Toyota wants close to $2000 for an exhaust with catalytic converters. Apparently you can not buy or install those cheap $100-$300 weld-in or even direct fit aftermarket "49 state" parts legally, and SMOG TECHNICIANS have been warned and trained to look for proper markings "CA COMPLIANT OBD II" or whatever it is they look for -- so don't expect to get away with that, either. If you have a check engine light with a P0420 error I guess we can plan to write Toytota a $2000 check. What a mess. No smog for over a decade, so no demand for these things. Maybe they're trying to put a bunch of Prius cars in the junkyard or something.
P0420 could also mean that the Oxygen sensor is going bad as well. You could take the O2 sensors off the car and bench test them first before plopping down $2k.
road trip out of state and have it replaced it has to be cheaper. install aftermarket and tell them it was on the car when you bought it.
A lot of replacement parts are getting way outa line. A couple that I'm concerned about are brake master cylinder/booster ($3000~) and Yuasa 12 volt battery ($273).
Can’t you just find used catalytic converter? Or the exhaust that has catalytic converter? Expensive brake actuator, inverter, or any other part could be bought used as well. I would buy anything that is expensive and is not high wear item used.
I'm pretty much a law and order kinda person, but I'm not giving those greedy <expletive deleted> in Toyota four figures for a new cat when I can recycle one for 25-percent of the cost from an organ donor. Road trip.....
