code P0170 on 1997 mazda protege DX

A muffler mechanic said I need a new oxygen sensor. Auto Zone said it's NOT the oxygen sensor. The Internet said it may be a fuel filter , or cleaning the EGR valve. What do you think ?

 

BTW: You posted in the wrong forum. This is intended for problems with the web-site. You should have posted this in General Tech.

Some possible (and common) sources of your error code:

Defective Oxygen Sensor
Dirty or defective Mass Air Flow sensor
Leaks in intake manifold

 

Got it, NightSwimmer. I will move it.
Thanks for posting, and your suggestions in the matter.

whitebear, we have had a number of these issues, like yours, pop up here lately and thanks to another member, I learned that leaks in the air intake system is a problem with these cars as they get older... all kinds of codes and running issues crop up. But the good news is, it's a real easy fix.
Of course with a 97 it might also be the O2 sensor, or if not, has it been replaced in recent memory?
A bad O2 can cause failure of the cat converter too. ('Learned about that the hard way when cat in my wife's Saturn crapped out w/<130,000 on the clock) Perhaps you might want to consider doing that as well. For a '97 (and w/o checking) you could probably get away with the $18 universal Bosch unit (upstream O2) and do it yourself in about 10 mins.
And if the MAF has not been serviced in three or four air filters....

It all sounds like pretty easy (and cheap) stuff to do to me.

 

Dear NightSwimmer and virgin1,

Thank you so much for advising me on the " check engine light " on my
1997 Mazda Protege DX. After an O2 sensor was put in the light went off.
I was so relieved. A universal one cost about $ 80. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to write back to you. I've been so busy. Keep up the greatl work. Kind regards, Whitebear93, diane.trudeau@yahoo.com

 

Thank you NightSwimmer and virgin1 for your excellent advice for my 1997 Mazda Protege DX. After an $80 universal O2 sensor was installed the " check engine light" went off. Keep up the grest work. Kind regards, Whitebear93

 

Not a problem, Sir. That's why we're here. To try and help and learn ourselves.
I'm glad we (together) were able to help shed some light on the subject and that you got it fixed.

I assume the $80 universal O2 sensor was professionally installed as the one I recently bought was, as my post indicated, only $18. I am assuming the rest was labor?