Prius (2004-09) :: 2008 Touring - CEL On At 68K / New Catalytic Converter Needed
Aug 24, 2010
My '08 Prius Touring is in the shop today because the 'check engine' light came on at 68,500 miles. I just got word from them that the catalytic converter is bad and needs replacement. Good thing I bought the extended warranty! Well, I searched the forum for similar problems and it seems like this is somewhat common, albeit on cars with a bit more mileage and maybe a year or more older. I don't abuse my car at all, though I often roll into full-throttle while merging.
Is this a symptom of a poor part design or of a system that fouls the cat over a certain amount of time? I'm not looking forward to replacing it again at 130K after my extended warranty expires.
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The check engine light came on a few times. Went to the old trusty repair shop and the codes pointed to an issue with the catalytic converter. When we started the car again, multiple warning dash lights came on: ABS, (!), Check Engine, and emergency brake light. The brakes also felt very stiff after this.
The mechanic at the shop was taken aback. Said there was a glitch with the computer and that we needed to take it to a dealership to have them "perform initialization of linear solenoid valve and calibration." He said that would fix the issue with the lights.
We were a little upset this happened but love this shop and only stopped going because we moved a few hours away. The mechanic has always been very honest and upfront through the years.
I took the car to the local Toyota dealership today, told them what happened and what the mechanic said. All they did was charge me $100 for a diagnosis of bad catalytic converter pipe and tell me that all the lights came on because the catalytic converter is so far gone. They said they couldn't turn the other lights off until the catalytic converter was replaced.
I don't understand why my brakes are affected when the issue with the car is the catalytic converter. I was also told by the guy at the shop where we first took the car that we would be able to drive with a faulty Catalytic converter with no problem.
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It is true that, for a supercharged engine is beneficial to have some back pressure in the exhaust? I have a 2007 FX4 whipple supercharged, 5.4L, 3V, no cat, true dual X 2.5 ", I have no tailpipe emissions problems in my country, my problem is the power to the wheels. I install a high flow catalytic converters?.
The Magnaflow 94106 is what many people recommend but in this forum, people from Bear Rivers says he does not meet the high flows, what is the correct part number.
I have a 4.56 ratio 315/70R17 tires and power makes lose significantly?, is this true?. I have a big question, in particular point 1, because I think I lost torque at low rpm and, according to what I read, maybe this escape as free to be affecting the successful performance of the engine.
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I wanted to ask a couple questions about this method of adding Lacquer thinner to my gas tank to clean my so called clogged catalytic converters. First off, I have a 2006 F150 5.4 with 90k miles on it and my engine light is on. When I took it to autozone, they said it was just a clogged catalytic converter. Well to be sure, I took it to another autozone, and they said it was an oxygen sensor. I run a lot of ethanol in my truck. My instincts tell me that the catalytic converters are probably clogged because when I mash on the gas it doesn't accelerate as fast as it should being a V8.
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My cat converter is rattling on driver's side and check engine light is on. Rattle is the inside of the converter, not the heat shield. How much $ and what kind of converter replacement is recommended?
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Toyota says the code is P0420 and the Catalytic Converter is rattling under heavy acceleration showing the Catalytic converter is bad and should be replaced. Toyota wants 2,334.00 which seems very high to me. Is it the Catalytic converter? The car is a 2004 Toyota Prius.
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I checked out a 2006 Prius yesterday a guy is selling. It had the CEL on (not sure why somebody would try and sell a car with that, but anyway). He said that it's because they get gas at a station that consistently doesn't tighten the gas cap enough but by the time the tank is down to 1-2 bars the light always goes away. Although I don't doubt his story, I absolutely doubted the cause. So I took it to get the code pulled and it was P0420, which is catalytic converter threshold below efficiency.
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I just moved to Colorado with my 2009 Prius and on the fifth day here the check engine light went on and the dealership said my catalytic converter failed. Luckily I was still under warranty. Is this related to the altitude or just a coincidence?
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My check engine light has been coming on and off and it seems to show P0420 for catalytic converter. The light stays off for about a week and it'll come on for a day or two and off again.
Wouldn't a failed converter stay failed? Can P0420 be triggered by loose/bad gas caps?
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I have a 2008 Touring. The air has always been ice cold, even yesterday. On my commute this morning I noticed that the air was not cold at all for the first time ever. The outside temp said it was 77. I changed the temp, turned it off, etc but nothing changed. I just had it at the Toyota dealer 2 days getting the oil changed.
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I changed the oil on my 2008 Prius Touring in the weekend. I consulted the manual after the oil was changed. One mistake I made was to use 10W-30 instead 5W-30 recommended. The manual mentioned that it affects MPG with 10W-30. For the 270 miles trip I took right after, my average MPG dropped from ~46 to 45 highway. My short commute driving dropped from ~37 to 34. Comparison are made on the same roads with similar temperature and driving speed. Is that normal? Will it go back up after a while?
