CEL P0420 Code.
 

Last evening I was driving home and to my surprise, the CEL light came on. I went to AutoZone to get the code pulled and the code itself is referring to "Bank 1 Catalyst System efficiency was below threshold for a predetermined period of time."

Before jumping on a new $450 cat I'm curious of the likelihood of my cat going bad before 50k miles? I just clocked 44k miles this morning. I'm running a stock exhaust setup besides a muffler delete.

After doing a bit of reading on potential causes of a P0420 I did notice something about "Damaged Muffler / Leaks in Muffler" But I was under the impression there were not any sensors on the car that far back, or at least I would have figured my muffler delete would have instantly thrown the car off if that was the case.

Going to a mechanic asap as mentioned but if any of you have had this issue already around the similar milage as me I don't mind your $0.02 :(

Clear the code first and drive it for while. Maybe fuel went bad? If no, time for catless header

Have you had issues in the past with a misfire?

I doubt you've been burning oil for the past 10K miles but I'll put that out there too.

My understanding is that unless the cat is fouled or blown out, persistent P0420 is a good indication of something else being off.

I'm staying tuned to read up on other's experience.

Nope, first CEL since purchasing the car a year ago.


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Would you recommend me try changing the oil? I was literally on the way home from the autoparts store lastnight with oil and a filter but was hesitant of changing it thismorning without really knowing whats going on. The oil in the car has been there for probably 5k miles (im a bit behind)


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Nah, go ahead and change it. I mentioned burning oil because that's what eventually killed the cat in Mrs. Ultra's Camry. They eventually get fouled but in her case it took years.

Clear it and if it comes back, take it in to get checked. Hell, maybe just reinstall the muffler. Won't hurt to rule it out.

Thanks for the tips buddy. 👍🏻 I never track the car or thrash. I'll commit to an oil change tonight or tomorrow. I went ahead and took my K&N air filter out and cleaned it washed it and put it back in as well. Is there any way to clear the light without a tablet? I saw something with the battery on youtube buuut wasnt sure if that was sus or not

Can you clear it with the device used to read it?

Aren't you the same guy who said you've participated in road rallies where you've driven well above the posted speed limit?


Oh wait, yeah you are.

Didn't realize speeding required me to constantly have my engine at a high rpm? 0.o




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Unfortunately not. I went to autozone to get a free reading thismorning. The good news is that the Federal Emissions laws actually warrant my car. Any car produced in the past 5 years & under 50k miles has emission components covered. (At least according to my pal who works the service department at a local Toyota) so im honestly not sweating it too hard. Just dont plan on driving
It anytime soon until it gets worked on

Spend $5 on this for your smartphone (the developer really deserves it, and you get more than you pay for):

https://torque-bhp.com/


And spend ~$10 or so on this:

https://www.amazon.com/KitBest-Bluet...bluetooth+obd2

And you've basically got yourself an OBD2 scanner and code clearer on hand all the time. Also gives you real time data from the car, like air intake temp, oil temp, O2 volatage, etc.

Just make sure you exit the app before you shut the car down because it can cause the computer to get a bit unhappy and throw a code the next time you start it, making the car act a little funny. It's easily cleared, but still a little annoying when it happens. Overall, though, best money I've spent shy of a dedicated code reader, and for a fraction of the cost. :cheers:

UPDATE:


ALL I did yesterday was take my K&N air filter out and wash it, popped it back in lastnight and just completed my first real drive cycle and the light is gone and driving wuality has been restored. Fingers crossed.