Dealer says I need to replace both catalytic converters.

Yesterday my check engine and trac off light came on on my 2013 Tacoma with the 4.0. I took it to the dealership and they said that I needed to replace both cats and it would cost $2300. The truck only has 63000 miles on it so I thought it was odd that both cats would already need to be replaced. After I left the delearship I filled up on gas and drove 200 miles. I stopped at the store and when I got back in the truck both lights had went off.

I haven't noticed any performance issues or bad feel milage. Do you guys think the truck truly needs the cats replaced? I asked the delearship what evidence they had that the cats needed replaced and they said that that was the code it threw. This is hard to believe because in my experience engine codes are fairly vague. Could this had just been a loose gas cap?

 

Might be covered under the 10yr 100k mile emissions warranty.

 

I'd read your warranty as I think the cats are covered by the emissions section of the warranty.

 

I straight piped my Jeep when the cat went bad. Not ideal but it cost about $20 and an hour or so of time. Sounds like yours are fine though.

 

After looking at the warranty, the cats are covered 8 years or 80,000 miles south they should definitely be covered.

 

Is it normal for cats to go bad after only 65,000 miles?

 

In my opinion, no. But I’m not a mechanic. I’ve also never had to replace any in any vehicle. Personally I would expect them to go at least 150k miles, if not longer.

 

I don’t really know, but there are people on this website with 200k and 300k+. I have seen what they say they replaced to get that high and I don’t remember cats being mentioned.

 

Like others said cover in warrenty

 

I have 197k on my original cats.

 

No. Catalytic converters go "bad" when they typically get plugged up by excessive fuel due to a skip in the engine or similar issue.

 

Yeah, something's not right there, but even if they are bad they should be covered up to the 80K mark. I would wait until it throws more codes, my guess would be loose gas cap or just a strange sensor anomaly.

 

Do yourself a favor. Get a cheap Bluetooth odb2 adapter and the torque app on Android. Read your own codes, research, fix and clear. You could do aftermarket cats for $100 each and get better flow. Usually o2s throw the code.

 

It's fairly uncommon for cats to go at you mileage. Sometimes people will run old gas from their boat or mixed gas in there truck to get rid of it and they can run into problems. Should be covered under the emissions warranty.

 

Why would he do all that when they are under warranty and he could have it done for free?

 

If the CEL comes back, it sounds like you need to try a different dealer.

 

if the cats have failed this early there is a reason over "normal wear"

Raw fuel (misfire or faulty injector) or coolant (head gasket, cracked head) will take a catalytic converter out pretty quickly.

does the vehicle sit and idle for long periods ? is your fuel mileage abnormally low ? loosing coolant mysteriously ? (these are possibilities for an example, not saying this is the cause)

I do know of one instance where the nuts on the exhaust flange were not tight, the flange would flex ever so slightly, and the ECM picked it up as A/F sensor and or Cat inefficiency replaced the nuts and gaskets, tightened to spec, all is well, 200k on the truck

just because there is a code doesn't mean that is the actual problem. A faulty thermostat stuck open not allowing the engine to reach operating temp could be the root cause, ECM should pick up on it, but not always.

 

I guess I should mention my truck has issues with spark knock when running regular unleaded. Delearship said this was normal, which I found odd, and told me to run premium gas. The knock has went away since switching. Could the spark knock,
which
went on for months, have caused the cats to clog? Should I be more worried about the spark knock? I plan to have a TSB performed that is supposed to help with the spark knock.

 

I had the knock issue with mine and did the TSB. I lost about 1mpg which, to me, means the new program added fuel. I'd pressure the dealer to specifically explain why the cats are bad and what caused the condition. As posted above, cats don't go bad by themselves without another issue creating a problem.

 

Get a 2nd opinion at an independent shop.