likely cause of P0171 and P0174 codes is a vacuum leak. The source of a vacuum leak can be one of many things. The most common cause of a vacuum leak is a leaky hose. Vacuum hoses over time can become dry and brittle. The rubber deteriorates and can leak causing a vacuum loss. Many times a leaky vacuum hose can be found by listening for a hissing sound. A large vacuum leak can even make the car run rough at idle. In some cases it will not idle without feathering the gas pedal. Another way to check for a vacuum leak is by using a propane bottle with the hose attachment. By introducing propane to the area where the suspected leak is you can sometimes notice a change in the idle. This is particularly true with cars that don’t have computers. Cars that have computers can quickly compensate for the change in fuel mixture. This makes checking for vacuum leaks in this manner more difficult. If you have access to a scan tool, checking the oxygen sensor readings or fuel trim can be done while checking for leaks with propane. If the readings increase when you are adding propane to be suspected leak area, this indicates a vacuum leak. Another way to check for vacuum leaks is with a smoke machine. Evaporative smoke testers can be used to check for vacuum leaks as well. Evaporative leaks have to do with fuel vapors and a smoke machine is used to find those leaks. But evaporative smoke machines can also be used to find engine vacuum leaks easily. To check for engine vacuum leaks with a smoke machine, just find a vacuum hose that goes to the engine and attach the hose on the machine. When the smoke machine is turned on, smoke will enter the engine and help reveal the vacuum leak source. It is common for some smoke to come out out certain areas without indicating a vacuum leak, so if you think you’ve found a leak with the smoke is best to double-check it to make sure. The smoke machine is a great time-saver and can help pinpoint vacuum leaks quickly.
Mass Air Flow (MAF)Another cause of P0171 and P0174 codes can be from a damaged mass airflow sensor. If the reading from the mass airflow is incorrect, the computer can be doing its calculations with wrong numbers. The computer bases the fuel mixture partially based on the amount of incoming air. If the computer sees more air entering the engine than what is actually going in it will enrich the mixture. Therefore if the computer sees less air than what is actually going into the engine it will decrease the amount of fuel in the mixture. Mass airflow sensors can be damaged by dirt getting past the air filter and sometimes from oil that can come off of aftermarket air filters such as K&N. K&N air filters have to be lightly oiled and if excessive oil is applied some of it can come off and endup in the mass airflow sensor. If oil contaminates the sensor it can cause skewed readings.
Fuel Pressure Incorrect fuel pressure from the fuel pump can also rarely cause a lean condition. The fuel pump regulator could be allowing the wrong amount of pressure to be pumped to the fuel injectors. If a fuel filter is clogged or restricted this can alter the amount of fuel that reaches the injectors also. Fuel pressure is not likely to cause lean conditions though, due to the computer’s ability quickly compensate and adjust the air fuel mixture.
