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.
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 RepliesMy 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 exhaust on my 01 was rattling. It was coming from the catalytic converter, I assumed it was the heat shield. Put it up on the lift and lo and behold it was something in the cat that was rattling. I was popping a code for the cat anyways so figured I'd just swap it out. Fast forward to tonight. I get the car back up on the lift and I wiggle the cat but no rattling? I go farther back to the first muffler/resonator now it's rattling. It's not a hanger or a heat shield or metal to metal on the outside, there is obviously something of substantial mass inside of it I can almost feel where it is by wiggling around. I chose to wait and cut the exhaust up a different night because I plan on taking that section out as well now, hoping to get out whatever is rattling. If not I'll just have some spare pipe on hand to replace it.
View 6 RepliesI have noticed lately, when the car is hot, while pulling into my quiet garage, and even when the car is in park, engine running --- hearing some clicking / ticking coming from, or near the Catalytic Converter.... It sounds as if a small piece of metal is rattling inside with the flow of air... It stops clicking once the engine is turned off.
View 5 RepliesGot a rattle from the car, I think it's the catalytic converter heat shield. Looking for any pictures of what it looks like? I don't know if it is a full cover on our Toyota's, or a half cover. I will post a picture of what mine looks like now that it is rattling later today. Hoping it's an easy fix.
2009 Corolla CE 1.8L.
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.
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.
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 RepliesI 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 recently had the catalytic converter replaced on my 1999 Toyota Corolla and the gas mileage dropped from about 28 mpg to 21 mpg.
View 18 RepliesWhat would cause both Cat converters to fail at 20,000 mi.? Mine went out and the back pressure caused the engine to knock under acceleration. Also blew out an injector and plug. Luckily it was under warranty but wonder what could caused it.
View 8 RepliesMy 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?
Chk engine light is on. Checked it at Advance Auto and indicated either cat or the O2 sensor (rear). So, I went to replace the O2 sensor and learned the hard way that you can't just unscrew the nut. I torqued off the stud to which the O2 sensor attaches. Muffler shop told me you need to heat up the stud/nut first to remove it. Oh well, lesson learned. So, I'm looking at replacing the pipe with the catalytic converter attached since I can't seem to fix the broken stud (or actually get the one I didn't break off). The problem is, my car is apparently a CA model and has the special cat on it. I live in VA. What sort of problems might I run into if I replaced the cat with a non-CA version? They are significantly less expensive. This is for a 2003 Toyota Siienna
View 1 RepliesMy Toyota Tundra 2011, driven enough to haul a horse locally (6000 plus miles) is now unable to go above 30 mph, it was fine last week. Toyota dealer says it is both of the air injection units and switch. Of course it is out of warranty 3 months.
View 10 Replies1996 4runner here (187,500miles), with weld in after market cat (on when purchased, with less than 1000 mile on it). started throwing the 420 code beginning of last summer. Replaced both O2 sensors and same results. Was coming on after every 30-40 miles after resetting, replaced wires, plugs, cleaned throttle body started coming on ever 120 miles or so. Now in the middle of winter it has gone 450 miles and still has not come back on?? Does the winter fuel blends in Georgia, or cold more dense air make a difference on cat performance? Still plan to replace it with a direct fit with a warranty but curious if I am overlooking something.
View 6 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.
Yesterday my 1995 Toyota Corolla (which runs well otherwise) started making the loudest rumbling exhaust sound I've ever heard whenever I stepped on the gas pedal. It also felt like it had trouble accelerating when I would try to get going after a stop. I took it to a mechanic right away, who says it needs a new catalytic converter and resonator pipe.
My boyfriend says this is a repair he could do. He has done some car repair and worked with a mechanic before, so I am considering trusting him on that, but I don't know what types of repairs he's done before and I know he has never worked on this model. What would you take into consideration whether or not it would be safe to attempt this repair at home?
My 2006 Prius with 243,000 miles has an engine rattle under stress. When accelerating quickly or climbing a really steep hill it will rattle. I think it sounds like a chain. If I ease of the gas pedal, the rattle stops. Is this normal? Does this sound like a timing chain issue?
View 19 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.
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.
View 19 Replies