1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

2008 Prius Touring-68K, new catalytic converter needed

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by kennellyb, Aug 24, 2010.

  1. kennellyb

    kennellyb New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 19, 2007
    6
    1
    0
    Location:
    Southern California
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Hi Prius enthusiasts,

    This is my first post, and I've been a longtime lurker on this helpful forum. Thanks everyone for the advice!

    My '08 Prius Touring is in the shop today because the 'check engine' light came on at 68,500 miles. I just got word from them that the catalytic converter is bad and needs replacement. Good thing I bought the extended warranty! Well, I searched the forum for similar problems and it seems like this is somewhat common, albeit on cars with a bit more mileage and maybe a year or more older. I don't abuse my car at all, though I often roll into full-throttle while merging.

    Is this a symptom of a poor part design or of a system that fouls the cat over a certain amount of time? I'm not looking forward to replacing it again at 130K after my extended warranty expires.

    Anyhow, I just wanted to share that in case there are others with a similar problem.

    Cheers!
     
    #1 kennellyb, Aug 24, 2010
  2. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2008
    18,200
    6,472
    0
    Location:
    Green Valley, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    The California emissions control warranty also should cover the catalytic converter replacement. I don't think that 2G catalytic converters fail very often.

    The Classic catalytic converter did fail more frequently, partly because it had this weird hydrocarbon absorption chamber with a valve that tended to bind up after corrosion formed on it.
     
    #2 Patrick Wong, Aug 24, 2010
    1 person likes this.
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)