wondering if some one can help me. I went up to tahoe for new years and during my stay the check engine light came on. This happened the prior year and it was the O2 sensor. DO yall think it is the O2 sensor again acting up. I had the problem fixed at the stealership and it cost $300 (total rip off). Does anyone have any insight into this, or the cheapest way to fix the problem? Would driving in the cold weather cause that to act up again, it seems odd please help

 

Hi there, If I were you I would Drive to autozone and have them check it for you. They will check it for free! That is if you are talking about your 1999 Toy. OBD2 Rocks! I need to go check mine with a papper clip, Damn!

Let us know what the Problem was when you find out.

 

I got a code reader from http://www.obddiagnostics.com/
http://www.troublecodes.net/Toyota/
it works great
M

 

i heard something before that autozone will not do this in california. Can anyone clarify this or have any experiance in cali or bay area?

 

ummmm? Not sure. Give them a quick call

 

Yeah, not in CA - they won't read probably because of liability

Anyhow, you have a couple of options. You can take it to a shop to have it read or you can buy the tools and have the ability to check whenever you want. A lot of the guys rave about some kind of Auterra (sp?) device that has a lot of options to help you out with some fine-tuning. I wouldn't use this and probably wouldn't even bother reading up on all the options so I bought a generic code reader from Harbor Freight. It does nothing but give you the error code and reset the CEL. It comes with a handbook to look up the code and it's up to you from there.

Do a search on generic code reader with user "Tacoma Dude" and you'll get the HF link.

 

I just called autozone and confirmed they will not check codes for liability issues in CA...............However u can use their reader for FREE, You have to leave a $175 deposit but u can rent it for free. This is great news for all of us. No one has to pay for check engine diagnostic again AWESOME
thanks for all the replies guys...............will keep ya posted

 

Hey I was up in Tahoe too for New Years, Crazy ass weather huh?!!?! I also got a check engine light before I left and It turned out to be an O2 sensor, the one right before the cat. Takes about 5 minutes to install with a 12mm wrench. I got mine locally here but I think URDUSA.com has them for like $60.00 or so. The yota did great in all that snow though!!!

 

you came down from WA? yeah weather was crazy 9 ft for the week total
waist deep powder at kirkwood was heaven

 

Yeah, drove down from North of Seattle. Went down to yerika? and took a left to reno. On new years eve it took us 5 hours just to get from Reno to Truckee (31 miles or so) on the 80. THe roads were fine it was just traffic and Trucks chaining up and down.. Finally got up and got to ski northstar and squaw. The snow and whole area were awesome, goin back for sure to hit the areas on the south side....

 

ok i pulled the code P0420 (catalyst efficiency below threshold) anyone know what this means?

 

Code P0420 indicates the voltage differential between the front 02 sensor and the rear 02 sensor is outside the range expected
I would take it in to a muffler shop and have the cat tested.

P0420 does not indicate a bad cat, it indicates you need to perform further testing. It could also be caused by, and most often is caused by, a lazy downstream HO2S. But the cat is a good place to start.

 

a lazy downstream HO2S
what does that mean?

 

strange, this just happened to me too, and i live in incline village (tahoe). how exactly do you use the autozone reader? total newbie, my check engine light is on, toyota wants $135 just to check it, i don't know what i'm looking for or how to use this diagnostic tool from autzone, any help? thanks, dd

 

I don't know how to use the reader (sorry) but I was visiting a friend who lives in incline over new years. You know a girl named Heidi North? We were drinking at the Rookie and had a blast. Anyways, if you do end up needing a new O2 sensor, try urdusa.com, they have them for around 60 bux..

 

I just got serviced for that code, have the stealership tell you what it is from what I know 99% of the times is the cat gone bad. This catalytic converter is under warranty for 80k miles or 8 years. So the dealer will change it for free if you are within those limits. Do not let them tell you that there is something else because it is just the cat.

 

if it's my cat, is this something i need replaced immediately? and also what was your cost for this? i am not under warranty. thanks, dd

 

What Are Specified Major Emission Control Components?

There are three specified major emission control components,
covered for the first 8 years or 80,000 miles of vehicle use on 1995
and newer vehicles:

* Catalytic converters.
* The electronic emissions control unit or computer (ECU).
* The onboard emissions diagnostic device or computer (OBD).

http://www.epa.gov/otaq/consumer/warr95fs.txt

 

More often than not, this is indeed a bad converter but can be other things as well.
Best to follow the FSM for diagnosis on that code.

 

if you are not under warranty your are SOL an original cat at a stealership with installation will run your between 1k to 2k depending their criminal confort levels
now do find out what exactly is because you want to be sure that is the cat.

If you want to save money you can put an after market cat will cost you around $250-$300 plus labor maybe another $100

This page says it has an original toyota cat for $241.51
http://www.tpartswarehouse.com/cgi-b...ER&id=Wd5pQY7z

I could not believe it but give them a call and find out.

Good luck either way you go.....I personally do not give a penny to a dealership unless I do not have any other options.