is what the mazda service dealership told me bullshit?
09-14-2009, 04:54 PM
#1
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is what the mazda service dealership told me bullshit?
i called in today to make an appointment to switch out my cat cause its shitting out. Im about 99% sure my cat is bad because
1. my engine light is coming back as a "bad rear sensor" or o2 sensor.
2. whenever i floor it i hear crazy noises from the cat or atleast the bottom of my car and a horrible smell arises.
3. my friend who graduated lincoln tech told me its the cat.
so i called in to schedule a replacement knowing i still have emissions warrantee but the mechanic at garden city mazda NY said that the rx8 cats are on "national backorder" and could be months before they come in and that also they will have to do a diagnostic and see if its only the cat. i told him im almost positive the cat is bad but he told me that if its not "just" the cat that they would have to charge me $150 dollars diagnostic charge. I told him what my car was doing and explaining how it has to be the cat but he said it can also be the o2 sensor thats bad and if tahts the case they will have to charge me taht diagnostic fee.
iunno what to do here he said i basically rolling a dice to bring in my car referring to that diagnostic fee.
whats up with that?
1. my engine light is coming back as a "bad rear sensor" or o2 sensor.
2. whenever i floor it i hear crazy noises from the cat or atleast the bottom of my car and a horrible smell arises.
3. my friend who graduated lincoln tech told me its the cat.
so i called in to schedule a replacement knowing i still have emissions warrantee but the mechanic at garden city mazda NY said that the rx8 cats are on "national backorder" and could be months before they come in and that also they will have to do a diagnostic and see if its only the cat. i told him im almost positive the cat is bad but he told me that if its not "just" the cat that they would have to charge me $150 dollars diagnostic charge. I told him what my car was doing and explaining how it has to be the cat but he said it can also be the o2 sensor thats bad and if tahts the case they will have to charge me taht diagnostic fee.
iunno what to do here he said i basically rolling a dice to bring in my car referring to that diagnostic fee.
whats up with that?
09-14-2009, 05:02 PM
#2
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read the title and my immediate reaction was, "Yeah, it's probably bullshit"
(now to read the actual post and see if my initial impression is correct)
Alright, I'm not sure about this whole 'National Backorder' nonsense but my 1st question is: are you still in your standard warranty period?
If not, then YES the dealership may charge you a diagnostic fee if it turns out to not be a bad cat.
Given your description, I am leaning towards a bat cat. My RP high flow cat burned out and at high rpm's I could definitely hear a rattling sound coming from the cat. (plus the smell is usually a good indicator)
Your CEL code is troubling though as it's not necessarily the code you'd get with a bad cat. (let me double check that. brb)
(now to read the actual post and see if my initial impression is correct)
Alright, I'm not sure about this whole 'National Backorder' nonsense but my 1st question is: are you still in your standard warranty period?
If not, then YES the dealership may charge you a diagnostic fee if it turns out to not be a bad cat.
Given your description, I am leaning towards a bat cat. My RP high flow cat burned out and at high rpm's I could definitely hear a rattling sound coming from the cat. (plus the smell is usually a good indicator)
Your CEL code is troubling though as it's not necessarily the code you'd get with a bad cat. (let me double check that. brb)
Last edited by Jedi54; 09-14-2009 at 05:08 PM.
09-14-2009, 05:10 PM
#3
i called in today to make an appointment to switch out my cat cause its shitting out. Im about 99% sure my cat is bad because
1. my engine light is coming back as a "bad rear sensor" or o2 sensor.
2. whenever i floor it i hear crazy noises from the cat or atleast the bottom of my car and a horrible smell arises.
3. my friend who graduated lincoln tech told me its the cat.
so i called in to schedule a replacement knowing i still have emissions warrantee but the mechanic at garden city mazda NY said that the rx8 cats are on "national backorder" and could be months before they come in and that also they will have to do a diagnostic and see if its only the cat. i told him im almost positive the cat is bad but he told me that if its not "just" the cat that they would have to charge me $150 dollars diagnostic charge. I told him what my car was doing and explaining how it has to be the cat but he said it can also be the o2 sensor thats bad and if tahts the case they will have to charge me taht diagnostic fee.
iunno what to do here he said i basically rolling a dice to bring in my car referring to that diagnostic fee.
whats up with that?
1. my engine light is coming back as a "bad rear sensor" or o2 sensor.
2. whenever i floor it i hear crazy noises from the cat or atleast the bottom of my car and a horrible smell arises.
