Golf IV / Jetta IV :: CEL 2 Codes P0420 And P2181 Came Up At Same Time
Sep 16, 2014
I just picked up a MK4 gls 1.8t jetta for a project car.... I wanted to keep the miles off my MK6 gti.... The jetta has 92k miles and the first thing I had done was the timing belt service done as well as a new alternator clutch pulley and oil change... 1 day after I got the car i was driving to work and the CEL came on took it to auto parts store... 2 codes came up
P0420: catalyst system. efficiency below threshold bank1
P2181 cooling system performance
I have the green sensor and I think its time to change the thermostat... My question is is it just a coincidence that both codes came up at the same time or is i possible it is a sign for something else... i just had the thermostat changed 10 min ago...CEL light is gone so i will wait to see if the cat code comes back.
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Bought a 2004 Jetta GLI about two weeks ago. Has 80,100 miles. Ran great for about the first week then the check engine light came on for no reason. It is spitting out two codes.
1) P3081
2) P2181
The car still was running good even with spitting these codes so I continued to drive it for another week. Today I was sitting in the parking lot of a store and the car was idling for about 25 minutes while I ran into the store and I come outside from the store and there was a huge lake under my car and the engine was running hot and smoking.
I let it cool down and poured some water into the over flow bubble looking thing and it didn't look like any water was leaking out.
When the water was leaking out it looked like it was coming from the left middle side of the engine.....
Also I would like to add that the car seems to always run a little cold.....it never runs just in the middle like most cars do...
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What I need to do to fix these codes
p0171 system too lean bank 1
p2637 torque management
p0420 ...
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Had a P2181 come up twice now... both on startup on a cool morning. Came on again this weekend. Monday morning I noticed a small coolant leak under the front of the car directly in line with the passenger headlight, but it only leaks if I park the car with the front down a slope. I parked uphill on Monday night and no leak in the morning, but I backed in facing downhill on Tuesday and had a small leak when I checked late last night.
So, last night I broke out the UV/black light -- G12 seems to fluoresce yellow'ish. I couldn't see much, so it is a small leak. There is some wetness on the bottom passenger side of the rad that's dripping over the back side of the front bumper/lip. No wetness around any other hoses, thermostat housing, temp sensor, turbo lines. But that's all from the top view. No time yet this week to get it up on stands to pull the bumper/splash shields for a closer look either.
I am little concerned tho as there's some wetness around the valve cover and when I pulled the oil cap my eyes suggested a bit of fluorescence under the cap and inside the valve cover. I'm a little worried oil and coolant may be meeting up somewhere... And to think... I was just in the process of getting geared up to do brakes and plugs before getting a modest tune (stage 1).
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Like the title states, I've got P2181 (coolant system performance) CEL on again. I've had this code before and finally had everything serviced. It was off for 5k miles! I've spent a lot of time diagnosing this on the previous occurrences, and was 99% certain it was the thermostat due to the coolant temp dropping a notch or so when engine braking* on the interstate for more than a few seconds.
The current issue is mainly that the car will not heat up quite as fast, but it will not go lower from engine braking for a good chunk of time. I'm getting fairly poor MPG compared to what I was getting a month or two ago. The major changes are winter fuel blends and winter tires, which I'm sure affect the MPG a little, but I would hope not as much as I am seeing. Old average was around 27mpg combined and 30 or so for mostly highway, now I'm getting 24 tops. This is likely due to engine temps not being up to allow for most efficient fuel burning.
First plan is to change the CTS and see if that will fix it. If the code comes back after that, I'll have to check the thermostat and coolant mixture, but I wouldn't expect it to last only 5k miles.
Current: 105k
Thermostat and coolant changed at 100k
Water pump at 80k
CTS sometime around 70k
Engine braking lowering temp due to no fuel being ignited and coolant still circulating through the system if thermostat open.
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I keep getting the error code P0420. Cat below threshold.
I have replace both the front and rear O2 sensors and we reset the check engine light. While driving through the cycles to reset the sensors for them to be ready for DEQ, the check engine light came on again.
I am about ready to buy the Cat Converter, but it is really expensive and if there are any other things that I can try before replacing the Cat I would like to try that first. Any other issues associated with that code, or should I just replace the Cat Converter as my next step.
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MK4 GTi - My check engine light came on a few days ago and when I checked it, it pulled code P0420.
Just this morning, the check engine light went away.
Is this a common issue? Or should I go get it checked just in case?
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So I recently bought a GTI and started to fix a couple things. It has a P0420 code so I bought a new downpipe to install. Noticed the stock one was missing 1 of the nuts and the stud had broken off. How get this out? Do I need to remove the turbo? Looks like I do need to remove the turbo to use an extractor set.
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I just bought a 03 2.0 and ive been trying to fix her back up, she is almost there, just waiting on my first gear getter from diesel geeks and trying to figure out why these codes (p0420 and p0141) keep coming back on. Originally it was just a p0420 code so i took out the upstream sensor and cleaned it, then i took out the backstream and after examining it figured it should be replaced.
I went and bought a new one and replaced it, within the next 2 days the check engine light came back on throwing the original p0420 code along with p0141 this time. So i took out the new down stream 02 sensor and took it back to autozone and they swapped it out with a new one for me free of charge. So i put the newest 02 sensor in and then within 2 days, both codes p0420 & p0141 came back on. Two 02 sensor heating wires being bad i feel is a pretty slim chance. What is possibly the cause for these two codes repeatedly being thrown?
