01TA catalytic converters bad at 58K miles?? help please
03-01-2009, 11:08 AM
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01TA catalytic converters bad at 58K miles?? help please I have a 2001 Trans am I just bought last month. It only have 58K miles. I think the catalytic converters are bad, but seems weird with fairly low miles.
The car runs a little sluggish and the SES light comes on only when you get on the throttle pretty hard. I have cleared it a few times and it only comes back a few seconds after driving it hard. The computer code is P420, it says "catalytic enhancement below threshold". I have had the car on a lift and it just has stock cats and y pipe then a new flowmaster exhaust behind that. I dont want to go without cats, I dont like the sound and I prefer to pass inspection easily.
Anyone else had this issue?
The car runs a little sluggish and the SES light comes on only when you get on the throttle pretty hard. I have cleared it a few times and it only comes back a few seconds after driving it hard. The computer code is P420, it says "catalytic enhancement below threshold". I have had the car on a lift and it just has stock cats and y pipe then a new flowmaster exhaust behind that. I dont want to go without cats, I dont like the sound and I prefer to pass inspection easily.
Anyone else had this issue?
03-01-2009, 11:16 AM
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P0420 is the drivers side cat and yeah, it can be bad. GM had issues with them on the 00-02 LS1 F cars and extended the warranty to 10 years/120K. They even sent out letters to current owners back in December 2006.
03-01-2009, 11:33 AM
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So I wonder if I take it to GM under recall, if they just put new ones on for a 00-02 that will go bad in another 30K miles.... or if they use the better set up from 98-99 that doesnt go bad like that
03-01-2009, 11:41 AM
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It could be the cats OR it could be the rear O2 sensors.
When I bought my 2000 at 86K, it threw codes for the cats shortly thereafter, I took it back to the dealer I bought the car from, very upset that they had cleared the codes in the PCM before putting the car for sale, and demanded that they replace the rear Oxygen sensors. The car has not thrown a catalyst related code since that day, and it's going to turn 150K miles soon...they did not replace the cats, just the sensors.
If the car runs good, the cats are probably ok. I know GM had their issues with them, but usually a bad cat will clog, and your gas mileage will drop very quickly, the exhaust will smell funny, and the engine won't run right at all. Generally with an OEM cat, if it's flowing well and the exhaust doesn't stink, then it's worth looking at the rear O2 sensors too.
Granted, if GM extended the warranty on 00-02 cars to 10 years and 120K...if you're under the 120K mark, your cats will be free...but if they find it's the rear O2's, then you'll have to pay them for the diagnostic work and the sensors...and that will cost a lot more than doing that yourself.
When I bought my 2000 at 86K, it threw codes for the cats shortly thereafter, I took it back to the dealer I bought the car from, very upset that they had cleared the codes in the PCM before putting the car for sale, and demanded that they replace the rear Oxygen sensors. The car has not thrown a catalyst related code since that day, and it's going to turn 150K miles soon...they did not replace the cats, just the sensors.
If the car runs good, the cats are probably ok. I know GM had their issues with them, but usually a bad cat will clog, and your gas mileage will drop very quickly, the exhaust will smell funny, and the engine won't run right at all. Generally with an OEM cat, if it's flowing well and the exhaust doesn't stink, then it's worth looking at the rear O2 sensors too.
Granted, if GM extended the warranty on 00-02 cars to 10 years and 120K...if you're under the 120K mark, your cats will be free...but if they find it's the rear O2's, then you'll have to pay them for the diagnostic work and the sensors...and that will cost a lot more than doing that yourself.
03-01-2009, 11:48 AM
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03-01-2009, 11:50 AM
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My car does NOT run like it should, very sluggish and the exhaust smells a bit like sulfer. Also the O2 sensors were just replaced by gm 2K miles ago, so should be the cats.
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03-01-2009, 03:20 PM
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When I had my '02 Formula before hurricake dike totalled it, I had my factory cats replaced 3 times... I had received a recall notice about this issue from Pontiac. I don't believe I have the letter any longer. But you should be able to take it to the dealer to get it/them replaced, I seem to recall it covered atleast 01s and 02s.