156k miles. Driving out of the 150k mile service in October, the service engine soon light came on / steady, not blinking. Nothing on diagnostic. Light went off. This week after driving 20 miles in 6 1/2 hours in low gear during the Hartford Nor’Easter the warning light came on again / solid, not blinking. Took it in for a diagnostic and was told the codes showed need to replace the cat converter / $1500.00. OUCH!!!
Advised it was OK to drive until cat comes in. Started car yesterday and the warning light is now off. Could it just be a faulty O2 sensor and not a cat converter issue?
It’s possible. If the engine is performing well, and the gas mileage is ok, I’d forget about it, for now. If the check engine light comes on again, and you know it’s the same code, you could bring the code here for advice.
Get the actual codes, not the mechanics interpretation of the code(s). No code says I need a new converter. The codes say this or that sensor is reporting … The mechanic is taking it from there. It is just as likely that the sensor is defective as is the converter.