Confused by Catalytic Converters

There's 2 grams each of Rhodium, Palladium and Platinum in these over-engieered Gen2 cats... Currently Rhodium sells for $694 a gram, Palladium $101 a gram and Platinum $40 a gram.

Basically it's cheaper to get Rhodium from old Prius cats than it is to mine it...

And new more modern cats don't require as much of these precious metals to do a similar, thought less thorough job.

The good news is a precious metal dealer will pay you $1500 for each of your cats when you replace them unless a thief does that for you.

 

Go on youtube and look up

Prius Stolen

Cat theft is quite epidemic especially overseas.Lots of YT's about it. Not just Prius affected but its high on there list as the G2 used alot of precious metal in there cats.

 

G2 Priuses are SULEVs (Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle)
No.
That's not me being snarky.....some supposedly sober, educated adult actually came up with that out west of the Rockies.
G1's are "only" Ultra Low Emissions Vehicles....and they're mostly razor blades now.

SO.....here's where it gets kinda interesting....
G3 Priuses are ALSO Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicles - but until recently their cats were not being jacked at nearly the same rate as the G2's.
Also...the catnapping doesn't seem to be as proportionately high outside zip codes that begin with "90" which also happen to be places where you HAVE to use OEM catalytic converters to get your cars smogged.
Also Also.....G2,3 & presumably 4 Priuses are NOT the only cars that are Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicles..
Super ultra-low emission vehicle - Wikipedia
AND YET.....
G2 Priuses are still the principle target for catnapping.

So.....
Are Priuses just easier to steal cats from?
Are their cats loaded with more of these metals than other SULEV's - if so WHY?
Is there a black market for no-questions asked $1,000 cats when there is a waiting list for $1500 OEM cats?
Is the fact that many people out on the left coast subletting their garages a contributing factor?
Crime rates?

Your call.
Me?
I'm thinking it's probably "D" or "all of the above"

YMMV

 

Hello people,

sorry if I intervene with this question a bit out of context, but I was wondering if any of you knew if geico still covers for catalytic converters theft?

 

Unless it’s specifically excluded in the mice-type it should be covered under your comprehensive policy.

File fast!
They’re not going to stay dumb forever.
Pretty soon they are just going to start totaling out G2s for $1500 cats or not renewing their owners.

Edit:
You CAN usually drive your catnapped car while you are waiting (and waiting….and waiting) for a replacement. It will sound kinda interesting and you may want to check your o2 sensor leads but there are YouTube vids that address this.

One usually cannot drive a G3, but as I indicated in a previous post there’s not yet as much of a demand for these cats.

Good Luck!

 

You CAN drive a G3 with a stolen cat, if the thief was a "professional" and did not cut the exhaust pre-heater coolant line.

Even if the pre-heater coolant line was cut, you still CAN drive it, if you reconnect the coolant with a short section of 5/8" heater hose and a couple of clamps. Then, top off the engine coolant reservoir tank.

 

.....hence the word...."usually."
Most folks will just call for the skid truck when they see the puddle of coolant.

 

The OE Prius converters have more precious metals in them as they have to be warranteed as functional for up to 150 thousand miles. Aftermarket replacement converters only have to be functional for up to 25 thousand miles. You can do the math.
Yes, the Gen2 Prius is very "easy" to remove the the cat. Jack up a side, cordless saw to cut through one thin pipe, cut the oxygen sensor wires, cordless impact gun on two bolts at the manifold. Can be done in 1 to 2 minutes.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Gen 3 cats are just as easy to steal. It's the same technique as for the Gen 2's. The trick is to avoid cutting the exhaust pre-heater lines.

 

If your goal is to keep your car from spitting codes, then almost any catalytic will “work.”
If your goal is to keep your vehicle as SULEV as it was when it was new, then you’re probably going to have to stick with the OEM replacement.

Since thermal inversions are not much of a feature in Bastan weather patterns, and since your government seems to have adult leadership in this one very small area, MY personal opinion would be to go with the party ticket and make your car “clean enough” which would be to say….cleaner than 90-percent of all of its contemporaries.

Your call.

My principle concerns would be corrosion and your car’s oil consumption - which is probably the root cause of the 0420 codes.
If you’re the DIY type there might also be a third option for you besides letting your cats age in place or sending them off to the scrappers.

You can try cleaning them if you do not mind taking them off to do so.
Most of the manufacturers and other “experts” will tell you that cleaning these units is not practical, and in places where catalytic converters are less than the price of good used car I would agree…..and yet…..there are many many products and procedures out there in the inter webs.

Again….your call.
Getting rid of the 420 code is worth the effort if only because it will allow you to see if something else starts going wrong with your car.

Good Luck!

 

The forum search feature currently works (this isn't always the case), best to search and study up on all things gen2 when you have time.

Not sure if anyone else has posted their findings, but @TMR-JWAP started a thread that was quite helpful : OEM and Aftermarket Catalytic Converter emissions | PriusChat

 

We're looking here for a cat thief who is thoughtful enough to avoid cutting your coolant lines, but not thoughtful enough to quit being a cat thief.

