i have a 2004 6spd completely out of warranty.

P0420 code came on when i was on my way home tonight....

was fine when i drove it out in the afternoon...

any ideas whats going on??

 

Really?

http://bit.ly/Vx25gL]

 

thanks for the usesless reply.
as if i didnt read before i posted or searched...

 

it wasnt a useless reply, he directed you to the answers without spoon feeding you directly

 

Yup what he said

 

+1

If you read and searched, then why post?

 

WHAT'S THE CODE FOR ....Kinda simple diagnostic for that one

 

^+1

 

i posted in hopes of not needing to replace the cat hoping someone would tell me that it was gonna be something simple. i erased the code this morning drove 80 miles and light didnt come back on so i guess its ok at the moment?

thanks for all the replies sorry if i may have seemed to be just posting without doing research.

 

Anybody want to start taking bets on how many miles until it completely clogs and he blows his engine because he ignored the problem instead of taking care of it?

 

thanks for the funny but i have a second vehicle i use as a daily the rx8 is only a weekend car.

 

That doesn't somehow solve the problem, it only means the damage will take longer to occur. If you got a cat code like that you need to figure out exactly what the problem is because a $400 fix can turn into a $4000 fix.

 

i realize that which was why i posted in the first place after reading / searching about it before . but the problem is right now time and $$$$$$ which i currently dont have .

Edit: getting paid will be ordering BHR midpipe and BHR ignition this week or early next week emailed charles.

 

Did the dtc code return?

 

I did the whole song and dance with this particular code over the last year or more. It would come on, go off, come one, go off. Each time staying off longer and longer, I think in the end the problem is/was with one of the sensors involved with the cat, I think theres two? Either way it's been like 5-6 months now an it hasn't come back on at all. If you search on this forum for posts I've made you can follow my dealings with it, might help you out. Good luck.

 

thanks alot , i will look into it , for now im driving my daily around and the rx8 is just sitting at home until the Bhr midpipe along with ignition coils come. dont want to possible damage the engine as one of the members stated above.

 

there is about a 95% chance that a P0420 code is a bad catalytic converter. if the rear O2 sensor is bad, you could get a P0420, but WITH the code for the O2.

P0420 is the worst code in Ca too, the only legal cat here is the $1300 OEM one, its $300 in the rest of the US...

 

Thanks for the headsup , and ur right on the money i only got the p0420 code without the o2 code. so you maybe right but the thing that bothered me most is after i erased the code and drove 80 miles for it to go through the cycle it didnt come back on so i m not drivin it at all now just waiting for bhr and i will most likely just buy the cat by itself from a muffler shop or try to get one from bhr if possible and have them hack up the oem midpipe to re-weld in a new one... i will post updates once my new parts arrive just waiting on charles to ship out my order, everythings already paid for.

 

for a P0420, the ECU is comparing the two O2 sensor signals, so if you drive in the city, for example, it can actually be close enough for the ECU not to catch it.

i was thinking of doing the same thing, i need to pop the heat shield off, install aftermarket cat, and then put the heat shield back on so it looks stock. the aftermarket cats fail the VISUAL part of the smog test, they need a CARB number. which is why CA sucks, because they don't even care if it passes out the tailpipe!

aren't you glad you voted for the CARB? oh wait you didn't.

 

yea i know what you mean but my smog place i go to is cool they dont even look under the car just run the test pass or fail thats it and my guy does his best to help me get my cars to pass. whatever life thats left on the cat ill save it cause smogs coming up soon. i only drive my rx8 on the weekends and lately i havent been able to . almost everytime i drive it its always very little on the local streets 90% of the time i drive on the highway.