So they stole my Catalytic converter off my 2010 prius last night. I did a lot of reading where most aftermarket cats were garbage and wont last as long as OEM. I dont have the money to buy an OEM but i don't want to spend 100-200 on an ebay one just for the check engine light to come on within a year. I went on Rock Auto and found a Walker 16649 CAT for $568.00. Walker offers a 25k mile warranty on the CAT so i figured i would go with that. Based on the warranty, it's not the best CAT out there but should do the job long term i hope. Anyone use this one by chance? Not sure if it conforms to emissions. I live in New York which is what i checked off on their site although i think most prius may be california so im not sure what i bought will work accordingly or not/give me issues with state inspection. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
I think New York emissions is as strict as California so you may need CARB approved cats. If that's the case only factory and Magnaflow will legally pass inspections. They are currently backorder for months and really expensive. My 3rd gen was stolen last month as well. I tried an aftermarket from ebay just to get my car running until OEM's become available. As for using aftermarkets you will get a code for inefficient cat. I've read so called EPA approve cats from Canada on ebay are better at not throwing any codes.
At only $130 and a 5 year warranty a cheap aftermarket cat is better than you think: Catalytic Converter For 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Toyota Prius 1.5L EPA OBD2 | eBay And despite many mechanic's flawed predictions, I've yet to read about one on here that failed after a short lifespan and they aren't very hard to install. What's more testing on here showed similar exhaust cleaning ability as OEM at lower RPM, so spending $600 instead of $130 doesn't make sense. As for New York regulations, we've only seen people with problems on here in California failing smog check based on visual inspection to confirm OEM and I don't think they have that requirement in New York or we would of heard about it. You might however find sellers that aren't allowed to ship to New York though.
Assuming your 2010 prius is New York registered it would need a CAT that fit 3rd gen 2010 -2015, and is CARB compliant. After a google search, New York adopted emission standards of California. On Ebay, you noticed most after markets cats are not legal for use in CA, NY, etc....there's a reason why. You can still buy them, but the disclaimer is there. When the time comes, if you know a place who can "pass" your OEM visual inspection, try finding a good quality aftermarket cat that can get you by. If I would have to choose an aftermarket cat all over again, I would get a better quality, efficient enough to not throw codes. Catalytic Converter 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Toyota Prius 1.8L | eBay You wouldn't have to worry about all of this if you have theft coverage insurance.
Not legal in New York is different than passing inspection in New York... I've yet to read on here of someone in New York not passing smog check due to aftermarket cat. That only happens in California.
Thanks for the response guys. Based on recommendations, I have decided to return the walker CAT and go with @PriusCamper suggestion for the Canadian CAT eBay seller. Gonna take a bit longer to get here but I have a friend who loaned me his car for the time being. I don’t think mechanic shops here in NY care if the CAT is OEM or not. At 46 dollars an inspection… They have better things to do. As long as there’s no check engine light, it’s almost guaranteed to pass. Some don’t even raise the car in the air. My hope is that this new CAT will last a long while. I doubt it’ll go the distance as the OEM but hopefully it’ll last as long as the 5 year warranty it claims to honor. Even if it does fail within that period (and it probably will), to send it back to Canada will cost more than the CAT itself. Ets see what happens long term. Will keep you posted either way and thanks again for all your help.
I received and installed a new aftermarket CAT that was made in Canada. Car is much quieter now and I cleared the O2 sensor code. O2 sensor is from “walker”. I have the torque app and when reading the downstream O2 sensor, it shows .8 when I give it gas. Initially, when I press on the gas, it spikes to the bottom but then jumps back up to ~.8 volts. Would this be considered normal? Thanks.
It won't take a year for you to throw a p0420 code. Only takes about a month. You have to market cat from Canada will last you about 3 weeks at best
Of the 1/2 dozen aftermarket cats I've installed in past couple years only one has thrown a P0420 and that car had a bad engine and was totaled in a roll over a week after I installed the cat. As in everyone still driving their Prius that I've put a cheap $130 cat on has had no signs of P0420 anymore.
If it's any comfort, the Prius is not the only car that is victimized by cat thieves. Convert that pig over to electric - & their problem's solved! .
And recently.....some really smart thieves tried to steal a cat from a car where the owner was sleeping in it. She woke up and backed up and killed the guy under the car...2 others have been arrested. To bad there is no tic tok or $hitgram video of that.....
Please don't kid yourself. 5 years warranty from whom? some random ebay / craiglist / facebook market place dude? those no brand ~$100 cats have no warranty and no 'Epa approval / certification' other than BS info written on the wall.. they rarely last more then few thousands miles but it's perfect temporary solution to get a car back on the road quick.