 

It would be readily apparent that the thief is more concerned about getting smelly sticky coolant all over him if herself while under the car, NOT the victim.

 

This:

There actually have been reports of people putting on aftermarket catalyitic converters, taking it down to emissions testing and failing the test based on exhaust emission levels only. Of course the amount of information on this isn't enough to be completely conclusive. But common sense tells you that a catalytic converter with hundreds of dollars of precious metals must be better at doing it's job than one with just a couple dozen dolors worth of the stuff.

This is an important point. What caused the catalytic converter to foul up in the first place? It would be a shame to put on a brand new OEM catalytic converter and in a year or 6 months have it fail again.

Getting too much zinc and phosphorus in your cat with cause it to fail. So using the right oil is important. Don't use high zinc/ZDDP oils, diesel oils, or oils that aren't strickly API SN rated because those will foul the catalytic converter more quickly. But if you're burning oil in the first place then you're burning a lot more bad stuff in your catalytic conver even with good oil.

 

There have been "reports" of Elvis running a doughnut shop in downtown Memphis, or for-real aliens driving funny little tic-tac shaped "UFOs" that only seem to show up in military ops areas.
This is why many fathers would rather their daughters work in a brothel than study to be a journalist.

Journalism is less honest work sometimes.

As stated above.....G2 Priuses are SULEVs (Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicles.)
So, when we're NOT talking about autocracy run amok, one "might" presume that a properly maintained and well running ULTRA Low Emission vehicle might meet local standards.....or even one of those dirty, nasty LOW emissions vehicles.

There ARE probably cats out there that are little more than bloated straight pipes, but I'm guessing that the marketplace handles these fairly efficiently since most of the mail order parts houses have a guarantee for their parts - or at least a FEEDBACK loop for their customers....otherwise we'd have more substantial evidence that Non-OEM cats fail to meet emissions standards than "there have been reports"

Sometimes?
...nothing.

Let's pretend that you're working for a dealership that struggles even to meet the low honesty standards journalists set for themselves.
OK?
So....one of your victims comes in with a middle-aged Prius that's spitting the Duuuuude! code.
You're behind in your alimony payments and your former hubby is threatening legal action, and you need another botox treatment.

WHICH would YOU replace?
The faulty O2 sensor or the good catalytic converter AND the O2 sensor?

 

I was referring to people here on Prius Chat mentioning that their aftermarket cats not passing actuall emissions:

At least that's what I understood.

Lots of places don't check everything. Lots of places, like where I live, don't even check emissions at all. It is very likely that aftermarket catalytic converters meet minimum requirments. Of course there's also the quesiton about longevity.

Another thing is I wished people would post their actual emissions test results. We have really no idea what the difference is between an aftermarket cat and an OEM.

"Sometimes" is correct. But I would never trust a mechanic that wants to change just the catalytic converter, or even less a mechanic that wants to change both the O2 sensor and catalytic converter. Catalytic converters fail for a reason.

It's kind of like replacing a warped head. It warped for a reason and if you don't fix the reason it will just warp again. It makes absolutly zero sense to replace a fouled cat and not address something else unless the reason is because the car has an extreme amount of miles on it.

 

Start a thread and solicit results.
For example.....here's mine (for 4 GMCs and a my work Prius)

I live where temperature inversions are not a prominent weather feature and people actually KNOW the definition of 'smog'. However (comma!) since I try to be a responsible steward. all of my cars are in good running condition and they are 52-state emissions compliant.

This means that....if somebody jacks the cat off of my work Prius, its cat would be replaced by my beloved company with a $250 non-oem cat that would BOTH extunguish the CEL and allow the car to meet 50-1/2 state standards (not sure about NYC) for ACTUAL (real world) emissions.

It's a STANDARDS thing....which involves equality....NOT equity.
(all pigs are equal)

We have FEDERAL standards:
All EPA Emission Standards | US EPA
AND?
Since states are (sometimes) allowed to set their own standards, sometimes you have to exceed dot.DOT.dot.gov standards.

Companies like Amazon do not do a very good job at keeping cheap, sometimes non-functional knock-off junk from being sold. They're basically eBay with warehousing and a more robust delivery system.

HOWEVER (comma!) given the fact that G2 (and now G3) cat thefts are rampant, and a fair percentage of cats are being replaced in zip codes that do NOT begin with 90, AND given the facts that many states have emissions standards and the OEM cats are 5X the cost of the SULEV cats........I'm "guessing" that hollowed out cats aren't a widespread thing........otherwise, WHY have TWO o2 sensors?

 

That's a great idea! Maybe they're not that different, or mayber there terrible different. Or maybe there's even a brand out there better than OEM. But you never know until you find out!

All OBD II cars (1996 and newer) have at least two O2 sensors. One (set) acts as an AFR gauge and the other (set) as a catalytic converter CO and HC efficiency gauge (it doesn't do much to show how much NOx is being reduced.)