Catalytic converters????

[mcgeiger]

Since someone on this board knows everything;) thought I'd post this. We are replacing our catalytic converter for the THIRD time. The first was at ~90K miles in Nov 04, then at 110K in Feb 06 and now at 119K on our Subaru outback. Are we doing something wrong? Is there something that should be looked at? (All they do is go by the compture code:rolleyes: ). We do all of our oil changes and scheduled maintenance on time and take really good care of it overall....
TIA

[Gumbeaux]

http://www.schultzmfgco.com/NewFiles/06whydoconvertersfail.htm

[slknight]

Yikes! That definitely sounds excessive to me. What year is your Subaru? Our Forester is a 2001 and we've never had to replace the catalytic converter (knock on wood).

[mcgeiger]

It's a 2002...
excessive and expensive ($800 a pop!):eek:

[Hammster]

I did a Google search using these words "2002 Subaru Forester catalytic converter problem" and boy oh boy did a ton of hits come back. All bad. It seems the '01s and 02's have some kind of glitches in the software that reports bad errors. There have been bad converters at the 90,000 mile mark, but after that people have had their mechanics just reset the error. Then some other random error will pop up.
I also found some info that said it's not likely the converter itself but something upstream. Such as Oxygen sensor, among other things. I notice your last two converter changes were only at ~20,000 miles each. Not good. Try a different mechanic, if it's possible, or talk with the mechanic you have been using and tell the mechanic to reset the code and see what happens.
You didn't mention if you are having any performance problems. If you are, then it could be a number of items as mentioned above and not just the converter. If not it's the glitchy software. Seems these model years of Forester are plagued with this issue.

[funnybone]

We've had to replace it on DH's '99 Acura at 120,000 miles. It wouldn't pass emissions the next time if he didn't. They've said that is isn't a too common problem with their cars either, but who knows. Also, we want to hang on to the car for as little longer for DS1, who should be driving this summer. :eek: The car has been problem-free otherwise, so it was worth fixing. That's our only experience with it.

[Robyn1007]

I did a Google search using these words "2002 Subaru Forester catalytic converter problem" and boy oh boy did a ton of hits come back. All bad.

Hmmm, Kelly, I know yours is a Legacy Outback but it sounds like doing the same search might give you some extra info. It wouldn't hurt to give it a try, since it's likely they have the same problem. If you want a different mechanic my family has had 4 Subies and has a good guy, I can get you a name if you'd like. :)

[funnybone]

Edmunds.com is a great forum for discussion on cars and problems. I just put in Subaru Outback catalytic converter and came up with a list full of discussions:
http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/WebX?ed_searchResults@@.ef14c39!keywords=allin%3Am sgtext%20subaru%20outback%20catalytic%20converter

[Hammster]

Hmmm, Kelly, I know yours is a Legacy Outback but it sounds like doing the same search might give you some extra info. It wouldn't hurt to give it a try, since it's likely they have the same problem. If you want a different mechanic my family has had 4 Subies and has a good guy, I can get you a name if you'd like. :)

Oh No! LOL. I must have read McGeiger's and slknight's and combined the 2 in my head. LOL. That must be where I got the Forester thought from. LOL. Still, the last 2 at 20,000 miles, not good.

[Robyn1007]

Oh No! LOL. I must have read McGeiger's and slknight's and combined the 2 in my head. LOL. That must be where I got the Forester thought from. LOL. Still, the last 2 at 20,000 miles, not good.

Eh, I might have done the same thing but I've seen her car, multiple times. :p ;) :)

[ChristineVA]

We had this happen 4 times on our Dodge Dakota. After the second time, I complained LOUDLY to Daimler-Chrylser to no avail. I did internet searches and saw that lots of other people were having similar issues.

Finally, last year, Chrylser admitted there was a problem and put a recall on the catalytic converters. We had to submit our repair receipts in order to get reimbursed. So, just keep your receipts and keep complaining.

Christine