Catalytic Converter

I will definitely take a look inside to see what exactly is going on with that piece. I think I have everything I need for a successful cat replacement on Thursday. New Magnaflow cat, (2) gaskets and some bolts to replace the rusted looking ones currently on the exhaust.

Parts list and cost:
1. Magnaflow Catalytic Converter 99205HM $100.27 on Amazon Prime
2. 90080-10291 bolts $10.84 for both
3. 17451-23010 Rear exhaust gasket $19.26
4. 17451-21060 Front exhaust gasket $49.56

 

just a quick fyi:

 

I am reading theses posts with interest.

On my 2006, I got the P code which indicated that the Catalytic Converter had gone out. Checking Prius Chat, I came away with a story where somebody tried an aftermarket replacement, and the check engine light came back on again soon afterward - though it doesn't look very complex, underneath. So I went to the Toyota Dealer and paid the $2G to have the Catalytic Converter changed. 100,000 miles later, the Engine Check Light came on again. It is the P code which indicates that it needs another Catalytic Converter. Also, when I counted the exact months, I missed on the warranty by 1 month! Now this is getting expensive. I am considering an aftermarket Catalytic Converter.

My emissions sticker. I purchased the car in TN. I guess there is no difference in the Catalytic Converters sold for the 49 states vs. California, on a 2006 Prius?

 

I went ahead and ordered off of Amazon. The customer review where it worked perfectly for a 2006 Prius, sold me. The next review where it took care of the engine check light was a plus. I saw in the comments where they recommend welding it on, rather than bolting it on.

 

All of the OEM CC's for the Prius are the same (i.e. 48 state cars/ CARB cars including NY cars.) There seem to be a few aftermarket OEM replacement setups that work (Walker is one) but are illegal for Ca cars. With the huge number of Gen II Prius cars in Calif. and NY I don't know why these aftermarket suppliers don't get CARB certification for their parts - there are numerous aftermarket parts including American "hot rod" parts which have been certified for CA use.
BTW I know of 2 GenII Prius owners who live near the AZ or NV border and have purchased these "illegal" cats and seem to be happy with them - if you can get your hands on one in CA you're good to go & since no Prius cars are ever smog checked in the state - you are really free to do what you please with them as long as CEL's don't bother you.
Roy: I hope you'll update on a regular basis should any problems develop over the long-run.
Bill

 

I believe that a prereq for CARB certification is a sufficiently long parts warranty, which the aftermarket suppliers may be unwilling to provide.

 

If there's any silver lining: catalytic converter replacement can rival hybrid battery replacement in $.

 

Patrick:
That must be it, as I see numerous CARB legal CC's for lots of cars, including Toyotas, but just not the Prius.
Bill.

 

I found the below picture online (not a pretty one) that shows the underside of a Prius which looks identical to my 06. Notice the long resonator then what appears to be a cat and then further up the primary cat. I'm really anxious to see what is inside that cat appearing piece directly in front of the long resonator. My Lexus has 4 cats. 2 primaries and 2 secondary (which are not monitored) and I suspect that is what it is.

 

I agree there is no difference in cc, note the sticker indicates your car is certified to meet CA emissions standards.

 

I've got bad news for you: your next registration renewal will include a smog check.

The Prius was never exempt from smog checks, but it had been a technical impossibility because the car goes into electric mode instead of idling.

Recently, Californa DMV changed the test procedure for the smog check, and the new one *is* compatible with the Prius. I believe the already started sending out the renewals with a smog check requirement since April 2015.

As far as I understand it, the reason is that the CARB certification requires very expensive testing (something like having to run two identical cars, one with your cat and one with the stock cat, for a very long time - repeat for every single model that you want to sell the cat for), and when your market is limited to a few hundred per year, it's just not worth doing.

In the end, I believe this policy is backfiring. The extra $1000+ in car repairs is going to get quite a few perfectly good older Priuses off the road, and, in my case, I had to use a gas guzzling Chevy Suburban instead. I might be able to revive my Prius once I can get it to a shop in Arizona (my ZIP code does not require smog checks).

 

Got my stock cat replaced this morning. I can confirm that the 2006 Prius does indeed have 2 cats. One primary that is monitored with O2 sensors and a secondary cat which is unmonitored. Anyway the factory cat was removed and looks good which tells me the metals used in the cat must have depleted or something causing the inefficiency codes that I kept getting. Drove 60 miles so far and no CEL.



Photo looking inside of the old cat with 126,300 miles on it. Looks fine visually.



New cat welded in

 

The front (larger) cat marked with "GD3" has a scrap value of $80-$120, the rear marked with "EA6"has a scrap value of $60-$80. You can list it on eBay as scrap and recoup some of your money or call a local scrap yard.

 

TampaPrius.. yes I actually did take it to a scrap place, but they only gave me $25 which I thought was good. Now I feel gypped. LOL

 

Here is one that sold for $210.50 +10.92 for shipping, Keep in mind, whomever purchased this is probably making a profit on it when they scrap it.

Scrap Catalytic Converter | eBay

 

It is truly amazing what you can sell used stuff for on eBay - one man's trash is another man's treasure.

When you cut off the original primary cc, did you look down the pipe into the secondary cc? If so what did that look like?

 

they look the same

 

The CEL has not come back on since installing the new cat so I'm glad to see the issue has been fixed.

 

Hello again! Need some advice here. Well I'm back, not quite 4 years later (and only 75,000 miles later), needing a new cat again. Or so the dealership says. The CEL was coming on and off for a while and it needed an oil change so I took it in. But by then the CEL had gone away so they couldn't diagnose it. They thought maybe it was me not replacing the fuel cap properly after gassing up. I drove away with just the oil change and within a few miles the CEL comes on AND I notice a loud roaring sound from the engine at highway speeds. I take it back 2 weeks later (was out of town/too busy) and ask them "what the hell did you do to my car, now it's making this noise and the CEL won't go away", and they tell me "We checked the codes, you need a new cat for $2900 (labor and parts)". I say "I just replaced the cat in 2013 (I bought the Magnaflow that was recommended on this thread and had a muffler shop do it)" and they say "Yeah but you replaced it with a non-OEM cat and those aren't made with the same high-quality materials so they don't last as long". Is this true? Should I be expecting to replace the cat already? Should I get the cheap version again or spend the $2900 for Toyota to do it? I guess if the original one only lasted me about 10-15K more than the replacement, maybe it's not worth spending the money. I forget how much I paid a muffler shop to install the replacement, but it was a lot less than Toyota's price. I haven't had them check O2 sensors or anything. Thanks all.

 

You can buy 10 aftermarkets for the price of one OEM and if the car is totaled in an accident next week you wont get your money back.

If you can find someone to sell you a used OEM that is a better option.

Used cats are illegal in some states unless they are certified.