Help With P0430 "Catalyst Monitor Bank 2" Test Failed

80,000 miles is FAR from normal!! :O

An overly rich condition will not damage catalyst converters with extended usage in that situation. A vehicle that is introducing TOO MUCH air through the catalyst with extended use in that condition will over time superheat the cat to the point of failure. Lean conditions create an excessive amount of NOx (Nitrous Oxides) which in turn translates to additional heat being built up in the engine. In California, you WILL fail for excessive NOx because they view it as an unhealthy running condition within the engine which is causing it to not run at proper AFR or Stochiometric efficiency. Plus the engine is running much hotter then it needs to be internally, this can lead to shortened life of vital engine internals and seals. A vehicle which has a failing emissions sensor of any kind is designed in mind to fail on the rich spectrum of the AFR. Reason for this is, yes while you waste gas, you are not creating additional pollutants or seriously harming anything within the engine itself. You will crud up plugs, sensors and potentially other emissions components but the engine itself will remain mostly okay until addressed.

You may want to consider a tune up, and go back to the stock intake. 80,000 miles on a 200K+ (typical) catalyst converter is NOT okay. At that mileage in the worst case scenario you should at the most be looking at replacing an oxygen sensor. It's possible that IT could be failing also and causing an additional problem within the engine, a check engine light won't always be thrown up for that!

Are you right at 80K or a little bit under? I don't know how it works in Canada, but engine emission components in the states are covered up to 80,000 miles exactly, regardless of the auto manufacturer, by the auto manufacturer in this case Toyota. This is ESPECIALLY true for the cat converter.

 

its just over 80k miles, but its over the amount of years, 9 years old

 

8 yrs./80K, your warranty is done (assuming Canada Toyota honors the same emissions policies that Toyota USA has).

Hmm, 9 years. I still wouldn't deem that very normal. Though irregular conditions keeping from getting you into closed loop operation due to lack of extended driving periods may have done your cat in quicker also. You may want to replace it and monitor your sensors closely, but it may just be time and irregular driving conditions which did it in and that's all there is to it.

 

Ya I only drive to and from work and I live about 6 blocks from work. Ive had the truck for 5 years and put 40,000km on it, thats 24,800 miles in 5 years. That could be a big factor too.

 

Open loop condition which is keeping your PCM, sensors, and engine from ever reaching optimal running temperature, which is killing your efficiency, gas mileage and is sending it all out via the cold cat converters.

That's what it is. Case closed. Lol.

 

what do you suggest I do to prevent this in the future? take a trip around the black, let it warm up before driving?

 

I wouldn't necessarily warm up the vehicle because doing it on modern day fuel injection vehicles eliminates the need for that, but, I would honestly start driving it more. Take her out, joyride her places.

In all truth a vehicle that is daily driven will last much longer then one that sits there in the garage. I know that sounds crazy but the proof is in the pudding with what happened to your situation. The solution is simply to drive it. Let it get up to running temp and stay there for at least a half hour. I know that's not always a feasible thing but try to start making it happen a lot more, whenever possible.

 

Op, just curious. Is your exhaust tip and bedside all sooty like a diesel?

I snapped this photo at my supplier the other day. (Not my truck) but what looks to be an '05-'06ish TRD-Sport. The bedside near the exhaust tip had a noticeable layer of soot, and the exhaust tip was fairly black and covered with soot around it as well.

My 2010, V6, Double Cab, exhaust tip is squeaky clean inside and out (you could probably eat out of it), and I don't clean it when I wash the truck. Mine has 58K miles on it, so I was wondering if the black sooty exhaust I see on most V6 Tacomas, is the sign the cats are failing, or O2 sensors are starting to give an incorrect reading?

 

How often do you wash it? It's possible you have one with A perfect factory tune also.

 

With two small kids, wife and pretty much work six days a week, I wash it when it rains or run it through the touchless at the gas station every two, weeks or so. I know that sounds like I'm neglecting my truck, but at my life stage I really don't have time to spend 2-3 hours detailing my vehicles in my driveway, as I did in my early 20s.

 

That is nearly not enough time to gather up soot and stuff on and around the tailpipe area. Some people neglect washing their truck for weeks. That is why you see so much. You gotta remember that most of us have the drive it filthy mentality when it comes to owning these trucks. I go 2 months or more without washing her, but when I do. Soot comes right off and doesn't return for a long long time.

 

I got my P0430 code at 85k miles. I'll check inside the cat later to see what's happening, but I do drive my truck every day. Maybe this is a non-factor, but most of my driving is between 7k and 9k above sea level. Would thinner air be......doing something?

 

Nope my tail pipe is clean.

 

I feel your pain man... back in the day i was so against gas station car washes i laughed at all the donkeys going through them... now its all i have time for! better than no wash at all... especially in winter.

 

Thinner air if I recall correctly would make you run a leaner mixture. Similar to the elevation at Lake Tahoe, the air is thinner, so it's harder for the truck to intake air in the computer HAS to run a leaner mixture. The advantage is fuel savings. The downfall is potential premature degradation of emissions, and engine parts.

Ever notice that when you are down to sea level it is much easier to breathe then it is at high elevation? Same concept for vehicle.

 

Anyone know normal cat temperatures at cruising speeds? Mine were in between 1200-1500?

 

Temperature does not matter, as it is not a diesel. As long as you are at a good 100* difference between inlet and outlet. You have a good healthy converter.

Fact of the matter is that catalytic converters like 14.7/1 AFR and will be very content at that AFR for a very long time.

 

I just finished changing my manifolds/cats to Evan fischer ones that I got on eBay for $130 each shipped. Let me just say that it was not easy and they are cheap quality, but they did fix the problem, torque is now reading over 1.0 on the catalyst banks. We will see how long they last. Also I can sell my old ones to my mechanic to trade in for a core charge on new cats so I'll be making a bit of money back.

 

Just an update for anyone interested in knowing, I took my truck to my mechanic today to have new gaskets installed because I thought they were leaking. Turns out the evan fischer manifolds have bad welds and are poorly made, leaking in a few spots. I do not recommend them. I wish I had spent the extra on some walkers or oem.

 

I was just getting ready to order some Evan Fischers.. Thanks