Catalytic Converters! Help!!!!

[zeissheadreggie]

1 month ago the idiot light came on, I went to the dealership
had it diagnosed: LEFT BANK CAT CONVERTER. No problem
just install it, and take my cash please. 30 days later, idiot lights' on again, rush to the dealership to find Left Bank Cat-Converter. Since I had this installed at Midas, they've said its the other 2 cat-converters. (Yes, Virginia, you have 3 of these in your Honda Powered Vue). The tab for this is $1374. USD, plus the $804. spent 30 days ago. I KNOW this
is abnormal. I KNOW I've done nothing to cause this to happen. So, who else is getting the sharp end of the stick with this? I can't be the only one. "Misery" loves company, so, whom am I joining, or who will be joining me?

[Squareback]

How many miles on this vehicle?

[zeissheadreggie]

113,495 miles as of this evenings drive home.

[1saxman]

Dude; things wear out.

[runerx]

Cats dont die.. they are murdered!! Structurally they might fail but the catalyst doesn't wear out, atleast not within the lifetime of a typical car.

Dave:hothead:

[bigdude2468]

A bad O2 sensor, oil burning, or a head gasket leack will all cause a cat to fail. The oxygen sensor is the most likely culprit.

[zeissheadreggie]

My vehicle has an annoying "surge" or "rev" of the engine when the vehicle is idling. Is this failing O2 sensor the culprit that has lead to the costly failure of the Cat-Converters? I really just want to find a fix for this before I'm forced to spend $1400. more. My Money and Patience are both running short.

[bigdude2468]

Don't think a bad O2 sensor would cause surging, sounds more like a vacuum leak. Look around the engine compartment for a broken or loose hose.

[FGCA_XRL]

Get rid of the cats. Best solution. All they do is rob you of power anyways.

It's very likely that the problem is the O2 sensor, and not the cats. I'd go to an exhaust shop and have them take the cats out and replace the O2 sensor.

[runerx]

Many places that wil render the car un-liscensable Plus robbing you of power is not all they do. I'm pretty happy that the VUE is a LEV.

Dave

[far2grumpy]

I don't recall ever having a cat problem -- but if I do -- I'd prefer a dealer or properly equipped exhaust shop test back-pressure to determine if cats are partially obstructed before replacing or bypassing.

I'd think the downstream O2 sensor would be coding if the cats lost effectiveness but if thats not happening perhaps there is back-pressure.

Following steps are extracted from FSM and I've also attached PDF of the Saturn test for back-pressure.

---------------------------------------------------------

Symptom List for exhaust problems:

Refer to a symptom diagnostic procedure from the following list in order to diagnose the symptom:

Loss of Power: Refer to Restricted Exhaust .
Poor acceleration: Refer to Restricted Exhaust .
Poor fuel economy Refer to Restricted Exhaust .
Excessive smoke-diesel: Refer to Restricted Exhaust .
Exhaust hissing noise: Refer to Exhaust Leakage .
Exhaust popping noise: Refer to Exhaust Leakage .
Exhaust rattle noise: Refer to Exhaust Noise .
Loud exhaust noise: Refer to Exhaust Noise .
Exhaust buzz, groan, hum noise: Refer to Exhaust Noise .

[FGCA_XRL]

Many places that wil render the car un-liscensable Plus robbing you of power is not all they do. I'm pretty happy that the VUE is a LEV.

Dave

Oh yeah, I forgot some states have inspections and stuff. We don't here in Florida (though it wouldn't be a terrible idea to require SOMETHING, but they'd probably just use it to discriminate against people who want to mod their car)

[zeissheadreggie]

An Update: About 45 min. ago, the wife and I are in a drive thru (Chick-Fil-A), and the car surges or revs and the idiot light goes out, the one that read cat-converter. Now, I've been driving it all day rolling between 65/85 mph. What gives? I've nearly raised the $1400.00 if necessary to replace those other 2 cat-converter, and would rather spend the money on something better.