Siamese cat?

So thank God for the 8yr 80k cat warrenty. My CEL came on about a week ago with a "P0420 catalyst efficiency below threshold bank 1". I assumed whatever tripped it was covered, and it was. The shop said that typically fouled plugs cause the rear rotor to flood and these cats to fail, which I knew from this site, and had already planned on swapping out the plugs, coils, and wires.

My question is this: If I have a brand new cat put on, and then immediately do the ignition work, should I be good for another 30K (until I do it again) or is there anything else that could be fouled up from the rear rotor flooding besides the cat? I'd like to take care of whatever other havoc the flooding could have caused.

Thanks guys.

BTW, I actually went in yesterday, but apparently my cat was so red hot that they didn't even want to touch it. Ha.

 

you should be good for another 30k.

That number is really just a factual number thrown around by people as a safety precaution. Some plugs/coils/wires last longer. Some less.

Make sure you recognize the early warning signs, and you can even test them to make sure they are still operable.

 

Here's the thing... I've only had the car a couple weeks and to me it drives GREAT, coming from a Jetta, so anything would right? It has 28K miles and the acceleration seems fine, it starts up fine, etc. So either I'm dull to the warning signs because I don't have one with new ignition to compare it to, or it's not giving me any.

But regardless, I was planning on the ignition refresh even before the CEL came on, so now the parts are actually enroute to my house.

 

No harm in it, that's for sure!

But, so you don't needlessly toss money at your car in the future, you should search the DIY section and learn how to actually test for failing parts. Saves you time and money, and you get to learn more about your engine. Win-Win situation

 

Good idea, especially when folks were reporting that their coils were failing at 8k or so. Good to be able to verify that other than looking at white spots on the bottom. Thanks for the info.

 

Ok, so I just called up Mazda to check on the car since they've had it all day. The new cat has been installed, but they're having a tough time getting it to pass emmisions since the computer has to reset itself or something. He said sometimes they can get it to reset there, but most times it takes driving about 50 miles for it to do it. Is this guy blowing smoke or has anyone heard of this? He said that if it doesn't reset by the time I pick it up, drive it a while and come back to do the inspection.

Thoughts?

 

yes, the ecu was probably reset. The fuel trims will take ~3-6 drive cycles to get back to normal. Do you know if they reset the NVRAM (20 brake pedal stomp)?

 

I don't know if they did that. I've already brought it home and they said to bring it back in a couple days to do the emissions test. Is the 20 brake pedal stomp something I can/should do? I'm guessing they would have known to do that.

 

no, it's not necessary. Just drive it as you normally would for a few days, as they suggested

 

I'm glad that's normal. It just sounded so fishy for some reason. Thanks for letting me know.

 

When you have a check engine light(cel) and have it removed it takes around ~150 miles give or take to be able to pass emissions. The car needs to be driven after a reset like that or it will never pass. There are many reasons for this i'm sure, one is to stop people like me who have a midpipe(and a cel to go with it) from just clearing/removing the cel and getting tested right away before it returns.

 

Ahh, ok. The tech had mentioned that as well. I'm glad it was true. Thanks.

 

Ugh, and it continues. I picked up the car yesterday and it drove fine. This morning however on my way into work, every time I'd go over a bump in the road, there would be a knock from the back. I thought at first that something was in the trunk, but the knock got louder.

How hard is it really to bolt on a damn catalytic convertor? Calling Mazda as soon as they wake their asses up to answer the phone. Sheesh.

 

it just needs an adjustment, you got a new $1500 cat assembly for free so maybe pull your head out of your butt and be thankful it is something minor instead of acting like such an ingrate about it

 

Seriously? That response seemed justified. A hole.

 

we both are, you just don't see it.

 

I just did this yesterday. Had my car at the dealership getting some work done and they reset the ecu and I got rejected at emmissions cause the OBD II port was not ready. I drove straight to emmissions right after I got out of the dealership. So I drove about 25 miles on the expressway and hit the redline a couple of times and then did a constant speed of about 65 mph and then drove straight to emmissions and it passed. It's not about how many miles you drive it's how you drive to get it to pass. Don't drive around town because you won't hit a high enough speed.

 

it's a combination of time and speeds, the specific procedure is in the service manual and also posted on the forum somewhere

 

Alright, truce. I probably am being a bit of an a-hole for not being more thankful that the cat fell into warranty. It was just the first thing I spit out once I got to work in frustration that I have to head back for the third time in a row. I'm hoping it's something easy, but at least it's covered like you said.

 

Dave, yes your response may have been a little over the top, but, one would expect a Mazda tech at a Mazda dealership to do the job properly the first time.It's a warranty item, no need to be thankful. Don't lose any sleep concerning the other A hole, he wouldn't be himself if he wasn't pissing someone off.

 

Thanks FF. You're alright.