Can a catalytic converter last for ever?

[kschachn]

Well, not forever but for the life of the vehicle? I mean assuming no engine malfunctions or abnormalities that would poison/destroy the converter. Same question for the O2 sensors.

Our Sienna has almost 250,000 miles on it and so far the original O2 sensors and exhaust system (and in the rust belt too). I've always kept the engine tuned with new plugs, cleaning the MAF sensor, etc. so AFAIK it has never run rich or misfired.

Just wondering.

 

[bdcardinal]

Ya see it all the time. They might not work 100% when the vehicle meets it maker, but they can last.

 

[beechcraftted]

I have a GM 3.4 with 203,000 miles and it has the original cat, oxygen sensors and exhaust system. Oil changes have been via the GM OLM. It uses no oil between changes (always cheap dino). We have emission tests here and it runs perfect. So IMHO, yes they can last the life of the vehicle.

 

[Quest]

for the life of the car?possibly.

eventually, all precious-metal based catalytic convertors will become ineffective due to precious metal poisoning and/or inert mineral/chemical deposits coated the metal surface.

Q.

 

[artificialist]

More often than not, I find cats last as long as the owner wants to keep the car. Here in Florida, there are no smog tests, so I am basing my understanding on OBDII P0420 codes.

 

[HTSS_TR]

My 18 years old LS400 with more than 270k miles has original catalytic converter and exhaust system too, the rear O2 sensors failed 2 years ago. The coolant system are all original except some heater hoses and upper radiator hose, the heater hoses were changed 3-4 years ago, upper radiator hose was changed last year.

Some parts/systems lasted a long long time.

 

[JHZR2]

250k miles is no big deal... so long as oddball bad stuff does not happen to it.

 

[Trav]

86 Toyota Corolla 375K original (still going strong) cat. I guess that's close to the life of the vehicle.

 

[HTSS_TR]

The life of a normal every day vehicle to most American is 15 years 300k miles. For the well to do it is 5 years 80k miles.

 

[PandaBear]

Mine is at 240k miles on the Integra and it is still doing well.

 

[Tegger]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
Mine is at 240k miles on the Integra and it is still doing well.

Mine was still allowing my Integra to pass smog even at 287,000 miles. It was replaced about a year after that; not for test-failure, but for RUST. 17-years of North-Eastern road salt will eventually do that.

I kept all my test slips since the beginning of emissions testing in my area, and recorded them here:
http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/misc/91_integra_emissions.html>

Note that after about 50K miles of use, the "new" aftermarket cat has already lost much of its effectiveness.

 

[UNC017]

IMO, *most* catcons last the life of the vehicle, and many of the ones that get replaced when codes are thrown aren't really the problem.

 

[SteveSRT8]

This has been our experience^^^

I have 2 very old trucks, one has over 400k miles. Both still have the original converters and no codes.

 

[JTK]

Yep, you just hope and pray that downstream 02 sensor always sees less O2 than the upstream!

 

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
The life of a normal every day vehicle to most American is 15 years 300k miles. For the well to do it is 5 years 80k miles.


Wow, then everyone around me must be 'HALF percenters', since they NEVER seem to keep/lease ANYTHING for more than 2-3 years (including 600 series Mercs, 700 series Bimmers, etc., et al)!!

 

[Whimsey]

Originally Posted By: dailydriver
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
The life of a normal every day vehicle to most American is 15 years 300k miles. For the well to do it is 5 years 80k miles.


Wow, then everyone around me must be 'HALF percenters', since they NEVER seem to keep/lease ANYTHING for more than 2-3 years (including 600 series Mercs, 700 series Bimmers, etc., et al)!!

You must be in Bergen County

.

Whimsey

 

[garlicbreadman]

Originally Posted By: kschachn
Well, not forever but for the life of the vehicle? I mean assuming no engine malfunctions or abnormalities that would poison/destroy the converter. Same question for the O2 sensors.

Our Sienna has almost 250,000 miles on it and so far the original O2 sensors and exhaust system (and in the rust belt too). I've always kept the engine tuned with new plugs, cleaning the MAF sensor, etc. so AFAIK it has never run rich or misfired.

Just wondering.


my integra was smogged earlier this year at 11x,000 miles and it passed with decent numbers:

it did better at 11x,000 than at 55k when i bought it! I also smogged it at around 80k and it was slightly lower than the numbers you see above

my dad's o2 sensor failed at 40000 miles. 2003 sienna...how sad

 

[lexus114]

Originally Posted By: dailydriver
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
The life of a normal every day vehicle to most American is 15 years 300k miles. For the well to do it is 5 years 80k miles.


Wow, then everyone around me must be 'HALF percenters', since they NEVER seem to keep/lease ANYTHING for more than 2-3 years (including 600 series Mercs, 700 series Bimmers, etc., et al)!!

Yeah I know right? Same thing here.

 

[CBR.worm]

Here too, our cars are older than most in the area.

One way to kill a cat quick is with a misfire. My wife's old Audi A4 (04) had a coil pack go bad. Just driving it home from work she melted the converter. Luckily the car was still under emissions warranty and the dealer replaced it. I ate the cost of the coil packs. About a month later we got the extended warranty letter for the coil packs, but since I bought them online...

 

[Gene K]

Originally Posted By: dailydriver
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
The life of a normal every day vehicle to most American is 15 years 300k miles. For the well to do it is 5 years 80k miles.


Wow, then everyone around me must be 'HALF percenters', since they NEVER seem to keep/lease ANYTHING for more than 2-3 years (including 600 series Mercs, 700 series Bimmers, etc., et al)!!

Those are not 1/2 percenters. 87% of Millionaires have never leased any vehicle. What you have is a bunch of poor people pretending to be rich.