Celica Forums General Discussion General CEL: P0420

Hey all! I had Autozone pull this code for me and I've just scheduled an appointment with the dealer to have this looked at. I've done my research and am hoping the problem is the catalytic converter. If I'm not mistaken, I believe cat converters are covered up to 8 years/80000 miles due to a federal requirement. I have a 2000 GT and am currently at 58,700. No aftermarket exhaust, but I do have an Injen short ram. I have also just recently cleaned my MAF sensor and installed a new pre-cat 02 sensor due to a p0171 CEL previously.

My question is, if the problem is the converter and the dealer says they can replace this for free, would they still charge me for finding what the problem was, or is this covered as well? Should I have to pay, what is the usual rate for dealers to inspect a problem like this?

thanks in advance

if the problem is covered under warranty, then they will also cover the diagnostic charge as well... if your problem is not a warranty related error, then you will be liable for the cost of them running diagnostics on your engine. they should explain all this to you just before you sign their paperwork.

thanks Isaac!

hey how much did autozone charge you for the diagnostic? ..just wondering

they do it for free!

update: Just got back from the dealer today. It's the catalytic converter! Covered under the 8yr/80K warranty. whew. But 'supposedly' my car was throwing another code of p0171 (system too lean) so the mechanic claims the air flow meter was clogged with carbon build up. He removed it, cleaned it, and reinstalled. Does this sound right? They claimed the short ram was causing this and may still cause this CEL, if I don't change it. I told them I've had the short ram for 2.5 yrs. and it's never given me a problem. Regardless, the dude put down an hours worth of time. straight BS. Fortunately for me, the lady helping me said she didn't buy it either and would only charge me half an hour worth of labor. my bill came to $45. Tomorrow I go back to have my new catalytic converter installed. I'm happy because of the warranty, just pissed because I still had to pay for something. But I know, it's a lot better than paying $1500 for a new converter.

even if you weren't covered on the cat, who pays $1500? $110 Magnaflow + $40 to cut and weld.

You'd be surprised who pays that price. & Magnaflows are like $65...prob. a total of $100 for everything. i'm just saying...