Golf IV / Jetta IV :: CEL Came On, Car Needs A New Catalytic Converter
Mar 14, 2015
I have a 2001 VT GTI with 155K miles on it. It is in very good condition. I have loved the car except for the high maintenance costs that typically seem to be associated with VWs.
I found out this week after my check engine light came on that the car needs a new catalytic converter and a new new secondary air pump.
Let's assume that this diagnosis is correct and the repair is accurate for the sake of this posting (and I have no doubt it is). In other words, I don't want to get my question derailed on that issue.
The car has new Michelin tires on it and runs well. The problem is that it will fail the state emissions test I am required to take next December, and I will either be forced to have the car repaired or will not be able to get updated license tabs (isn't that sweet?!).
It seems that I have a few options:
1. Get the repair done (ouch) and keep driving the car for a few more years. Repair cost is about what the market value of the car is (from what I have seen).
2. Sell the car "as-is" between now and December and see what cash I can get out of it. Any buyer will discount the value of the vehicle based on the repairs needed. Of course, then I'll need a replacement vehicle of some sort.
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My exhaust on my 01 was rattling. It was coming from the catalytic converter, I assumed it was the heat shield. Put it up on the lift and lo and behold it was something in the cat that was rattling. I was popping a code for the cat anyways so figured I'd just swap it out. Fast forward to tonight. I get the car back up on the lift and I wiggle the cat but no rattling? I go farther back to the first muffler/resonator now it's rattling. It's not a hanger or a heat shield or metal to metal on the outside, there is obviously something of substantial mass inside of it I can almost feel where it is by wiggling around. I chose to wait and cut the exhaust up a different night because I plan on taking that section out as well now, hoping to get out whatever is rattling. If not I'll just have some spare pipe on hand to replace it.
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Car is a 2001 MK4 Jetta with 2.0 Auto Tranny and 120k miles, stock exhaust
A little over a year ago I was getting a cel and the code that was being thrown was a DTC 16804. I changed the cat and both o2 sensors and the light went away for almost a year. The other day I was driving and the light came on again. Scanned the car and its the same 16804 code. I replaced the front o2 sensor thinking it was bank 1 but it didn't solve the problem. I clear the code and it comes back the next day. I'm finding it hard to believe that the cat is bad after only a year. I checked for vacuum leaks, faulty MAF and nothing under the hood looks out of whack. My mission is up next month and the car won't pass with this code.
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My car had its check engine light come on a few days ago, and the engine started to get extremely loud whenever I was accelerating. I would also smell gas whenever I would start the car. I decided to take it to a mechanic, who did a diagnostic check and told me that my catalytic converter was busted. This troubled me because I had just had the part replaced a little over two years ago. I figured the part would still be under warranty, but the mechanic that I had used to replace the cat told me that it was only under warranty for one year or 12,000 miles, according to the distributor. Well, I got a hold of the distributor, and he told me that he didn't have the information for the specific part that he used (he just told me that he "figured" it would be one year or 12,000 miles because most of the parts that they receive have warranties of that length....). Shops are closed now for the weekend, and I am getting worried about my bank account here...should I be?
Well, my questions for you all are as follows:1) Have you all ever heard of a catalytic converter ever having only a 1 year or 12,000-mile warranty? My current mechanic tells me he has never heard of one being so short, and that usually they are 5 years or 50,000 miles. I did minimal research on the internet and also found similar results.2) Who do I need to get into contact with in order to find out how long the warranty is, and how I redeem the warranty?
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Took my car in for emissions and says catalytic converter is not ready.
What can I do to make this go to "ready"?
I've recently got my computer flashed with new programming.
Since it's been flashed, I've driven the car over 400 miles.
All of the cars self checks should be complete, I can't figure out why the catalytic converter won't go to ready!
Any thoughts or tricks to make it work?
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The catalytic converter shield is tack welded on the front end but free on the rear end. There was originally some braided wire packing at the rear to keep the shield from rattling against the pipes. Mine was deteriorated and had been damaged, I think, when I sustained some oil pan damage last summer -- big jolt to the system when running over a muffler on the highway.
The fix is simple. Bought a foot of 3/16" braided stainless steel cable. I used about 8 inches and layed in the lower bead line on the catalytic converter shield (see picture below). You can see a bit of the cable thru the gap in the upper/lower shield on the left side. (1/4" cable would be a better fit, but this will work for a long time.) Cost: $1.84
The local VW parts man dug out an exploded drawing of the system but it showed NO parts or packing for this problem.
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I have this rattle coming from underneath the car that's been going on for a while.
The car has 110k miles and the rattle is most prominent when I start the car or accelerate hard or just cruising downhill without gas.
I went to one of the well known shops in the area and they said it's coming from the cat and it needs to be replace and quoted me like $1300 for parts and labor which seemed quite steep to me.
They said it's coming from the inside the cat so it needs to be replaced.
Is this a common issue with our cars? I though maybe something is loose and can be just welded together or something.
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Does this mean the DPF is shot? I believe its integral with the cat. whats worth checking first?
