OBDII sensor and catalytic converter replacement

Is this guy actually getting error codes now through the new OBD2 or is he just guessing? Was your check engine light on when it was towed back? I seriously can't see how he replaced the cat converter and it didn't throw a bad O2 sensor code immediately on start up. Or before he even replaced the cat, it should have had an error code for one if not both. You said in your description that the car is still not running. Do you mean running right, or not running at all?

Do not know about any error codes. He did not say and my husband did not ask any questions. We live 30km away, and talk on the phone. The engine light was not on when it was towed back. His exact words were today: the car has no power there was a leak at the from of the C.C. what they pluggged and there is still no power.

A leak in the cat will not give you a loss of power. A plugged up cat will give you a great deal of power loss. If you find that it's not going over 50 mph on the interstate, it may be a plugged cat. But from your above description it sounds like they put on a new cat? Is that correct, or did they just plug a leak?

I think your car may have two cat converters on it. If so, one is most likely plugged. If your car has the V6, then it has two cats on it. I would have the mechanic drop both and check to see which one is plugged.

Thanks for trying to help. Yes, you are right. It is a V6, and yes, he replaced one C.C. Would not a mechanic know that there is 2 and check both at the same time? I also forgot to tell that the reason at the first place to take the car in was to get a clean air test to be done on it.

One would assume so. If not something simple like a dirty fuel filter, or air filter, the only other component the robs a ton of power is a plugged up cat. Not sure where you live, but if you are in a non winter/road salt state, dropping the rear cat shouldn't be much of a chore.

We live in Canada so the winters are brutal. What do you mean by dropping the rear one? The car can run without it? What I do not understand is how could the car pass its emission test after the second OBDII was put in and run for a day, before it had to be towed in, if the CC was and still is blocked?

What I meant was just remove it and look inside to see if it's plugged. The car will still "run" with a block cat. It just won't have power. When the mechanic removed the cat that had the leak, did he mention if it looked plugged? Here's a video on the exact problem you are having. According to this guy, there are 3 cats on the vehicle. Look what it did to his EGR valve........................ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peLlSu6lrbs

Thanks for the video. It looks like this is my problem. Our local mechanic was honest, said it at the beginning that this was too much for him. The Mazda dealership where the car is now, we never dealt before. Is this a very unique problem what a mechanic specialized in Mazda cars would not know when he looked at car at the first and the second time and the third time in two weeks?

I didn't realize it was at the dealer. I thought is was just at a local shop. I would hope that they are smart enough to check for these things. But being back for a 3'rd time, I'm beginning to wonder. If the OBD2 port is operating correctly now, they should be able to pull error codes with no problems. If no power, it should be sending codes. I would ask them if they checked the EGR valve as well. You can see in the video where it was heavily damaged due to the plugged cat. I guess you'll just have to wait and see what they say this time around. Keep us posted!

Thank you so much. It may not have been too smart to talk on the phone only. Monday morning I will visit them. Thanks for all the good info you gave, will post again about the happenings

Hi Reelin, Went to the dealeship, got my answers. They replaced the front CC, the O2 sensor, the EGR valve, now they are looking at the rear CC because the car sitll does not have power. Please help and explain: He said the the OBCII is working and worked when the car was towed back. He also said that the OBC is located before the rear CC and it can not and could not pick up on the malfunctioning rear CC. Not knowing anything about cars, but looking at this subject on the internet I saw a list of OBC codes, where some were listed as error codes for a not working rear CC. Could you please explain how can be codes listed for rear CC than. Thanks

That just sounds like they really have no idea. If they had a clue as to what the issue was, the car would be fixed by now. Sounds to me like they have no idea, so they are going to change out every part until they get the right one. Here's an article on error codes and how to go about fixing the issue. http://www.converterwarehouse.com/catalytic_converter_news/news_page.cfm?Key=catalytic_converter-&News=76 On the rare occasion I bring my car in for work, I have them run a diagnostic and I ask them for a printout of the error codes. That way I know what is wrong and what SHOULD be replaced. If it had been my car, I would have taken off both of them and looked through them to see if they were plugged. Also, when they were off, I would have taken the car for a test drive. If I had full power back, then I would know if the cats were bad or not. If I still had a loss of power, I would then start investigating other avenues. Such as fuel pressure or a compression check for example.

Hi my 2001 Mazda Tribute truck stalls and I was told that it was the catalytic converter and O2 sensor do you have any idea which catalytic converter I should buy and O2 sensor the guy said I needed both replaced I just want the one that'll stop the car from stalling please help

To be totally honest with you. I have a 2005 Mazda Tribute, ever since I bought it, nothing but repairs. Everytime I fix one thing, something else pops up. Very frustrating, but it's reliable other wise. I can't tell you how much money I have put into it, it's almost all new. I feel like you do all the time, but I dont have the money to buy another SUV.

If he is saying its your cadillic converter, your engine light should come on, it tells a code. I just hollowed out my down stream convert., changed a down stream oxygen sensor. Now my code is pull upper converter. So the code tells you what it is. Once you fix one thing, its like a chain reaction.

If you buy a small engine code reader, you plug it into the under neath drivers dash. It brings up a code. Go online, put your year, make and model and the error code into google, it will show what it possibly is, example when writing into google: What is the error code p0240 on a 2005 mazda tribute all wheel drive. It will tell you what the code problem is. Then if you do it at home, like me. You then go on utube videos how to fix ..... it shows you how to do it and save a lot of money.

I just did my rear cc. The check engine light did not come on right away. It took about 100-200 miles, when you clear out your engine light, it takes the computer up to 200 miles for computer to pick up errors cause its trying to fix/find the problem. Rear Cc Not hard at all. I don't know how the front c.c will be, as anybody done it..every time I work on this truck, my fingers are crossed. 2005 Mazda Tribute All wheel drive

If he cant find the problem. You need to go somewhere else. Plain and simple. Not every mechanic wants to take you for a ride, its even worse when they think they have a dumb woman in front of them. One mechanic told me, itll cost $2000. To fix my truck. Another told me $2800. Obviously I walked out, fixed it for myself for $80. Thank You very much.