I posted last week about my first CEL; no loss in power, everything seemed to be normal. It came on Friday night. Drove all weekend with no problems, the light went off Sunday night. Everything was fine until Wednesday morning when the light came on again. Called the dealer and, since I was ready for an oil change, took the car in Friday morning. They called later that day and said the problem was the "converter was not functioning correctly" and that it would be replaced. When I told them I hadn't noticed any operating problems, the reply was that the CAT wasn't plugged, it just wasn't working correctly. Of course, they didn't have one in stock but said they would have one Monday. Just wondered if anyone else has had a CAT that was "not functioning correctly"; just seems like a kinda strange choice of words.......

 

Yes, I have...CEL came and went, then came and went again. When I took it in, they said "the catalytic converter needs replacing." They did not have parts in, and six weeks later it's finally fixed. I hadn't noticed any change in car's behavior, but whatever. No comment on why the cat needed replacing after 3000 miles, nor why it took them six weeks to get the parts in.

 

Yeah, I just have 3200 on the car. I'll believe they replace it Monday when it happens.....

 

I look for alot of Pre-M/post flood cars to be Cat replacement proned.

Many cars filled the converter with fuel when they flooded. Some cars would post a converter temp as high as 1300 degrees before the engine even started. make sure the Service guys check the rear pipe for converter residue or it can rattle in the muffler. The true fix could/should be replacing the entire Cat-back system.

 

I had the Pre-M car, and had only one episode of flooding early in it's life around 80 miles. I have since had the flash as soon as it was out, and then installed the RB catback exhaust. Will I have problems with my Racing Beat exhaust now that I have a potential CAT problem lurking?

I think I will be buying the SR midpipe/CAT as soon as possible, and get rid of this POS.

 

It concerns me that some cars flooded on the lot prior to the first owner. Even the trucking companies had to get special info to avoid the problem. Until the TSB regarding the "M" flash hit the dealers most just ate the claim or slapped the Sales dept for their stupidity.

Sorry to say ALL pre "M" cars have the potential for cat issues but with no way to know the TRUE history of the car....(maybe some flooded in te port?)

Just be aware of the PO420/420 code and rest assured it will not cause a running issue. It is emission related only as the front and rear O2 do not send the proper readings to the PCM.

 

Yeah, snap-on, I got the M-flash soon after I got the car and I personally never flooded it. But like you said, who knows what happened to the car before I bought it.....

 

You can count on it. I have the Greddy cat and my CEL comes on/off with no rhyme or reason. I've taken her in twice for a quick read and both times the result has been the cat. They said they'll do a detail check on Tuesday to make sure there are no punctures or connection problems, but if it needs repairs it'll be on my dime since I've had the cat replaced with a non OEM part. The car is set up for stock exhaust readings and I have an aftermarket on. The system doesn't recognize those readings so it alerts you via CEL.

Welcome to my CEL life