Cavalier - Chevrolet :: Repairing Catalytic Converter Pipe
Aug 1, 2012
Recently I had my check engine light come on in my car as well as a service light. My car is at 140,000 miles and I drive it around the county for work so I knew I would have some expensive repairs in my future. My stepdad disconnected my car battery and then reconnected it which caused the light to go out so my mechanic was not able to read the code to find the issue. (We did find that my service light was coming on right before my headlight went out so I replaced the bulb and have not had the service light come back on since.)
My mechanic let me know my catalytic converter pipe was rusting and falling on my exhaust and gave me an estimate for the cost of a new pipe, O2 sensor and labor charge. He quoted the catalytic converter pipe at $304.25 and with everything else involved, the total for my estimate came to $521.00.
I have read before that some people suggested possibly finding a used pipe at a salvage yard to save money on the repair. I called around and found a place that would sell it to me for around $100.00. I'm not handy with cars and know the bare minimum when it comes to repairs, so what I don't know is if it is safe to use a pipe from a salvage yard compared to buying a new one.
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I have a 2000 Passat with the 2.8L engine. The flexible pipe which is part of the catalytic converter is leaking and the only way to replace it is to replace the catalytic converter. VW refused to assist with the repairs because the car has 96000 mi on it. Emission warranty is 8/80000. How I can replace only the flexible pipe without the cat. because it's still good.
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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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When in idle the car is fine, however when revving the engine up to 2500-3000 rpm there is a puffing noise from the exhaust pipe area. What this could be?There is only on puff when reaching 2500 rpm... When I asked mechanic he said "it's because there is a small engine... Its a cheverolet cavalier 2001...
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My girlfriend's 2001 cavalier has about 160k on it and about a week ago it started shifting harshly accelerating to highway speeds and the CEL came on along with the traction control/abs warning light. I pulled the OBD2 code and it was P0742, Torque Converter Clutch Circuit Stuck On. We took it to the transmission shop down the street the next day and they wanted $600 to diagnose. We called 'shenanigans' and decided she should take it to her regular shop. On the drive over the transmission shifted normally. Both shops noticed that the transmission cooler lines were rusty and seeping, but neither thought it was the cause of the problem. The shifting issue hasn't recurred even after a couple hundred miles during the week. She hasn't had the transmission fluid changed and doesn't know if it had been when she bought it about 80k miles ago. It seems to me that pre-emptively draining the fluid, changing the filter and refilling, especially to check for debris in the fluid, would make sense, especially if it was debris jamming the circuit that caused the error code in the first place.
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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We have a 2006 impreza, that we've been told the Catalytic converter is going out. We cannot seem to determine if there are one or two converters on this car, and want to know if this is something that we could do ourselves once we find out where everything is at?
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I recently had the catalytic converter replaced on my 1999 Toyota Corolla and the gas mileage dropped from about 28 mpg to 21 mpg.
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About two months ago I bought a used 2005 Elantra from a reputable dealership. I had my mechanic friend check it out before I bought it and everything seemed fine. This week the check engine light came on. I took it to a shop, they diagnosed the issue and said I needed a new catalytic converter .....
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I just took my 2005 Camry to get smogged and it failed. The reading said that my evaporator and my catalytic converter failed. I reset and drove her for almost 200 miles to get the reading settled, but that did not work. I checked all my fuses and the smog-guy and I have no clue what the issue could be. I don't think that the catalytic converter needs replacing since she only has 60,000 miles on her, but what could be the problem that it keeps saying 'fail'.
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