I took my 05 tc 4/A with 21000 miles to gateway toyota in toms river, for a check engine light, i thought it may have to do someting with the exhaust and it did. The tech told me my intake caused my catalytic converter to burn out, and it would cost around $800 to repair. And to top that off they charged my $104 just to diagnose the problem with a OBD 2 scanner which is ridiculous. The dealership will not pay for and costs whatsoever. Is it really possible that my intake really caused my Cat to burn out?

 

No, it's not. Refer them to the Magnuson-Moss Warranty act, and tell them to get the regional manager involved or you'll take legal action.

Link - Detailed

Link - Simpler explanation

 

An intake WILL NOT Cause a cat to burn out.

They are taking the easy way out.

 

fight it. keep us updated.

 

they stated the intake caused a lean condition which burnt out my cat. how can i fight this, how can i prove the intake didnt cause the cat to burn out???? This is ongoing as of right now, i havent paid for any work yet i left my car at the dealer. Oh and the CEL code was i think po 2024, catalyst emmisions below threshold

 

wow.... $800 to repair? repair what? a new cat isnt over $200

 

Tell them to prove the lean condition. They'll need proof of this from the OEM narrowband A/F sensor, or they'll have to hook up a Lambda meter. They need to show that your A/F was significantly leaner than the A/F on a stock tC. Lean enough to burn out the cat (impossible). Tell them to show you the OBDII codes as well. They also cannot deny or approve a warranty claim outright, they have to contact certain regional reps and with proof that an aftermarket part caused the failure.

Ok, so you got the code already, good. That code is far from proof of a lean condition, it proofs the cat is broke, lol. If the intake were the problem, and caused the a/f to lean out enough to burn the cat, Bank 1 Sensor 1 (the a/f sensor) would probably be throwing an error as well as Bank 1 Sensor 2 (the heated o2 sensor). And the second cat, the one in the exhaust piping, should have burnt out as well if the exhaust gas temperatures were that hot.

 

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Good luck with this situation. Let me give you some insight on what you are up against. Modifying the Air intake volume has affects on the Air/Fuel ratio. What the dealer is saying is a possibility. If the air meter is receiving a signal that is out of range, then it can make the ECU guess the correct balance for air/fuel. This happened on my Kia and clogged my cat converter.

BUT... the toyota engine has triple redundancy monitoring also has a drive-by-wire system. First System is the Air Meter, 2nd System O2 Sensors, 3rd System is the engine management default programming. If 2 of those systems fail and you are having performance issues on default programming then damage can happen.

In your case, the intake on the tC engine isn't likely a cause of the problem. But, it is you versus the team who designed that engine. Second, that intake has not been tested and certified for use wit the tC engine. From that standpoint, they have every right to refuse warranty work.

 

im calling to get the exact code now......p0420 bank 1 catlyist system below threshold

 

is there any hope i can fight this???

 

Go after them, they scratched one of my stock wheels and I couldn't do anything about it...maybe you'll win. Gateway sucks, they need to be taken down.

 

lots of hope.

they can't prove your intake did it. and a catalytic converter can't cost $800 unless it's solid gold.

 

If I recall correctly, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty act requires that the dealer prove the aftermarket part caused the problem, not that you prove it didn't.

At the very least ask them to provide you their proof that the problem was caused by the aftermarket part in writing and within some reasonable time frame (72 hours?). Since they are allegedly denying your warranty claim because of this 'proof' they already have (right, uh-huh) that should not present a problem to them at all...

Keep in mind that IANAL and this is just what comes to my mind as a regular consumer, not as any sort of expert. Hopefully we have some more knowledgeable folks on hand here who can help.

Good luck!

 

Actually the converter for the scions is $800 because it is an entire exhaust system welded together. The converter, the resinator is one piece, and it is OBD2 California certified, all scions are california certified. So yeah the price is correct.

 

Try a different dealer next time too. Some dealers are clearly more interested in happy customers and others in more happy owners. They are also paid to replace things not trouble shoot things.

 

First of all i got the exact same code after i installed the alphawerk header. Code PO420, simply precat is missing. In your case i dont know if you have a header, do you? A new cat like the guys here are pointing out is about $120 and that is a highflow unit. Try another dealer and if they give you a hard time follow the advice given to you by members. Make sure they explain the reason for not covering the part on paper (written).

 

Tomas is correct they have to prove that was the cause of the problem in order to make that claim.

 

I posted this same thing for another warranty issue also.
I do warranty for an auto supplier and this is pretty much the process. Your car has a problem and the dealer blames a part on the problem and replaces it. It may be your fault or not but its not their call. They return the faulty part to the OEM who sends it to the supplier that makes it. The supplier figures out the cause (you, adjoining part, your plant, oem assembly plant, dealer, etc.) and sends the test results, analysis and conclusion back to the OEM. They review the results and usually have a few questions involving proof of the cause. The dealer probably also has a similar process. The OEM will then go after the responsible party to cover the repair costs. About 80% of the parts have nothing wrong with them. Customer is probably least likely to be responsible in the end. My experience is with suspension so others may vary.

 

k well i just swallowed my pride and paid $104.40 to get my keys back. They told me to talk to the service manager tommorow. My Invoice States: CUSTOMER STATES CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ON PO420 CATALYSTCSYSTEM EFFICENCY LOW CAUSED BY AFTER MARKET INTAKE SYSTEM VOLUME OF AIR TO HIGH TO LEAN $756.00 TO INSTALL NEW CAT
Did they just prove that it was my intake?

 

k well i just swallowed my pride and paid $104.40 to get my keys back. They told me to talk to the service manager tommorow. My Invoice States: CUSTOMER STATES CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ON PO420 CATALYSTCSYSTEM EFFICENCY LOW CAUSED BY AFTER MARKET INTAKE SYSTEM VOLUME OF AIR TO HIGH TO LEAN $756.00 TO INSTALL NEW CAT
Did they just prove that it was my intake?