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| tomasbermeo |
Original Post: Jan 04 '08, 6:57 am |
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Reviews written: 0 Member since: Jan 4, 2008
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P0420 Honda Accord LX 1998
I have a Honda Accord LX 1998, I have a few questions; The engine light came on with a P0420 code. I bought this car a month and half ago and the state inspection was perform by the dealer, could be the posibility that they sold me the car already broken? or about to break up? Could the car pass the inspection with a possible defected catalyst? |
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| pvreditor |
Posted: Jan 04 '08, 9:03 am |
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Reviews written: 426 Member since: May 31, 2002
 in Home & Garden, Cars, Musical Equipment |
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RE: P0420 Honda Accord LX 1998
Quote: tomasbermeo I have a Honda Accord LX 1998, I have a few questions; The engine light came on with a P0420 code. I bought this car a month and half ago and the state inspection was perform by the dealer, could be the posibility that they sold me the car already broken? or about to break up? Could the car pass the inspection with a possible defected catalyst?
Could it be that they sold me the car already broken? Yes. This is something that car dealers have been accused of since the Model-T got it's first flat tire.
Or about to break up? Yes again. However, it is virtually impossible for a mechanic to tell when many components are about to fail, including catalytic converters.
Could the car pass the inspection with a possible defective catalyst? You mean before you bought the car? Then certainly. It could be that the catalytic converter was just below the sensor threshold and it is now just above it -- just a couple percent will do it. If you mean, "Will the inspection shop pass my car with the light on?", then that depends on where you live. In my state (Virginia), you can't pass the annual safety inspection if the "Check Engine" light is on.
Many auto parts stores will read your trouble codes for free, and may also be willing to turn the light off. I suggest that you try that and see if the light comes back on. BTW, you can buy a gizmo (called an "OBD-II scanner") to read your own codes and reset the light. They cost $80 or so and even less when they're on sale.
--Bob |
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| tomasbermeo |
Posted: Jan 05 '08, 6:28 am |
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Reviews written: 0 Member since: Jan 4, 2008
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P0420 Honda Accord LX 1998
So it is a big possibility to determine trugh the inspection if the catalytic is about to get to his limit function? |
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| scmrak |
Posted: Jan 05 '08, 2:28 pm |
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Reviews written: 1848 Member since: Sep 27, 2000
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RE: P0420 Honda Accord LX 1998
Quote: tomasbermeo So it is a big possibility to determine trugh the inspection if the catalytic is about to get to his limit function? No, I believe his point was that it's impossible to determine whether a catalytic convertor is nearing its limits.
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| walkerpkw |
Posted: Jan 05 '08, 5:26 pm |
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Reviews written: 90 Member since: May 12, 2007
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RE: P0420 Honda Accord LX 1998
Quote: tomasbermeo I have a Honda Accord LX 1998, I have a few questions; The engine light came on with a P0420 code. I bought this car a month and half ago and the state inspection was perform by the dealer, could be the posibility that they sold me the car already broken? or about to break up? Could the car pass the inspection with a possible defected catalyst?
If you can't resolve your delima with the dealer and your stuck with the repairs:
If your check engine light comes on again after reseting, and the same code [P0420] appears, take your car to a muffler shop and have them perform a pressure check. Usually they simply drill a small hole in the exhaust pipe prior to the cat, a good (trusting) tech should be able to determine it's integrity. I've had similar circumstances with a clogged catalytic converter that was caused by a weeping head gasket, coolant doesn't do well in exhaust systems and I would suspect there is or was a possibility this has happened. High mileage and if your engine is burning oil is the likely culprit, just my opinion though.
Pat
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| tonylanz |
Posted: Sep 16 '08, 4:24 pm |
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Reviews written: 0 Member since: Sep 16, 2008
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P0420 - Honda Accord
The check engine line (CEL) came on and we took it to Autozone to get a free code reading. It was P0420, which turned out to be a very popular code for all Honda Accords. We have a 1999 Honda Accord LX with 140K miles. We called several local Honda dealership and received an estimate of $1K to replace the catalytic converter (CV). This has to be done in order for our 1999 Honda Accord LX to pass the State of Texas annual inspection. We took our vehicle to a highly recommended muffler shop and they replaced an after market CV, with the total cost less than $300. It has been a year now and the CEL has not come on and needless to say, our vehicle passed the annual inspection.
I have done quite a bit of research on this P0420 code and there are a lot of good recommendations. I have tried all of the home-remedies and none seems to work for me (ie. add fuel additive chemical into the gas tank, rev up the engine at a lower gear on the
highway, erase the computer code, buy super unleaded gas, replace OS2 sensor, get a tune-up, replace spark plugs wires,
replace with Honda manufactured CV, and etc....)
This has proven to be an easiest method of fixing P0420.
Good Luck ! |