3. my friend who graduated lincoln tech told me its the cat.
so i called in to schedule a replacement knowing i still have emissions warrantee but the mechanic at garden city mazda NY said that the rx8 cats are on "national backorder" and could be months before they come in and that also they will have to do a diagnostic and see if its only the cat. i told him im almost positive the cat is bad but he told me that if its not "just" the cat that they would have to charge me $150 dollars diagnostic charge. I told him what my car was doing and explaining how it has to be the cat but he said it can also be the o2 sensor thats bad and if tahts the case they will have to charge me taht diagnostic fee.
iunno what to do here he said i basically rolling a dice to bring in my car referring to that diagnostic fee.
whats up with that?
U might want to bring your car to places like Wayne Mazda that gives you no bullshit at all.
btw, bad smell = Bad cat 99.999999999% of the time.
Last edited by nycgps; 09-14-2009 at 05:12 PM.
09-14-2009, 05:14 PM
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i actually had a catless agency power exahust set up and people are telling me taht could be why the code is coming up taht way cause the 02 got fried.
iunno if i should explain that to the guy or not lol...
also does anyone know why i have this really bad clanking sound by the passenger side when i hit bumps? its not a loose exhaust i checked for taht already and it sounds sooo bad... what is up with that?
iunno if i should explain that to the guy or not lol...
also does anyone know why i have this really bad clanking sound by the passenger side when i hit bumps? its not a loose exhaust i checked for taht already and it sounds sooo bad... what is up with that?
09-14-2009, 05:17 PM
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I was under the impression that a bad cat usually threw the following code?
P0420 Catalyst system efficiency below threshold ON 2 Catalyst
I know MM has a post around here somewhere that shows which CEL's he disables. The cat code is one of them, I just can't find the post ATM.
P0420 Catalyst system efficiency below threshold ON 2 Catalyst
I know MM has a post around here somewhere that shows which CEL's he disables. The cat code is one of them, I just can't find the post ATM.
09-14-2009, 05:18 PM
#6
i actually had a catless agency power exahust set up and people are telling me taht could be why the code is coming up taht way cause the 02 got fried.
iunno if i should explain that to the guy or not lol...
also does anyone know why i have this really bad clanking sound by the passenger side when i hit bumps? its not a loose exhaust i checked for taht already and it sounds sooo bad... what is up with that?
iunno if i should explain that to the guy or not lol...
also does anyone know why i have this really bad clanking sound by the passenger side when i hit bumps? its not a loose exhaust i checked for taht already and it sounds sooo bad... what is up with that?
its easy to tell if the cat is bad, drop it, and look inside with a "good flash light", any signs of "melting" means its going to die soon. if u see that its melting, you might as well get a piece of long pipe and start "hitting" the material inside, which means yes BREAK THEM !!!. put a mask on b4 u do it tho. Break everything. then put it back on. and drive it to dealership.
and for the "bump = clanking sound" , it could be your end link(broken), or bushing needs lube.
09-14-2009, 05:35 PM
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P0037 H02S heater control circuit low (bank 1 sensor2) that's the code. Alzor told me it maybe a bad cat but that the 02 sensor is bad aswell therefore I'm not getting another code for the bad cat because it can't read it.
09-15-2009, 10:21 AM
#13
yeah the code he is getting is for the rear 02 sensor... those generally go bad when used catless as jbk used to be...
so even if his cat is bad he probably wouldn't get the code (if it even shows up because half the time it doesnt) because the sensor itself is bad.
so even if his cat is bad he probably wouldn't get the code (if it even shows up because half the time it doesnt) because the sensor itself is bad.
09-23-2009, 05:52 PM
#19
you dont need to tell them anything.
its easy to tell if the cat is bad, drop it, and look inside with a "good flash light", any signs of "melting" means its going to die soon. if u see that its melting, you might as well get a piece of long pipe and start "hitting" the material inside, which means yes BREAK THEM !!!. put a mask on b4 u do it tho. Break everything. then put it back on. and drive it to dealership.
its easy to tell if the cat is bad, drop it, and look inside with a "good flash light", any signs of "melting" means its going to die soon. if u see that its melting, you might as well get a piece of long pipe and start "hitting" the material inside, which means yes BREAK THEM !!!. put a mask on b4 u do it tho. Break everything. then put it back on. and drive it to dealership.
I hope your not saying it's ok to completely physically trash the cat and have someone drive it to the dealer and hope for warranty coverage?
Last edited by T-von; 09-23-2009 at 06:06 PM.
09-27-2009, 11:47 PM
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From reading the exact law concerning the cats lasting at least until 80k miles....it says a dealership CANNOT charge you for the DIAGNOSTICS of the cat. I would print the law out to them and show it to them!
