Catalytic Converter on a 2007 Forester

I had to have the catalytic converter replaced at 34000 miles. I now have 54000 on my Forester L 2007 and the dealer says I need to have the catalytic converter replaced again. I’m I doing something wrong in driving and serving my vehicle that causes this very expensive repair? Are other owners experiencing the same thing? Why is this happening?

This should be well under warranty. If it happens a third time it falls under the lemon law. Unless you are pouring raw fuel into a hole you personally drilled into the cat, or you are doing some serious off roading and bottoming out the vehicle, it is probably the car and not your habits.

This is not an expensive repair to you hopefully. It should have been covered now twice and hopefully not again ever.

Agreed. Catalytic converters should be covered for 8 years/80,000 miles due to federal emissions regulations. I hope you haven’t been paying for the repairs. You should have something in your owners manual about the emissions warranty.

Perhaps something is causing the catalytic converter to fail, like a bad oxygen sensor. That’s not covered under the emissions warranty, but it could save you money down the road to solve the problem now while you’re still under warranty.

Lemon law varies by state and depends on the number of attempts to fix the problem and/or how long your car has been unusable.

The dealer may be mistaking an oxygen sensor problem with a bad cat. Pretty dumb, but it could happen. It’s hard to believe one catcon failed so soon, much less two.

But this is on Subaru’s dime, not yours (except for the inconvenience, of course). However, Subaru may well question the dealer’s diagnosis when the warranty claim is submitted.