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?
View 3 RepliesI had my local garage do their electronic check when my check engine light came on. They said the code they got indicated a failed catalytic converter and quoted me $720.00 for a California compliant replacement, including labor. I live in Connecticut. I'd like to take a few days to get a second opinion and second quote, but the garage manager said that driving it in this condition would risk fouling the oxygen sensor, which I recently replaced for a couple hundred bucks.
Should I be concerned about fouling the oxygen sensor by continuing to drive the car? 2000 Toyota Camry...
I looked under the car and the rear attachment bolts to the converter are rusted beyond recognition. I'm tempted to try replacing it myself but it may be a bit beyond my skills.
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?
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.
View 12 RepliesMy 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?
View 10 RepliesI 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.
105,000 miles on my R32, starting to get check engine light for catalytic converter. Any cheaper options to VW originals that won't harm performance?
View 1 RepliesThe check engine light on our 2005 Honda CRV (146,000 miles) came on and stayed on. After a week of driving with the light on we brought the car to the dealer to have it checked. The dealer diagosed a faulty catalytic converter given a P0402 diagnostic code and didn't think the P1078 code for the intake manifold a problem. The dealer also stated that the oxygen sensors were fine. We declined the dealers offer to replace the catalytic converter for $2,170 and the check engine light was reset. After two weeks of daily drifting and 1000 plus miles the engine light is still off. Did we actually have a problem? Why hasn't the light come on again?
View 8 RepliesI live in CA and recently my car passed the smog test, but failed inspection because the check engine light on the board was on. When the diagnostic test was done, it said there's a problem with the catalytic converter. It's so frustrating because the car's emissions are within limits. , I was thinking... Is there a way to get the catalytic converter to run cleaner without replacing it? If it can run long enough to pass the diagnostic test, my car could pass inspection.
View 3 Replies2004 Chrysler Sebring Sedan, 4 cylinder dual-overhead cam. My check engine light came on this morning and the code came out as the catalytic converter. The car seems to be running fine, at least no recent changes. I'm debating replacing this vehicle soon, and I'm wondering if it's worth working on the catalytic converter. I recently replaced the cam shaft position sensor as well.
View 5 RepliesMy car is in the garage, been having a bunch of issues with the check engine light. This is my current problem, Check Engine light is popping up because the catalytic converter is sending an error. However, there is nothing wrong with the converter, it keeps sending the same error. My car has been in the shop for exhaust issues and valve problems, but this has got them stumped.
View 24 RepliesI just took my 2005 Camry to get smogged and it failed. The reading said that my evaporator and my catalytic converter failed. I reset and drove her for almost 200 miles to get the reading settled, but that did not work. I checked all my fuses and the smog-guy and I have no clue what the issue could be. I don't think that the catalytic converter needs replacing since she only has 60,000 miles on her, but what could be the problem that it keeps saying 'fail'.
View 6 RepliesMy '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.
The wife's 1997 Mountaineer, 5.0 with all the bells and whistles, Every time she stops, wet, dry, snow, any type of surface, the ABS brakes activate just as she comes to a stop. Heavy pressure, light pressure, doesn't matter. She says it sounds like a cow mooo-ing. 138,000 miles. New pads and rotors were installed 40K miles ago (about 3 years ago) she doesn't drive much but the noise is aggravating. No check engine light, or ABS light. Seems to come on when it gets below 10mph consistently. The Engine light comes on occasionally with a catalytic converter fault, replaced the converters but still get the light. I don't think it is related.
View 9 RepliesI own a 2004 Ford Escape, auto, v6. I bought the car in 2007 and have had trouble with my check engine light ever since. It is usually on, but will turn off shortly after I wash it (then back on a week or so later). When mechanics test for the code, they say that my catalytic convertor needs to be replaced. In addition to the on/off strange behavior, I have been driving this car for 4 years now with no major mechanical trouble that I can only assume would result from not replacing the CC. This would be very expensive repair, one I am not interested in doing if this is possibly just an electrical problem. I am ready to get this problem solved and start driving check engine light free.
View 3 RepliesToyota 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.
View 12 RepliesThe 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.
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.
View 15 RepliesThis car has been giving me quite a bit of trouble lately. 04 Ford Taurus SES, about 97,000 miles on it. Just last weekend, it broke down on the highway. Found out the torque converter failed and needed to be replaced. I was suspecting that something was wrong with the transmission for a while now, because it would stutter sometimes when accelerating, and sometimes start shaking in the front when I turned it on. (It still stutters after having the torque converter replaced.)
Well now, a day after shelling out quite a bit of money to the dealer for this torque converter, the check engine light is on. I went to Autozone to check the codes, and they found P0300, P0305 (cylinder misfire) and P0316 ("crank sensor condition"). Is it possible the transmission is failing?? I found a bunch of complaints online about the transmission failing on the 04 Taurus. I'm trying to avoid more expensive repairs, but I don't want the car to break down on me again....
Also, a couple months ago, the check engine light went on a few times, but always went off within a day or two. Never did get it checked out because it didn't stay on long enough.
I have a 2000 Lincoln Town Car with a single exhaust system, part of/attached to the frontal area of the exhaust "Y" pipe are two lumps with heat shields, the muffler is obvious in the mid-section of the car, but are those "lumps" the catalytic converters, and if so, why two when the older cars had only one?
View 2 RepliesI 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.