Swapped Catalytic converter from 05 to 08 did not work...CA

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Brace, Aug 20, 2019.

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  1. Brace

    Brace New Member

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    im in the bay area and they stealed the CAT from my 08 with 169k then i went and swapped it for the one on my 05 with 216k, the part number is the same and the fitting was all good but now i am getting the P0420 and Check engine light on.

    -Is this a compatibility issue?

    the 05 was driving fine, no check engine light great mpg. only thing i notice was when i pushed the gas it takes 1 second to "wake up" and react, and makes unusual noise with high revs.

    -could the 05 CAT be already failing? if so, why no check engine light on the 05 and only on the 08 immediately after instalation?

    i already sold the 05 at half price without the CAT.

    now i dont know what to do?

    if the cat is failing(how to know that apart from the code?) i could try to change cats again with another 05, or 06 that i also have,

    but if its a compatibility issue i need to know which years are compatible?
     
    #1 Brace, Aug 20, 2019
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Reset the car by disconnecting the 12v battery for a minute
     
    #2 JC91006, Aug 20, 2019
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  3. Brace

    Brace New Member

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    hi JC91006! thanks for the input, I did that! and also reset the codes with the machine, the light keeps coming on always... any other ideas?

    just to clarify, i did not do the job myself, i went to a large specialized muffle shop, they cut it from the 05 and put in on the 08. visually i cant find any problems. i went there the nex day with the light on and they said they have done their job and nothing else they can do now...
     
    #3 Brace, Aug 20, 2019
  4. Georgina Rudkus

    Georgina Rudkus Senior Member

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    You might be right, unfortunately, that the replacement is failing.
     
    #4 Georgina Rudkus, Aug 20, 2019
  5. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Why did they have to cut anything? It's a bolt on catalytic converter
     
    #5 JC91006, Aug 20, 2019
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  6. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    What condition are the upstream and downstream O2 sensors in:whistle:?

    If they are wonky, it’ll think the cat is compromised ;).

    I’d check those next (y).
     
    #6 Raytheeagle, Aug 20, 2019
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  7. Brace

    Brace New Member

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    Maybe they did not cut, i dont know, i just know the cat its now welded in the new car.
    i saw them also doing something under the glovebox, were they replacing the o2 sensor from one car to another as well?
    how do i check 02 sensor health?

    i do not have techstream, only a bosch odb reader. and very limited knowledge.
     
    #7 Brace, Aug 20, 2019
  8. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    They should not have to weld anything. This is quite strange.

    The area by the glove compartment is where the o2 sensor plugs in. That is normal if they are putting in the o2 sensor

    Did you reuse the old o2 sensor? If you changed it, did you use an original Denso part?
     
    #8 JC91006, Aug 20, 2019
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  9. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Techstream is the easiest way;).

    Aren’t you the one with the fleet of Prii :whistle:?

    I’d invest in the $20 miniVci dongle that you can get off of Amazon and find an old laptop :).

    Best setup you can have for your current and future troubleshooting (y).
     
    #9 Raytheeagle, Aug 20, 2019
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  10. Brace

    Brace New Member

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    i had the fleet but have been getting rid of them all because of stupid events light this that is costing me like 4 grand overnight. to make it worse instead of having one defective car without cat, now i have 2 defective cars because the 08 is not "accepting" the cat that was installed on it...

    they also said they did not welded anything. but i saw them uwelding something on my car... they are liars..., and it looked welded to me when i saw the cat installed. but im no expert in cats, welding or liars.

    i do not know what they did with the o2 sensors...and i do not know anything about o2 sensors...

    what i need to know is if i should go for another cat swap with a lower value car to save this 08 or if it will reject the new part again?



    some guy told me to just drive this one with the check engine light on until the next smog in march 2021 and thats it...then sell it cheap.
    i prefer to sell cheap and get rid of them, i am not investing any more money on these cars.therefore its out of question to buy a new cat etc.
     
    #10 Brace, Aug 20, 2019
  11. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    you should go under the car and take a look for yourself, see what they did.

    worse case scenario, they took your valuable cat that everyone is stealing and welded on a different cheap cat that's not compatible with the car. Your 05 catalytic converter should be worth over $500, if not more. They should know that as well

    If your 05 was a complete unit, they would just unbolt it (with the 2 cats and o2 sensor) and bolt it onto the 08 car. Very simple swap.
     
    #11 JC91006, Aug 20, 2019
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  12. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    If they are not trustworthy, I’d be concerned about the cat they actually put on;).

    Like @JC91006 said, get the car up in the air and see the lay of the land. You might not like what you see:cool:.

    Sorry to hear about your issues. Good luck and keep us posted (y).
     
    #12 Raytheeagle, Aug 20, 2019
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  13. Brace

    Brace New Member

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    at the shop when the car was lifted we went under the car to see the cat and everything was looking normal, but what do i know... nothing... that cat could be from a ford model t and i would not know...
    i can see if i can get some pics to post here
     
    #13 Brace, Aug 20, 2019
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  14. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Mind sharing the shop that performed the work:whistle:?

    I’m not a conspiracy theorist, so I think it’ll end up being something explainable, like the O2 sensor being sensitive or not plugged in;).

    But only one way to find out:).

    Good luck and keep us posted (y).
     
    #14 Raytheeagle, Aug 20, 2019
  15. Brace

    Brace New Member

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    its
    Golden Auto
    7360 Mission St, Daly City, CA 94014
     
    #15 Brace, Aug 20, 2019
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  16. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Decent reviews on google:).

    So I don’t subscribe to funny business on this one ;).

    Time to check connections as well as data the sensors are out putting to determine the next steps (y).
     
    #16 Raytheeagle, Aug 20, 2019
  17. Brace

    Brace New Member

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    do you know anyone who can come have a look? im in daly city.
     
    #17 Brace, Aug 20, 2019
  18. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    It wouldn't exactly be a shocker to find a 05 catalytic converter not working properly. It's 14 years old
     
    #18 JC91006, Aug 20, 2019
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  19. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    @SFO isn’t far away;).
     
    #19 Raytheeagle, Aug 20, 2019
  20. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    #20 SFO, Aug 20, 2019
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