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I own a 2004 Acura RSX that I purchased new nearly 10 years ago. The car currently has 182,000 miles on it. Two years ago (approx. 130,000 miles), I had to replace the catalytic converter and both O2 sensors. This lightened my wallet to the tune of $1,200 (aftermarket franchise, OEM replacement). A few weeks ago, the "check engine" light came on. I used my scanner, and got the dreaded P0420 code, and had it verified by another shop. O2 sensors were OK. What REALLY shocked me was that replacement catalytic converters are only warranted for 5 years/25,000 miles (50k in CA). The first replacement piece lasted 52,000 miles (less than half the miles/years of the original part)
Here are THE QUESTIONS: What killed this catalytic converter? What can I do to prolong the life of this part? My car has the base powertrain that (according to the owner's manual) recommends 87 octane fuel. That's all I've ever used. The mechanic suggested moving up to mid-grade fuel, though he admitted that he wasn't sure.
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The check engine light came on so I took my car in. My mechanic whom I've used for years told me the following: the catalytic converted had started to come off, in the process it pushed the oxygen sensor up against the body of the car and shorted it out. The total damage is that the O2 sensor and the cat has to be replaced. The line-item estimate was $104 for a sensor and $650 for a cat, plus labor. Total: $1000. Now, I'm looking online and seeing cats that work on my car for far less ($200-400 depending). I talked to another mechanic on the phone who verified cats don't have to be $650. My mechanic said they only use top quality parts with warranty, etc. But the other mechanic said that for a car that he wants to get moving again, a cat is a cat and any new part will, of course, come with a warranty. So... what should I do? Is $1000 too much? If I go with the mechanic who says he can get me down to $700, will that be cheap work on my car? It has 108K miles, and I'd like to get at least another few years out of it.
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I have a 2002 Toyota Prius that is currently in limp mode...
Took it to the dealer for diagnostics and they said the Catalytic Converter has failed...So I went online, bought a new one and replaced it. The symptoms prior the Cat replacement were still there...mpg loss, power loss, and exhaust air was not exiting the end of the pipe but actually leaking out the connection point where the Cat and the manifold met.
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I'm a rideshare driver who drives about 1000 miles/week. I currently have a Gen 2 which I love, but I'm looking to upgrade to a Gen 4 pretty soon.
-Does the Gen 4 have the same kind of under-trunk storage area in the hatch/cargo area? This is important for me on the Gen 2 because it allows me to carry equipment while having an empty hatch space for passengers luggage. Does it depend on if you have a spare tire or not?
-Real-world MPG in extended city driving with A/C on?
-Where are the 12v outlets? And extend one into the hatch area?
-Is there a notable difference in comfort for touring vs non touring models?
-Does the driver's seat with lumbar support make a significant difference in comfort?
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Took my car to a shop today after I'd been experiencing a "tinny clunking" sounding rattle. I was worried it might be my catalytic converter and after couple of bumps on the exhaust system while on the lift, the tech thought this was indeed the case. Replacing the catalytic converter could be a $1500+ job from what I hear if replaced by toyota.
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My wife's car is a 2002 Prius, 149 k miles. Lately the check engine light has been coming on. I took it to the dealership, and their assessment is that the catalytic converter needs to be replaced. They are recommending about $2,000 + of repairs. While I am contemplating the practicality of investing that much in keeping this car going I'm wondering if it harmful or dangerous to continue operating this vehicle.
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engine light and flashing cruise control switch--computer says replace bank one---so I replace with factory catalytic converter----six months later light comes back on with flashing cruise control switch and computer asking me to replace bank one---So I use computer to shut light off----four weeks later light comes back on----called dealer they said "we usually replace both banks"---I found it most painful paying for dealer supplied catalytic converter even when I was under the impression that it would keep light off.---This is my wife's car and she is not really buying the piece of black electrical tape I placed on dash over check engine light.---Am I dealing with a bad oxygen sensor ?
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After hearing some loud noise coming from my exhaust system, it was determined that there is a hole (from rust) in part of the cat. assembly. Three shops advised for replacement, there are no aftermarket products for this unit. I have NOT gotten any error codes, the only problem is the noise. What to do? The car is 10 years old with 86000 miles. I have been reading about some of you getting just the one piece and having it welded on, but I do not believe any of the shops here will do that, and indicated that it would be a very temporary fix.
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I just purchased a 2008 Prius C Touring edition from CarMax. I have an appointment to bring it back but this may be a user error issue. My issue is that when I first hit the Power button the indicator light on the button goes green. When I hit it a 2nd time the light goes orange but stays on. When I shift to R or D it will shift to N but no further. I do have my foot on the break but the only way I can shift into R or D is to hit the power button twice more, to turn it off and back on. When it turns on the 2nd time, the indicator light on the Power button goes off. Am I doing something wrong?
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My driver side headlight is out in my '08 touring (HID) I bought replacement bulbs on Priuschat recommendation. Swapped that one out, no change. Is the ballast next on the list?
Also, this may be a coincidence. But that headlight assembly seems to be a bit leaky. After a rain a fair amount of condensation gets in there.
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