Catalytic Converter Replacement -2001 Prius

Maybe someone will correct me, but I wager a competent mechanics shop could remove the existing cat and sensor, measure the inlet and outlet, and cross reference the size to install one for far less money than that... Cats woukd the same way (as far as I know) on any car and you just need the correwct size and shape to be properly installed without banging on the underside. Exhaust systems in general work pretty much the same way from car to car regardless of the powerplant.

 

Chances are that it's just the oxygen sensor that has failed.. Catalyst failures these days are exceedingly rare unless you've been putting extra unapproved additives in your gas or using the really cheap high-sulfur stuff..

 

I've got 2002 Prius and have noticed that when I drive to Flagstaff during the winter - 7,000 ft elevation, my Prius has difficulty starting in the morning. The car will start then stop. If I drive the car on batteries until they drain and try starting again eventually the car will start - maybe after 15 minutes. The red triangle light will also come on and the dealer says it's the catalytic convertor that is bad; however, I notice no difference in gas mileage or engine sounds. Anybody else have engine starting issues at high elevation and cold weather - 10 to 30 degrees?

 

Yes, I have seen a couple of instances of this on the Classic Prius. One person on PTS (Yahoo Discussion Group- Prius Technical Stuff) decided to obtain a used converter assembly and successfully repaired his car.

Also, see Art's Automotive for an aftermarket repair:

http://www.artsautomotive.com/PriusConverter.htm

 

Out of curiosity, what did you say that got Toyota to help foot the bill for the repair? I'm very surprised that they didn't just say, "you're out of warranty, sorry."

 

Holy CRAP, $2300? Okay, let me preface this by saying I have an '08 so I've never made any repairs to the Prius. I am however competent at working on my own vehicles and rarely bring vehicles in for anything. I'm a bit more than a shadetree mechanic as I will rebuild my own engines, trannies, etc as well as metal fabrication. Granted none of this on a Prius.

I recently replaced my O2 sensor on my Jeep rock crawler as I managed to (offroad) jam the existing O2 sensor (the post-cat one) through my tub of my Jeep off road . The O2 sensor was $22 to replace. I'm assuming here the Toyota O2 sensor isn't made of out of this world materials so it has to be at least under $100. A catalytic converter can be had at the lower end $50, to the upper end $500 (I believe $500 was what I was quoted for a Dodge half ton truck I had from the dealer... that was before I bought one for $99 elsewhere). I couldn't imagine it being more than $50 to have the local muffler shop weld it on. This isn't rocket science here.

Once again none of those above numbers are on a Prius... but unless a Prius O2 sensor is 20 X's more complex than a typical O2 sensor and a Prius Cataytic converter isn't lined with 24k gold (instead of Platinum like the typical converter), I just don't see how the Toyota dealer could charge that much for this job.

Mike

 

I suggest that you ask the service writer to identify the DTC stored by your car. I do not believe that your hard-start driveability symptoms would be caused by a bad catalytic converter unless it was plugged. If it was plugged, then the car would deliver low power at all times.

For those posters responding to the OP today, note that the original post was back in May 2007. The reason that the Classic catalytic converter is so expensive is because it includes the HCAC (hydrocarbon absorption and converter) assembly which is unique to that model.

 

Sorry Patrick, I didn't notice that until now.

 

Art's Automotive is very cool; they're also doing transaxle
rebuilds and MFD patch-ups and I'm in semi-frequent contact with
Paul Cortes over there about various fun stuff. If y'all on
the left coast are within striking distance of Art's or
Luscious Garage or any of the hybrid-clueful places that have
popped up around CA, definitely give them your business because
they really know what's going on with these cars.
.
Now, with the high-altitude thing ... the "engine runs for a
few seconds" thing is probably it trying to crank and failing,
and is more likely a stuck/crapped-up throttle body than the
cat. An '02? Yeah, that's pretty usual.
.
On the other hand, Jesse's almost-350K Prius [now totaled by
some numbnuts kid in Randolph MA] had a huge crack all the way
around the rear of the second catalyst can, making a small
exhaust leak before heading toward the final muffler. He was
hoping to break 400K without having to replace the exhaust
system -- since it was post-second-cat it wasn't an emissions
issue, we were just hoping the pipework would actually hold
up and not fall out of the car in the meantime. But the engine
was running just fine without any issues.
.
_H*

 

As owner of Prius, my experience is dealers in my experience seems take car owners for granted. I will cite my experiences below.

