Vent: Bad Catalytic Converters (CA Sucks)

I need to vent... Got the dreaded P420 and P430 CEL codes. Took it in to the dealership and they confirmed that two cats were bad. Immediately took it to a trusted mechanic who confirmed Toyota's diagnostic. I saved up years so I could buy this damn truck and now I have to pay well over $2000 for a part that isn't mechanically necessary!?!? What's worst is that both mechanics don't see any cause to why the cats failed ............ I've emailed Toyota. I could not let myself purchase anything toyota if they do not make this right.
Other than that, best truck I've ever owned lol

Edit: Truck only has 94k miles

 

I feel your pain. Welcome to the wonderful laws of CA.

 

They dont make aftermarket 50 state cats for your truck?




I paid $350 for my two cats each last year.

 

Do the '05s have 2 or 4 cats? Just ditch the cats and get a Y-pipe.

 

That f'ing sucks. The cats have a 8 year / 80K mile federal emissions control warranty AFAIK...

 

4 cats. I'd ignore it but I need to get smogged this month.

 

You're kinda screwed on anything aftermarket.

Absolutely no one sells 50 state cats for the 4.0

https://www.rockauto.com/catalog/raframecatalog.php?ck[ID]=0&ck[idlist]=0&ck[viewcurrency]=USD&ck[PHP_SESSION_ID]=jcfnljfvbou8sq831dl367nij6

 

Hmmmm. From everything I've seen they don't for the V6. The mechanic I took it to is a family friend and he said only OEM will pass smog and be CA legal.

 

i need to smog my shit soon. hope this doesn't happen to me.

 

Reasons like this are why I'm glad I picked a first gen over the second gen on the lot when I bought this truck.

My cats were still fully smog legal at 200k but I swapped them out just in case.

 

could always pull them and try and wash em out with some acid formula. many how too's on this on the net.

Worth the time compared to the price you pay for the new ones.

yes fine CA sucks on their smog laws.

But damn its nice to be in the snow skiing in the morning, and be at the beach in 80* weather in the afternoon.

 

I laughed when I read that... Let us know what Toyota says when they email you back. You have 94K miles.

Cats fail for many things age, use, rich fuel mixture and fuel additives will all shorten the life of a Cat Conv.

However I do agree that California sucks.

 

at 94k you shouldn't be this upset about it. Is it somewhat early? yes, but it happens. I saw it a lot working in automotive. Toyota isn't going to do anything to "make this right"...theres nothing for them to make right. It outlasted it's warranty, in simple terms that means it lasted longer than they promised it would. They are off the hook.

As far as CA smog, consult the law. Take it to an exhaust shop. I know CA says you can't swap out catalytic converters...UNLESS it fails. I am fairly sure you don't HAVE to go with OEM. Take it to a trusted exhaust shop and consult with them. See if they know, and if they can install a universal aftermarket cat. I've seen people with universal cats pass smog a lot, both visual and the sniffer.

 

Post an ad here. People are always taking off cats to put headers and y-pipes. If I was on of those people, I would give then to you if you paid for shipping!!!

 

If someone stole your cats, insurance would pay for new ones.........

 

...

 

Are you the original owner? If not maybe someone was running around with a misfire. Toyota is not going to fix a 10 year old truck and neither will any other manufacture even if the thing stayed in the garage and was only driven on the weekends brand new they only cover 80K. There was some reason they went south they just don’t go bad without a reason. Mouse nest in the air box?

 

First off what ever caused them to go bad needs to be repaired. Cats do not just go bad for no reason as they have no moving parts. Some of the reasons they go bad is additives to the gas or oil, improper fuel mixture, bad exhaust valves, fouled plugs allowing unburned gas into the converter, improper oil or oil changes, running through deep water and collapsing or breaking internal parts, coolant leaks past or present, and many other things. So again what ever caused these two to fail needs to be fixed or figured out before replacing them or it will happen again. By the way this is NOT a Toyota problem this far along.
http://www.agcoauto.com/content/news/p2_articleid/167

 

There is magnaflow but its NG for Cali

http://www.magnaflow.com/02catalytic_converters/02product/shopdisplayproducts.asp

Edit; link doesn't bring right to page I thought it would for some reason but just search yourselves

 

One of the reasons for cats going bad listed in the link you provided was this:

The point being, it's not always an engine mechanical / performance problem that kills them.