After paying about 1,000 for two catalytic converters and two O2 sensors, the check engine light still says that the first of the two sensors needs to be replaced. The shop said that the converter would be free, but they want to charge me an additional $200.00 for labor. Is that fair? Don’t they get a labor allowance from the replaced (defective) part manufacturer?
Whoa There, Resident !
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Dealership Did The Work Or Independent ?
CSA
What Common Sense said plus. If they are getting a code for the upstream sensor why are they replacing the Cat again?
First of all, there is no such thing as a code that says “replace this part”, so hopefully they have performed actual diagnoses to determine the part they intend to replace is indeed defective. Second, no, there is no labor allowance from the part manufacturer for replacing a defective part. This is why most good shops use trusted suppliers for their parts, not the cheapest available. Depending on the specifics of your situation, it may or may not be right for the shop to charge labor again, or it may or may not be right for the shop to eat the labor on this redo.
You need to get the car scanned for codes and provide a bit of history behind it. Most converter failure is due to another fault(s) and if the new converters have really failed then something is killing them. Maybe you’re dealing with a misdiagnosis from the start.
A parts failure on a factory OEM part at the dealer may get you off the hook warranty wise but in most cases any parts warranty does not cover labor costs no matter where you buy the part. Read the receipts from any parts house and it will state they are not responsible for any consequential costs; a.k.a. labor, towing, etc, etc.
The only way that the labor would be covered would be either under factory warranty or manufacturer recall. If there’s a code for the upstream sensor it’s either the 02 sensor or 02 circuit wiring. The upstream sensor has nothing to do with the catalytic converter. The downstream 02 sensor is the one that confirms catalyst efficiency. The upstream sensor along with other sensors controls air/fuel mixture. Get the code numbers and post them here that will give us an idea of your problem.
The code was P0421 which translates as “Warmup Catalyst System Efficiency Low (Bank 1)”
People bash dealers but they typically warrant their work parts & labor for 1yr/12,000 miles. Also some independents do especially including those that are AAA approved. Of course the labor charge is typically higher at these places a bit to cover this.
Your may not and your out of luck.
People bash dealers but they typically warrant their work parts & labor for 1yr/12,000 miles.
Most of the mechanics I know warranty their work for 1yr/12k miles…and they are NOT associated with AAA or any other organization. Their rates are almost half of the dealers.