Catalytic Converter Gone?

Hey all -

Have a 2001 S60 2.4T. Recently the check engine light came on, along with a
message - Emission Systems Service Required. After a couple of days, the
light went out. A few weeks later, back on again... same message. I took
it into the service shop and they said the catalytic converter was "reading
low" (whatever the heck that means).

The car has 97,000 miles on it, but it seems a little strange that this
would be failing so soon. Anyone else have similar experiences? What
causes these to fail?

Charlie

 

The catalyst can be damaged by impurities in the gas. Have you been using
additives? Have you used cheap gasoline with a lot of sulfur? Has the
gas/air mixture been too rich?

It won't affect how the car handles. But if you have to pass a state
inspection, it may fail.

 

Often times (check your warranty guide) the "emissions" will have a
different length of coverage than all other items on the vehicle.
Sometimes it's 100,000 miles.
I'm too lazy to go look at my book, it's out in the COLD, in the driveway.

 

I've been using premium gas. As far as gas/air mixture, I have no idea. It
hasn't been messed around with, and I have not received any other error
codes from the ECU.

Thanks,
Charlie

 

It should be repaired under warranty. Could just be a defective part... or
maybe it is even just the sensor malfunctioning.

 

Really?
Which warranty covers it? The car has 97k miles on it, so the standard
warranty is expired. If there is another warranty that would cover it - I'd
be in a better mood...

Thanks for the info!
Charlie

 

It figures... I looked in the manual that came with the car.
The emissions system has a warranty until 8 years, 80k miles. I missed it.
Damn Swedes!

Good thought though... thanks Robert!

 

I'd be interested in knowing what a catalytic converter "reading low"
meant as well....
Time for a second opinion. The light and warning message indicate a
fault is found with by the fuel computer. This sets a definite code,
note exactly what the code is, and post back. The closest I can think
of is, "P0422, Catalytic convertor, low efficiency", but that code can
be caused by vacuum leaks, and a few other things that are much cheaper
than the cat.

--
Mike F.
Thornhill (near Toronto), Ont.

NOTE: new address!!
Replace tt with t (twice!) and remove parentheses to email me directly.
(But I check the newsgroup more often than this email address.)