– Faulty front heated oxygen sensor
– Ignition misfiring
– Faulty fuel injectors
– Exhaust gas leaks
– Incorrect fuel pressure
– Lack of fuel
– Faulty Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor
– Incorrect Positive Crankcase Ventilation (PCV) hose connection
The P0171 code could also be caused may be caused by one or more of the following: debris on MAF sensor causing an incorrect reading, improper oil level, low or high fuel pressure or Engine Control Temperature (ECT) Sensor reading inaccurate.
There is a factory service bulletin for the following Pontiac models:
2000-2001 Pontiac Transport
2000-2002 Pontiac Firebird
2000-2008 Pontiac Bonneville
2000-2008 Pontiac Grand Am
2000-2008 Pontiac Grand Prix
2000-2008 Pontiac Sunfire
2001-2008 Pontiac Aztek
2002-2008 Pontiac Montana
2000-2008 Pontiac Factory Service Bulletin OBDII Code P0171
– The amount of mixture ratio compensation is too small. (The mixture ratio is too lean.)
– Excessive Fuel Consumption
The Engine Control Module (ECM) controls the air/fuel metering system in order to provide the best possible combination of driveability, fuel economy, and emission control. Fuel delivery is controlled differently during Open Loop and Closed Loop. During Open Loop, the ECM determines fuel delivery based on sensor signals without heated oxygen sensor (HO2S) input. During Closed Loop, the ECM adds HO2S inputs to calculate the short and long term fuel trim (FT) adjustments. If the HO2S indicates a lean condition, the fuel trim values will be above 0 percent. If the HO2S indicates a rich condition, the FT values will be below 0 percent. The short term FT values change rapidly in response to the HO2S voltage signals. The long term FT makes coarse adjustments in order to maintain an air/fuel ratio of 14.7:1.