Hey there all.

Been reading and searching through these forums to try and find a similar situation, but I think I just need some advice at this point.

Recieved a 06 xA from a friend around the start of the year when there was a catastrophic failure in my last vehicle.

Had to immediately put on new front and back brakes as well as a few tires and a new starter, but has been running fine otherwise. Despite the check engine light that has persisted the entire time, Started out with just good ol code p0420, but has since added codes p0113 and p0102 to the mix.

Have been trying to transfer the vehicle into my name and register it properly, but the smog has been the obvious hurdle I've yet to defeat. Was planning on using the o2 spacer method I've seen talked about on these forums many a time to avoid having to shell out $1k on a new CAT here in California, but I dont think it will effect the other codes whatsoever, but honestly have no idea.

Have been figuring it out at a decent pace but my hand has been forced by an expired registration ticket to pick up the pace, so I come looking for advice.

Would getting a failed smog to gain a 30 day moving permit be wise to extend my window to work on fixing it or would it effect how strictly the next SMOG is inspected? Is it worth taking the car to a shop to find the sources of the issues of the other two codes?

Should I keep putting time and money into this little registration/repair battle or put it into a new vehicle?

 

Try cleaning the Mass AirFlow sensor first and while you are in there check out the air filter.
Then look for a leak between the air filter and throttle body.
I'm no expert in code reading, but it would be the first thing I would look at. It might fix the 420 code too