SO this is my nightmare. Im trying to sell the car now to get something better. I didnt have the car for 3 months yet...
but a few days ago I notice my check engine light is occasionally going on and off.

so I decide to check it out at my lexus mechanic.
he said the cat... bank 1 and I cant remember the rest.

He said about 1300 for a new pair. he recommends doing both at the same time because usually after one is done, the other goes bad.

and he said aftermarket wont really help the situation because the check engine light comes back on not long after... 9 times out of 10 he said it would come back on...

so this is the nightmare, trying to sell this car but then the cat goes bad. NO one is even thinking about buying it no more once I tell them the check engine light came on. ( I dont blame em)

By the way, My father's cat on his LS went bad and he bought it aftermarket.
and the CEL didnt ever come back on.

so MY question is has anyone ever done their cats? did you do it aftermarket or OEM? what was the outcome? what was the cost?


just some feedback is needed because I had a few buyers willing to buy. but they heard about the cat and ran.

Maybe I will do it so that it would be easier to sell. or give them recommendations as to what they can do.

 

Toyota uses a so called "lifetime" cat on our cars. So basically if they go bad, they were "murdered" as some say. I've heard stories of some going aftermarket and no check engine light. I personally haven't changed out mine and hope not to because " dats a lot of cheddar"

 

i had code for bad cat. I changed out the cats with aftermarket manifold/cats. since i needed new mufflers back then, i also changed out the rear mufflers along with the mid pipe. so basically, i changed out my entire exhaust system with aftermarket with no codes coming back. pm me if u want to know the place i got the cats from. much cheaper than the oem ones. i had ordered and installed many cats from this same company on many of my customers' cars with no come back at all.

 

yeah that cat was murdered.... arent they killed by constantly driving with low fuel?
I guess the previous owner had to have ran the car to E constantly....I know it wasnt me... I kept the car at 1/4th or more at all times. and Plus I only had it for 3 months.

so who knows what happened before.

and let me know any good cats guys. thanks

 

It's interesting that the mechanic "knows" it's the cat. My CEL was on, Bank 1 sensor 2. So I looked into it. Found out there was an exhaust leak just after the cat, before the O2 sensor, so I replaced the gasket and no more code. I would have also tried replacing the sensor as well. Changing out the cat it the last thing to try. So to recap:
1. check for any leaks, even small ones!
2. Change O2 sensor (like $100)
3. Change cat (I have no experience with aftermarket cats on this car)

 

any one else with any experiences or good prices on them?

i need some info ASAP!!!

 

also my exhaust doesnt smell like rotten eggs. Ive heard that THAT is the real sign that a cat is gone.

 

Hey man you need to post the code up>>>>

If the code is for CAT efficiency, thats one thing. You may be able to solve the problem altogether by installing an o2 sim.

 

i think is P0430

below efficiency threshold. or something like that.
crazy thing is that I changed the o2 sensor like 2-3 weeks ago

 

which 02 sensor?

 

If the sensor you replaced is on the same bank as the "bad" cat I would replace the other sensor on that bank before I installed a new cat... Or if your mechanic is really cool he can get out the scan tool and isolate the oxygen sensors and you can watch the voltage readings...

 

it was the left side 02 sensor... but i dont know what side is the side with the bad cat.