98 Accord catalytic converter failed

Hi,

When I drove to work a couple of days ago, my 98 Accord's
check engine light came up for the first time. I didn't feel anything
different while I was driving, but I didn't want to take any chances
and drove to Honda dealer right away.

After they diagnosed it, they concluded that the catalytic converter
has failed. My car had about 81K miles on it but they said they would
put in "Good Will" and fix it for free. So I was lucky. The service
rep told me the repair cost would otherwise be $1200+.

I would like to know whether this is typical for a catalytic converter
to fail at this stage. My brother-in-law's 94 Accord has 140K miles
on it and the check engine light has never came up once. Has the
Honda quality really gone down?

Thanks,
Eugene

 

It could be due to a bad batch of gas(contaminating the cat),or just a
random failure(not a quality problem,but that a certain percentage of any
item fails for various reasons).Or it could be a bad O2 sensor failure,your
car has two;one before and one after the cat.
Your owner's manual should have warranty info for the emissions system,of
which the cat is a major part.

 

======================

We don't know if you ever changed your PCV. Could easily account for a
destroyed Cat. Have you changed it now?

'Curly'

 

If the pcv was bad enough to destroy the catalytic converter it would be
getting other codes. The OBDII system monitors the pollution controls very
closely. If fuel ratio is upset you will know about it before it destroys
the cat. Of coarse if you get a check engine light and ignore it for a long
time you can destroy it....

 

My son's '98 showed the same code, and the dealer wanted to charge him
the full price to fix it. His car had about 85,000 miles on it. he drove
it a couple of weeks before thinking about fixing it, and the light went
out, and hasn't come back on. . bob

 

It will come back...My did at 112,000 and will stay in, after it came and
gone 4 times.
$650, at my dealer, I have strict emission control tests here in Western Pa,
and did
not want to buy a aftermarket cat, that would not pass those tests. Why are
they
having trouble with the 98's?
Andy

 

Eugene, which engine do you have, 4 cylinder or 6 cylinder?

- Don