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105,000 miles on my R32, starting to get check engine light for catalytic converter. Any cheaper options to VW originals that won't harm performance?
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Title says it. Cat is done. Threw code p0420 and am experiencing hesitation at WOT. Already replaced my front o2 (cbfa) and now I'm debating whether or not to get a new downpipe. I daily the car and am wondering if keeping the car as is for a while will damage anything. Cts turbo has a sale for a catless downpipe.
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The clamp connecting the resonator and the catalytic converter is leaking around the edges. I changed the bolts and tightened the clamp but still leaking.
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I recently had my catalytic converter replaced with a non-OEM cat. The check engine light came on and a different shop (different from the shop that replaced the cat) said that it will keep coming on because I had the cat replaced with a non-OEM cat.
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See related guides and technical advice from our community experts:
How to Replace a Catalytic Converter
Step by step instructions for do-it-yourself repairs
Browse all: Air Intake and Exhaust Guides
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I have a 2000 Lincoln Town Car with a single exhaust system, part of/attached to the frontal area of the exhaust "Y" pipe are two lumps with heat shields, the muffler is obvious in the mid-section of the car, but are those "lumps" the catalytic converters, and if so, why two when the older cars had only one?
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Someone put sugar in my gas tank so I had it worked on at the Dodge place they replaced my fuel pump..fuel filter cleaned the tank..flushed the lines cleaned my injectors and replaced the plugs..I went to pick it up I barely made it a mile down the road I had no power and a lady flagged me down to tell me to pull over because I had sparks coming from the bottom of my van I looked under the van and the catalytic converter was red like hit coals the Dodge place is telling me its my flex plate? I think they are misdiagnosing the issue because before the sugar issue I had no problems with my van?
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I have a 2002 Toyota Prius that is currently in limp mode...
Took it to the dealer for diagnostics and they said the Catalytic Converter has failed...So I went online, bought a new one and replaced it. The symptoms prior the Cat replacement were still there...mpg loss, power loss, and exhaust air was not exiting the end of the pipe but actually leaking out the connection point where the Cat and the manifold met.
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So this morning (Kind of Cold) I went out site and started my car. I heard some noise under the car and I noticed that the noise bad been coming from the Catalytic Converter area and there was water dripping off of it.
My guess is that it was just warming up and the water was from the cold. Is it normal?
I have a GLX V6 ...
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I own a 2004 Acura RSX that I purchased new nearly 10 years ago. The car currently has 182,000 miles on it. Two years ago (approx. 130,000 miles), I had to replace the catalytic converter and both O2 sensors. This lightened my wallet to the tune of $1,200 (aftermarket franchise, OEM replacement). A few weeks ago, the "check engine" light came on. I used my scanner, and got the dreaded P0420 code, and had it verified by another shop. O2 sensors were OK. What REALLY shocked me was that replacement catalytic converters are only warranted for 5 years/25,000 miles (50k in CA). The first replacement piece lasted 52,000 miles (less than half the miles/years of the original part)
Here are THE QUESTIONS: What killed this catalytic converter? What can I do to prolong the life of this part? My car has the base powertrain that (according to the owner's manual) recommends 87 octane fuel. That's all I've ever used. The mechanic suggested moving up to mid-grade fuel, though he admitted that he wasn't sure.
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I have a 2000 Chevy Camaro. Two years ago my catalytic converter went out and I had it replaced. 20,000 miles later my mechanic says that I need to replace it again. Is this accurate? I thought the life of a Catalytic Converter was much longer.
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On my 2002 Subaru Forester (137,000 m), the check engine light came on. They diagnosed and repaired O2 sensor. About 300 miles later it came on again, this time they said the catalytic converter was cooked, and they blamed whatever caused the O2 sensor to fail (or the O2 sensor failure itself). After the repair (about $1300 and 30 miles later), I discovered that the engine oil was so low that it was not showing up on the dipstick (tho the oil light was not yet on). The shop (after admitting that they did not check the oil while it was in there) said it was related to catalytic converter failure. Does this make sense? I have only gone another 60 miles since the oil was refilled, but so far it looks OK. Should I be on the look-out for anything else?
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The check engine light came on so I took my car in. My mechanic whom I've used for years told me the following: the catalytic converted had started to come off, in the process it pushed the oxygen sensor up against the body of the car and shorted it out. The total damage is that the O2 sensor and the cat has to be replaced. The line-item estimate was $104 for a sensor and $650 for a cat, plus labor. Total: $1000. Now, I'm looking online and seeing cats that work on my car for far less ($200-400 depending). I talked to another mechanic on the phone who verified cats don't have to be $650. My mechanic said they only use top quality parts with warranty, etc. But the other mechanic said that for a car that he wants to get moving again, a cat is a cat and any new part will, of course, come with a warranty. So... what should I do? Is $1000 too much? If I go with the mechanic who says he can get me down to $700, will that be cheap work on my car? It has 108K miles, and I'd like to get at least another few years out of it.
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