Check engine light came on, disabled it but came back on (exhaust, mileage)
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The check engine light came on, took it to advance for a free diagnostic and was told it's the catalytic converter and we should take it to a muffler shop but it won't be cheap. Friends can I get your input. Thank you so so much .. The codes on the printout read PO420 and PO128.
The p0128 means that the temperature of the engine is not getting up to normal. It can be a variety of things that causes it but the thermostat is the most common. But, it can also be an engine running too rich. If the gas mileage is lower than it should be, I would suspect it to be a rich condition causing the problem. The P0420 means that the catalytic converter is not performing function in that the O2 sensor at the front of the converter is reading almost the same thing as the O2 sensor behind the converter. This can be as a result of the engine exhaust temps are just not hot enough, read rich condition, to make the converter work correctly. Most normally, when a converter fails, it's due to another problem that caused it to fail. You need to have a shop fix it correctly or expect failure again. I would be looking for a high flow type converter if it needs replacement. Usually they are considerably cheaper than a factory replacement. Depending on the engine/car, a new converter can be as little as a hundred bucks. Shop around for prices as one is just as good as the next one.
At a guess, the OP's car is a Subaru. Fixing a 420 code on a Subie can be a hair-tearing PITA, because it can be anything from a loose sensor wire to bad cats. Shops with just do everything (for $1200-2500) rather than try to diagnose the smaller problems. And at less than about 10-12 years, it's almost never the cats.
If it is a Subaru, I recommend the OP take it up with the Subaru boards and try some of the quick fixes like the "$5 fix."
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