99 Corolla Catalytic Converter Code P0420

I had the check engine light to come on about 6 weeks ago. I took it to my
Toyota dealer and he said it was Code P0420 catalytic converter but it wasn't
a big issue since it was running fine. He turned the check engine light off &
now it is back on. He advised to use a local muffler shop to fix it
eventually. The car is running fine and I only travel maybe 10 miles a day
back and forth to work. How big of a worry should this be? Money is tight
right now but I need to keep the car running (it's paid off). Anyone have any
idea if I should rush to fix it or if I have a little time to save up some
money?

"loaferman" <u27101@uwe> wrote in message news:66d346233bf9e@uwe...[color=blue]
> I had the check engine light to come on about 6 weeks ago. I took it to
> my
> Toyota dealer and he said it was Code P0420 catalytic converter but it
> wasn't
> a big issue since it was running fine. He turned the check engine light
> off &
> now it is back on. He advised to use a local muffler shop to fix it
> eventually. The car is running fine and I only travel maybe 10 miles a day
> back and forth to work. How big of a worry should this be? Money is tight
> right now but I need to keep the car running (it's paid off). Anyone have
> any
> idea if I should rush to fix it or if I have a little time to save up some
> money?
>[/color]

Driving the vehicle with a bad catalytic converter will not harm the vehicle
and will not cause drivability problems unless the converter is clogged
internally, which is probably not the case since you say that the car is
running fine.

There is no reason mechanically to be in a big hurry, however, your car is
obviously putting out more pollutants than it should be so you're not doing
air quality a big favor. You will need to have the vehicle repaired, or at
least have the check engine light off, before you take the vehicle in for an
emissions test.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

I just have my CAT converter plus 2 O2 sensors replaced at my local
exhaust shop which costs me ~$500(I ordered 2 O2 sensor online which
saved me another $50-$100 compared to purchasing at exhaust shop) and
it passed PA inspection. Inspection has to be done every year at PA.

Ray O wrote:[color=blue]
> "loaferman" <u27101@uwe> wrote in message news:66d346233bf9e@uwe...[color=green]
> > I had the check engine light to come on about 6 weeks ago. I took it to
> > my
> > Toyota dealer and he said it was Code P0420 catalytic converter but it
> > wasn't
> > a big issue since it was running fine. He turned the check engine light
> > off &
> > now it is back on. He advised to use a local muffler shop to fix it
> > eventually. The car is running fine and I only travel maybe 10 miles a day
> > back and forth to work. How big of a worry should this be? Money is tight
> > right now but I need to keep the car running (it's paid off). Anyone have
> > any
> > idea if I should rush to fix it or if I have a little time to save up some
> > money?
> >[/color]
>
> Driving the vehicle with a bad catalytic converter will not harm the vehicle
> and will not cause drivability problems unless the converter is clogged
> internally, which is probably not the case since you say that the car is
> running fine.
>
> There is no reason mechanically to be in a big hurry, however, your car is
> obviously putting out more pollutants than it should be so you're not doing
> air quality a big favor. You will need to have the vehicle repaired, or at
> least have the check engine light off, before you take the vehicle in for an
> emissions test.
> --
>
> Ray O
> (correct punctuation to reply)[/color]

It seems to me that a lot of people have issue with P0420. Should CAT
maybe plus O2 sensors last lifetime of cars, at least theoretically
speaking?

Thank you very much for all the replies.

Ray O wrote:[color=blue][color=green]
>> I had the check engine light to come on about 6 weeks ago. I took it to
>> my[/color]
>[quoted text clipped - 9 lines][color=green]
>> idea if I should rush to fix it or if I have a little time to save up some
>> money?[/color]
>
>Driving the vehicle with a bad catalytic converter will not harm the vehicle
>and will not cause drivability problems unless the converter is clogged
>internally, which is probably not the case since you say that the car is
>running fine.
>
>There is no reason mechanically to be in a big hurry, however, your car is
>obviously putting out more pollutants than it should be so you're not doing
>air quality a big favor. You will need to have the vehicle repaired, or at
>least have the check engine light off, before you take the vehicle in for an
>emissions test.[/color]

<wenmang@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1159204601.869986.99640@e3g2000cwe.googlegroups.com...[color=blue]
> It seems to me that a lot of people have issue with P0420. Should CAT
> maybe plus O2 sensors last lifetime of cars, at least theoretically
> speaking?
>[/color]

In theory, the catalyst in a catalytic converter should last for a vehicle's
lifetime but I think that they are a weak point in that vintage Corollas,
which is why I suggested that it might be bad in your car. I would hold on
to my catalytic converter receipts because I would not be surprised if a
recall came up on those in the next year or two.

I do not consider O2 sensors to be a lifetime item. In fact, I seem to
recall that they require replacement in some vehicles every 60,000 miles.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

Thanks Ray.
My 2000 Corolla finally passed PA inspection(that is good news,
isn't?), and I am going to see what happen to my 2001 Corolla which had
P0420 code in July.

Ray O wrote:[color=blue]
> <wenmang@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:1159204601.869986.99640@e3g2000cwe.googlegroups.com...[color=green]
> > It seems to me that a lot of people have issue with P0420. Should CAT
> > maybe plus O2 sensors last lifetime of cars, at least theoretically
> > speaking?
> >[/color]
>
> In theory, the catalyst in a catalytic converter should last for a vehicle's
> lifetime but I think that they are a weak point in that vintage Corollas,
> which is why I suggested that it might be bad in your car. I would hold on
> to my catalytic converter receipts because I would not be surprised if a
> recall came up on those in the next year or two.
>
> I do not consider O2 sensors to be a lifetime item. In fact, I seem to
> recall that they require replacement in some vehicles every 60,000 miles.
> --
>
> Ray O
> (correct punctuation to reply)[/color]

<wenmang@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1159215888.902216.158300@m73g2000cwd.googlegroups.com...[color=blue]
> Thanks Ray.
> My 2000 Corolla finally passed PA inspection(that is good news,
> isn't?), and I am going to see what happen to my 2001 Corolla which had
> P0420 code in July.
>[/color]

As long as the OBD II system does not have any trouble codes stored in
memory and the system shows as "ready," the vehicle should pass the
emissions part of the test.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)