OBD-II Code
P0164
Severity
Not yet reviewed
Nobody on our side has assessed this code yet, so we are not going to guess at how serious it is.
Can you drive it
We cannot say
Treat it as unknown until a shop reads it with live data. If the check-engine light is FLASHING, stop driving as soon as it is safe to — that means an active misfire, whatever the code.
Indicative cost (USD)
$150–$550
From this code's diagnostic notes. Varies by vehicle, diagnosis, parts, and local labor. This is not a repair quote.
P0164 means the bank 2 sensor 3 O2 signal voltage is reading above the high threshold (typically over 1.1-1.2V on a narrow-band sensor, or lambda below 0.7 on a wideband), which the ECM interprets as either a stuck-rich condition or an electrical short to a higher-voltage reference.
How a shop works this
Work from evidence to part, not the other way round. A code names a circuit or a symptom; it does not name the part that failed.
Note every code that is set, not just this one.
Codes that appear together usually narrow the cause faster than any one of them read alone.
Read the freeze frame — the conditions the fault was recorded under.
Cold or warm, idle or load, road speed and engine speed. A fault that only appears cold is a different fault from one that only appears under load, even with the same code on the scanner.
Confirm the fault is current rather than history.
Clear the code and see whether it returns under those same conditions. A code that does not come back may have been logged during a repair, a flat battery, or a bad connection that has since been disturbed.
Then follow the diagnostic notes further down this page, in the order they are written.
They are written in the order a shop works this code, cheapest checks first. Where they name a component, inspect its wiring and connector before replacing it.
If the code comes back after a repair, the underlying fault is still there. That is the point to bring in a scanner with live data and freeze-frame, or a shop that has one.
Common symptoms
- Check engine light
Read the full diagnostic procedureP0164 means the bank 2 sensor 3 O2 signal voltage is reading above the high threshold (typically over 1.1-1.2V on a narrow-band sensor, or lambda bel…
P0164 means the bank 2 sensor 3 O2 signal voltage is reading above the high threshold (typically over 1.1-1.2V on a narrow-band sensor, or lambda below 0.7 on a wideband), which the ECM interprets as either a stuck-rich condition or an electrical short to a higher-voltage reference. On a post-cat sensor (which is what B2S3 is on most dual-cat-per-bank applications), a stuck-high reading usually means the sensor itself has failed internally with the signal element shorted to its own heater B+, or the harness has chafed against a 12V feed somewhere along the rocker-panel run.
Cheapest-first ladder
- unplug the sensor and observe the scan-tool reading with key on engine off — a healthy ECM circuit with the sensor disconnected should bias to roughly 0.45V (the internal pull-up reference); if the reading stays pegged above 1.0V with the sensor unplugged, the harness is shorted to a 12V source between the sensor and the ECM; if the reading drops to 0.45V with the sensor unplugged, the sensor is the fault.
- Verify the heater current is in the normal 0.5-2A range — a shorted heater element internally can bleed B+ into the signal element and produce a high voltage reading.
- Compare with B2S1 (the upstream sensor) for fuel trim correlation; if STFT/LTFT on bank 2 is within +/-10% (normal) and the post-cat sensor is screaming rich, the sensor is lying.
- Expensive-misdiagnosis caveat: a coolant leak from a cracked exhaust manifold gasket dumping coolant past the sensor will create a transient high-voltage event that looks identical to a shorted sensor — smoke-test the exhaust before condemning anything.
Vehicle-specific patterns2008-2014 GM 5.3L/6.2L Tahoe/Suburban/Yukon with dual post-cat sensors per bank throws P0164 from harness short-to-B+ where the bank 2 sensor 3 wire…
- 2008-2014GM 5.3L/6.2L Tahoe/Suburban/Yukon with dual post-cat sensors per bank throws P0164 from harness short-to-B+ where the bank 2 sensor 3 wire routes over the starter motor — heat-melted insulation contacts the starter B+ stud.
- 2007-2010Ford F-150 5.4L 3V FFV throws P0164 when ethanol-laden fuel cooks the post-cat sensor element internally; the heater bleeds through to the signal wire and produces a stuck-high reading.
- 2005-2012Toyota Tundra 4.7L 2UZ-FE throws P0164 from a known internal sensor failure mode where the platinum element delaminates; Toyota covered it under emissions warranty on affected VINs.
- 2010-2016RAM 2500/3500 5.7L Hemi throws P0164 from coolant intrusion through the exhaust manifold gasket onto the post-cat sensor wiring.
Estimated repair$150 to $550.
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