Hey guys, my car got a check engine on saturday so i took the car to the dealer to get it checked out. Turns out my bank 1 cat failed and needs replacement, they want 2000 for the job, i think thats way to much! So i am thinking what should i do?? Do i replace it with an aftermarket cat or do something else?

 

You past 80,000 miles? otherwise it's under warranty.

The primary cat is one piece with the exhaust manifold, so you won't be able to bolt on an aftermarket cat

http://is.sewellparts.com/images/oem...000/176454.jpg

Part is $747.90 from Sewell

 

im at 91000k and my aftermarket warranty told me to stick it

 

Heres a magnaflow one,

http://www.******************.com/sk...Passenger+Side

Is bank1 passenger side or driver side?

 

Your link is bad, but I found em on the magnaflow site... then cross refed one of the part #s to summit racing... it was $710... at which point you might as well get the OEM one for $38 more.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MPE-50604/

 

ORRRR

get some ppe headers for the same price and ride dirty with an extra 10-15whp...just sayin

 

Was this for a P0420 code? Are they sure it isn't just the O2 sensor behind the cat?

 

Take it to your personal or indepenent shop and have a second opinion. Have them read the codes. It may be the 02 sensor that went bad. Which is something that many of us have experienced. That will cost you under $300 depending where you buy the sensor and how much you pay for labor. Much cheaper if you do it yourself.

Good luck

 

yeah, I doubt they know for certain your cat is bad. I'd start with the cheapest fix first....which is the 02 sensor.

 

if you have not passed 80k its under warranty

 

ya me and my buddy a mechanic doubt a whole cat went, dealer is just covering all possible areas so i do not bring the car back. We gonna do the o2 sensor first and labor is free in this case

 

Before you start throwing money into parts. Take it to a muffler shop and have them test the cat. They have a meter they hook up to the o2 sensor and tells them if theres bloackage. Its called an exhaust back pressure test. Unscrew an o2 sensor screw in the gauge and should show up right away.

Btw: Cats can easily get clogged or melted no matter the mileage. Maybe theres a fault in fuel or spark. But first test then fix the broken parts then I would check everything and maybe throw in new plugs.

 

The same thing happened to me at 90k. I bought a used one on ebay and my friend that is a mechanic helped me replace it. The part on ebay was about $300. If you have access to tools and a lift I would recommend you do it yourself.

 

I was aware of the carbon build up issue so when I started getting a P0420 trouble code to routinely come on after 77k miles (came on 6 times between 77k and 81k miles) on my '06 IS250 AWD (catalyst system efficiency below threshold bank 1), it was time to take it to Lexus and argue that the carbon build up is causing the rough idling and is also damaging the cat, causing the trouble code to pop.... They wouldn't confirm that the cat was under warranty to 80k miles like I've seen in other posts, but They did acknowledge the carbon build up issue and replaced the pistons and decarbonized the cylinder heads, etc. And also replaced the failed cat as a goodwill gesture. I was very satisfied with how the dealership handled this issue, especially because it did not cost me a dime! Apparently the engine is covered under a nine year Lexus warranty. Try to take advantage of the carbon build up TSB and argue that it's damaging the cat.

 

Swap the O2 sensors around. Reset the ECU by unplugging the battery and drive around until the CEL comes on. If it's the same code, then the cat is bad but if it shows up for the opposite bank, then the O2 sensor is bad. Happened to me and I swapped them around but got the same code.

However, strangely when I started school, the gas in that area is cheaper so I've been refilling Shell and I haven't seen a CEL come on since. Two days ago, I was too low on gas and used BP like I normally do back then and the CEL came on while on the highway. Now that the BP gas is used up, and I pumped Shell yesterday, my CEL went away.

Something makes me think it's the gas now. I was suppose to bring the car to the dealer next week.