Catalytic converter stolen, straight pipe...

Hello all,
Just bought our first Tacoma and the gal I bought it from said someone stole her cat, so she just straight piped it. Of course the check engine light is on and stays on....my question, will this harm anything? Can I just ignore the light and drive on? or over the long term am I going to have problems with drivability or harm something.
Thanks!

 

If you live in any of the counties with smog that are scattered around in Texas, you will have an issue. Also, state inspection does require verifying that the cat is at least there, so depending on how detailed the state inspector is, you could fail the inspection. As far as drivability concerns, many people have driven with bored out cats or straight pipes, and have said they haven't had any ill effects. I suggest against it simply from a legal standpoint. The Cat is supposed to be there. I know a lot of people complain and call some people tree hugers and such, and I am not a tree huger for sure, but I DO care about the air my children, and grandchildren breath. It is an important part of your vehicle. Just my $.02 worth there.

 

Living in California, I know a couple things about smog issues and stolen catalytic converters.

The computer in your truck is assuming there is a problem and is throwing a code, hence the CEL. When a CEL is on, your computer goes into a default mode. You are definately not getting everything out of your truck that Toyota programmed in.

The tweekers are stealing catalytic converters on Toyota trucks out here at a frantic pace. Because the trucks sit higher, they don't even need to jack up the car to get it out. Numerous solutions have been tried here to stop the thefts, most of them unsucessful for the most part. There is a guy here that manufactures a bolt-on plate to prevent the tweekers from being able to reach the cat.