1. Few months ago I took Prius for rear wheel making roaring noice.

Dealer gave me an estimate of $3,400/-, I ordered the parts online and took it to a mechanic to fix, the cost $300/-.

2. I took Prius to same dealer for check engine sign on the dash board, diagnosis - catalytic converter, estimate $1,441.45(includes labor). I did ask how much for labor and how much for parts. The parts cost $1,100.00 rest for labor.

Decided to check online again, cost $198/- shipping free labor according to my mechanic may be $100/-.

Rest is up to you to decide how to handle your future repairs from dealers.

ms

 

Wow! What a difference in cost vs dealer. I was going to suggest buying used from Autobeyours or XVipers, but you can definately get one for less than 200 online.

Well done.

 

For $100, will your mechanic remove the HCAC (hydrocarbon absorption chamber) assembly from the original catalytic converter, and weld to the new catalytic converter as Art's Automotive did in the link cited in msg #5 of this string? I really doubt that for $198, the replacement catalytic converter will include an HCAC.

If your mechanic is unaware that the HCAC exists, then you will find that the replacement catalytic converter (assuming it lacks the HCAC) will not work.

 

My 2001 has 183,000 mi. and still no battery problem, but last week the check engine light popped up and sure enough the dealer charged me over $1500 to replace the catalytic converter and gaskets. Maybe they're only good for 8 years.

 

I own a 2001 Prius with almost 191,000 miles. Some months ago the "Check Engine" light would come on and a day or to later it would go off. I was working as a courier of medicine so I had to keep driving. I finally got to my mechanic and the codes indicated "inefficient catalytic converter". The instructions for the code are to replace the O2 sensor on the catalytic converter. If that doesn't cure the problem the catalytic converter must be replaced. The O2 sensor replacement kept the light off for a couple of weeks and then it came back. My mechanic and I were pondering about replacing the catalytic converter when we were interrupted by failure of the main battery.

Now that the battery problem has been fixed the catalytic converter problem is our concern. There are two codes. The first one indicates "Inefficient catalytic converter'. The second one indicates that the computer estimated the power output of the engine and measurement of the actual power disagrees with estimate. I am sure that the second code is caused by the first one. There are two converters. The first one is close to the exhaust manifold and appears to have been very, very hot. The second in toward the rear of the car and has the O2 sensor on it. My mechanic thinks that he can cut the first one out and replace it with reasonable cost. If that cures the problem, fine. If not then we will have to replace the other one at a much higher cost. I think that we can get the total parts from a dealer for about $1500. We are checking on that this week.

 

i like your point of view. I own a prius 2005. My catalytic converter is gone, but i do not want to spend 2,300 to replaced. I am planning to install a comparable one instead for 600. What do you¨think?
Frank

 

I also agree that unless is made out of gold, i do not see why not to install other which fits. I own a prius 2005 and i am planning to install one which fits, my mechanic told me that the warning ligh will go off, and that all i would need. The other reason i want to replaced is because my gas mileage became very low because of this problem

 

can you tell me where or how can i get one of those catalytic converters for my 2005 toyoa prius?

 

+1 either that or bad contact.

I had heating element on manifold sensor fail (non-prius) so it happens. The converter could have failed due to mechanical damage, if you hit and broke ceramics. Usually good idea is
- clean contacts, reset code
- if doesn't help get replacement Oxygen sensor (either new or from junk yard), reset code.
- if neither helped replace converter, reset code.

Beware that federal law prohibits junk yards to sell emission parts (oxygen sensors, converters, etc) but if you tell them you need a sensor and then have them to pull one it may slide. Just tip the mechanic.

Oxygen sensors could be from $60 to a couple hundred for imports, $15 at junk yard.

 

$2300 is stupid expensive. Even $600 is on the high side.

Only time i needed a catalytic converter was on my 99 accord. I called the steallership and they wanted $1200. I knew it was crazy to spend $1200 on a catalytic convertor. Online i could find some for 100. Only issue was they all said 49 state version and not compatible with california emission standards. If you are outside california you should do some research for generics.

I called few places and finally found a shop in san jose downtown that replaced my converter for 150 and gave me a one year warranty on parts and labor. They cut the old one out and welded a replacement. I drove another 100k on that car and never had any emissions issue. Car had 290k and i sold it.