Another master warning, (!), red light warning situation

2004 Prius with about 170K miles.

So took it to a shop and they pulled the code...P0420!

Looks like it's my cat converter!! From threads on here, I'm looking at roughly $1800!!! Holy Shiat! :Cry::Cry::Cry::Cry::Cry:

Has anyone (in California where the emission laws are rediculous) ever installed an aftermarket cat, and did it pass smog? I really can't imaging that I would need to pay a cat that is as much as a used car!!

In any case, I looked on ebay, and found this company that says they have a cat converter for my prius:
04 05 06 07 Toyota Prius 1.5L Main Catalytic Converter: eBay Motors (item 190341378730 end time Nov-06-10 09:33:10 PDT)

However, I'm not sure if it's true and whether it's a bolt on, or needs welding. The picture shows 2 cat converters or a cat and muffler?? I'm not sure what' I'm getting and what I'll need to do to get it on my car...and whether it will correct the master warning code, and pass CA smog.

If anyone has advice, please let me know.

Thanks.

 

I'm going to see what options I have, but will keep the '08 exhaust system in mind. I have a friend who can get a new cat from Toyota at a discounted price..under $1100.

I did have problems with the 12V battery over a month ago. Symptom was that car would not start and electrical was iffy until car starts. It was weird because I would have thought that after a long drive, it recharged the 12V somewhat, but did not. However, after overnight parking, it worked sometimes too. In any case, jump starting the car worked, and eventually, I replaced with a similar battery...it was different in size, but seemed to work fine. I could not put the trunk mat cover over the battery because the terminals were in slightly different location blocking the cover from fitting. In any case, been running fine until that stupid master warning light came on.

I will check whether that ebay cat is CARB approved.

 

Ok... just to circle back on this. The master warning light went away mysteriously. It did initially go away for about 20 miles, then came back. Then, it's been gone the entire week!! I think something will eventually crap out on me, but for now, everything seems ok.

Regarding the ebay cat converter I was asking about... I emailed them and it WAS NOT CARB approved. Here was their response:

Due to CARB (Californiia Air Resource Board) not many after market converters are approved for use in the state of California. This converter would probably fit your car but it is not approved for use in the state of California.
P.S. We are not allowed to ship catalytic converters to CA.

Damn Schwarzenegger and his strict eco-friendly laws killing my wallet.

 

Cat converters were in place for a long time. It costing a zillion dollars more in CA, is not. It was a mainly a joke, BUT, check here where it attributes this to the Terminator:
Assembly Bill 32 - California Global Warming Solutions Act

Note the AB 32 timeline in Jan 2009 near the bottom of the article... then go to this site:
Aftermarket Catalytic Converters


I'm making an assumption that basically, because of these stringent regulations that were signed into law by him, that we are limited in the cat converters that are available to be installed... most of which are available in other states for a fraction of the price.

So there.

On a side note, my F'n HV battery just died.. Dealer wants $4600 to fix AND my cat needs to be fixed as well. I did find a place in LA that will install battery from wrecked prius for $1300! Thinking about it.

I love my prius, but right now, it's like a bitter Ex, that's killing me!!!

 

I'm not sure... but it's definitely not the right size, although it was pretty small. I've had it since I posted the original thread, and have not had problems with it. I'm pretty sure the 12V battery is lead....RIGHT???

 

I'm really considering going to another state to get someone to put a new cat on. I just don't know if it would pass CA smog test. This may be a bit shady, but hey, my prius would still be putting out less emissions than 95% of other cars on the road, and I'm ok with that.

 

So good updates on my status:

HV battery replacement:
DONE for $500 installed (battery included). This is a reconditioned battery, and so far after 150 miles, it's good. I normally get 44-48mpg going to work, and this morning, I got 53mpg. Given that even if I payed thousands, I would only get a month or 90 days warranty, I don't think there's much a difference here. I guess I'll wait and see. He gave me a special deal to pay $200 more in next 6 months, if it dies, he'll fix... but since I met this guy through craiglist, I'm going to consider that vaporware.

Cat converter:
The same guy that installed my battery pointed something out to me that I obviously had overlooked! Since I've had the prius in 2007, I've NOT been required to get it smogged. He said that Prius are exempt from smog checks, so I'll just live with the check engine light. I also found a junk yard that has the cat for $200, but unless I need it for some other reason, I'm not going to fix it.



I'll update my battery status if it dies. BTW, the install was very easy. A lot of bolts to remove, but almost anyone comfortable with cars can do it. The main thing is this orange plug thing you MUST take out... it will basically disable the battery and you are safe to work around it... NOTE that this does not include taking the battery itself apart and playing with the various cells. In any case, there's youtube videos of it.

If it last more than 6 months, I'll recommend him... otherwise, it's a 'wait and see' situation for me.

 

oh, one more disclaimer. These are my observations on what someone else did, and he made it seemed very simple. I watched him every step of the way, and if needed, I'm comfortable doing it myself next time. If you get shocked and die because you don't know what you are doing, don't have your family sue me.