121,000 miles passed emissions but needs new California converter. Just retired, don’t drive that much don’t want to get new car. Considering having exhaust shop put on aftermarket converter. Will it damage car to drive with old converter? What exactly makes the check engine light go on for this? How long are these supposed to last in a Hyundai Accent? No other problems with this car, have been pretty good about doing routine maintenance and getting repairs.
A number of things can cause the check engine light to go on with a ‘low cat efficiency’ code. Do you know what numerical code was stored? A parts shop will often read it for free. Let us know.
It won’t damage the car driving with an inoperative converter.
The Check Engine light comes on for this problem when the oxygen sensor after the catalytic converter detects oxygen in the exhaust gas that should have been consumed inside the catalytic converter.
All manufacterers must warranty the catalytic converter for 8 years/80,000 miles. After that they can fail at anytime.
Tester
What makes you think the catalytic converter is bad? A lot of perfectly good catalytic converters are changed because of other faulty components.
If it passed the emissions test, don’t worry about it…You can reset the dash light (CEL) by disconnecting the negative battery cable for a minute or two…Maybe it will stay off…The rear oxygen sensor is the part that made the light come on, replace that before you replace the converter, it’s much cheaper…
Hyundai, Accent, 121,000 Miles.
Model-Year ?
CSA