P420 code can I ignore?

Any issues if I can ignore the P420 code?

My area does not do yearly vehicle inspection or emissions test/check(?).

or would that be a problem?
I’ve done some googling saying it doesn’t effect anything.

 

Yup ignore, one of my vehicles has it on right now.

The only issue is if there's another code you'll never notice it. I had a vent valve go and I didnt know because the light was already on.

Basically it means the cats arent doing anything and you'll smell the stinky exhaust, but for the money 2000$ who cares?

 

Id say a majority of po420/430 codes are cured with o2 extenders. It basically numbs (to real world levels) the hyper sensitive cat efficentcy codes. Codes generally stay clear unless the cat TRUELY is bad.

 

Thanks all.

 

Could have a bad cat. Hopefully not burning oil or coolant to cause it.

Could have something else causing it like an exhaust leak.

Having a lit CEL for something you're not worried about is bad. Because it doesn't let you see another CEL come on if a new actually concerning problem happens.
If your area doesn't do emissions, if anything that means (if you have bad cats) you can possibly replace them with cheap ones to resolve the CEL, instead of expensive CARB.

 

i had p420 code, (new catalytic convertor installed by meineke the year before) so I was wondering if they put a cheap cat in.( of course it was just outside of a year later)
I bought cataclean from the local advance auto store and started running super unleaded.
Its been 1000 miles and no code.
before i was getting the code every 100-200 miles. so now I 'm back to regular unleaded... lets see how it holds up.
I have 138k miles

 

Q: Doesn't this affect how the engine runs? I had a similar code and ignored it for quite a while. Turns out that it was causing the engine to run rich(?) and was killing my cats. I replaced the O2 sensors, but I think too much time had gone by and the cats finally failed not too long after that. I'm in California, so need to pass emissions, so that meant new cats. Fortunately, it wasn't as expensive as I thought it was going to be.

PS-Big shout out to Frank at Franks Import Auto in Concord, CA if anybody is out that direction and needing a good honest mechanic. Been taking my Toyotas there for over 10 years now.

 

My truck was/has been running fine. The only symptom was the goddamn CEL.

 

Toyotas are very common to throw p0442, p0420/p0430 codes. The EPA excessive standards put too much demand on the tune. It demands more oxygen saturaturation than is realistic in real world comditions, like hard hill pulls. More o2 saturation than the cats have avalible under certain high demand conditions. Depanding on cat health, it's a cure that will heip lessen and sometimes completely negate issues with CEL. The fix is to install cheap, simple o2 spacers. By making the o2 sensors slower to react It in essence "numbs" the hyper demand needed to satisfy the o.e. tune.

Dam environmentalist shot thier selves in the foot with this over stringent smog demand. Most peaple splurge needlessly into the checkbook to buy new cats. Often the aftermarket are worse than the (good) o.e.'s they replaced.

 

P0420 (driver side upstream cat) and P0430 (passenger side upstream cat), but nothing else, on my 2007 Taco. Not much of a problem for most people, but if you live in southern CA like me, your living wages are already being stretched thin to cover your everyday living costs. So when those codes began popping up, my heart sunk, because I knew it meant I would need to do the $3000+ manifold converter replacement.
You may be thinking those manifold cats don't cost that much, and they don't... everywhere in the world EXCEPT California. Both sides can be purchased for around $500, but they won't pass the CA smog test. No, if you want to pass, you need to fork out around $1200 for one side and around $1400 for the other side. And that's not from the dealer, that's about the price you will find on Ebay, Amazon or any other place where discounted auto parts can be purchased. They cost that much because of the amount of precious metal in them, which will never cost less than its spot value by weight.
But ya know what? I do not agree with CA's draconian smog law that requires the use of such expensive converters to achieve a minimal improvement to emissions. Its akin to requiring every person who wants to drive, to purchase and wear a $3000 platinum ring. And if you don't do it, they won't let you re-register your car. Ridiculous, right?
So I looked, and I found a guy. Anybody in my position knows what kind of "guy" I'm talking about: the kind that works at the smog shop but doesn't subscribe to ethical social norms.
This is what over-the-top smog requirements, coupled with the nation's highest cost of living lead to: forcing people who WANT to obey the law of the land, to break the law, because they can't afford not to.

Edit: O2 sensor spacers are a no-go around here. Every smog tech knows about them, and checks for them.