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2001 Jetta 2.0, manual trans
I've been having problems with intermittent P0420 cat below efficiency code. Everything else is fine, no codes, runs great. I tried spacing the post cat sensor back w/ extender bung (after replacing post cat sensor..) and still get the code. I don't hear any rattling or anything to make me think cat is bad physically. I was told by dealer that a code update might resolve for $200 - which got me thinking that that if that was so, it should should be a problem which Feds should be aware.
I searched safercar.gov and found this NHTSA ID Number: 10054864
It's a service bulletin saying that VW made the limits too sensitive and it seems there was a customer satisfaction campaign to update code - pdf on site CSC-10054864-8736
It says:
May 2007
Subject: Emissions Service Action N7
1999-2002 Jetta, Golf and GTI with VR6 Engine
Update Electronic Control Module (ECM) Software for Catalytic Converter Monitoring System Dear Volkswagen Owner: We are writing to inform you of an emissions service action on some 1999-2002 Jetta, Golf and GTI VR6 engine vehicles. Our records show that you are the owner of one of these vehicles.
What Is The Problem? The electronic control module (ECM) software for the catalytic converter monitoring system is too sensitive. This can cause the MIL to come on, and some vehicles may exceed Federal and/or California emissions standards. Also, in some cases this leads to unnecessary catalytic converter replacement. What Will Volkswagen Do? Dealers will update the ECM software.
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I bought my Jetta almost a year ago, and I've been constantly replacing parts. Unfortunately, my engine misfired twice and the CEL has come on for P0420 which is inefficient catalyst. This is the only code being thrown. I've cleared it like 10 times, but it keeps popping up.
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On my 2002 (AVH) 2.0L 4cyl Jetta I have a persistent P0420 error code: "Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold"
I changed the oil, cleaned the Mass Airflow Sensor, replaced the coolant, thermostat, and coolant temperature sensor. But it's still showing up.
OBDII says it could still be:
A damaged or failed oxygen sensor (HO2S)
Downstream oxygen sensor (HO2S) wiring damaged or connected improperly
Damaged or leaking exhaust manifold / catalytic converter / muffler / exhaust pipe
Retarded spark timing
The oxygen sensors in front and behind the converter are reporting too similar of readings
Leaking fuel injector or high fuel pressure
Cylinder misfire Oil contamination
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So I'm also noticing my car occasionally makes a huge thud sound from time to time when I put it into two certain gears. From park to reverse it's not loud but there's a little noise, but from any gear into Drive it's sometimes a loud boom and the car shakes. My pops mentioned to me this is dangerous because of how the engine is moving underneath the hood when it happens. I just recently changed the dog bone mount, could it be the others? I'm ware that it's wise to change all 3 if you change one but I was on a budget & it was a lot worse before. Someone mentioned it might be my torque converter but I did some research & the two symptoms don't add up. And I'll add once more that this happens occasionally & not every time I switch to a different gear. What it may be?
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Looked around and could not find info on 2 codes. 2004 Prius : P0420 and U0293. One I believe is lost communication with hybrid system. Are these serious?
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A few weeks back I got my ARK exhaust installed with no problems. Due to some personal reasons I had it removed and my stock exhaust reinstalled by a different shop over this past weekend. I've been driving it fine for the past few days but today I noticed the CEL on with codes P0420 and P0430. I hit up the shop to see what was up and he told me he didn't touch anything that should have caused this. What should I do....
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My 2003 Volvo S40 Turbo (140K miles) came back with the following during emissions inspection (and failed). Is it worth fixing?
P0420 Catalyst system efficiency below threshold - bank 1 and P0015 "B" Camshaft position timing over retarded - bank 1....
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After changing 3coilpacks on my Passat 04 1.8T soo far finally the last one went out. The codes I got are P0301 (which is misfire cylinder1) and the other code is p0420 which I do not know what it is... I think it might do something with cat or something.
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The wifes camry all of a sudden tossed up CEL. Codes read P0100, P0110, and P0420. Car has about 125K miles, runs fine. I cleaned the MAF sensor with CRC cleaner just for that, pulled EFI fuse to reset, came back on immediately when started.
I was thinking of getting a used one from pull-a-part, but they only have 98 camrys at the moment. Any chance MAF is the same?
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We bought the 2010 RX350 a couple of weeks ago and have gotten these codes twice.. I have a good scanner and know what the codes say about Cat's bank 1 and 2 operating below threshold. I know some of you are going to say replace the cat's, others are going to say replace the sensors and neither should be the problem... If it were a cat or sensor, then they would not come in at the identical same time... It has to be something common such as a throttle body, charcoal canister, or another item upstream of the cat's... Not the gas cap either...Maybe a vacuum hose..
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The check engine light on my sons 03 celica is on. Went to autozone and they got the codes for me. They are P0420, P0442, P0446, P0456. I realize that I should probably have an OBD11 reader. What steps do I take to fix this?
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Check engine light came on while driving home from work. The car seems to be running fine but I got the following codes p2195, p0420, p2096. I have a 2006 elantra with 184000 miles. Should I just replace the upstream oxygen sensor or is there a more likely problem? I rather not spend the money if this combination of codes is likely has a different cause but replacing the sensor appears to be the quickest and easiest solution.
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