DTC P1144 Or DTC P1164: Description

WARNING: This page is about a different car, the 2002 Nissan Sentra. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.

The front Heated Oxygen Sensors (HO2S1) are located in exhaust manifold. They detect the amount of oxygen in the exhaust gas compared to the outside air. The front HO2S has a closed-end tube made of ceramic zirconia. The zirconia generates voltage from about one volt in richer conditions to zero volts in leaner conditions. The front HO2S signal is sent to the ECM. The ECM adjusts the injection pulse duration to achieve the ideal air-fuel ratio. The ideal air-fuel ratio occurs near the radical change from one volt to zero volts.

To judge the malfunction, the output from HO2S1 is monitored to determine whether the "rich" output is sufficiently high and whether the "lean" output is sufficiently low. When both the outputs are shifting to the rich side, the malfunction will be detected.