Subaru Forester - Help!

[kush78]

I"ve a 2001 Subaru Forester 5 speed. A few days ago while driving the "check engine" light came on. The car was running fine but anyways I took it to the dealership yesterday. They spent about an hour looking at my car and came back to tell me that the catalytic convertor was going bad. Apparently it was still doing its job but could conk out anytime. He said he would have to replace the coverter. Any of you ever had this?

 

Anyway, he gave me an estimate of $865 (parts & labor. Needlessly, I was quite shocked. I told him I would get back to him later. You guys have an idea of what's going on?. If it really is such a major expense then I guess I'll have to just bite the bullet and pony up. However is it possible that the problem is not as serious as it is made out to be it can be fixed for cheaper?

 

As I said the car's running fine for now, except for the nagging "check engine" light.

[Subie Gal]

if your cat goes bad, you really 'should' replace it

it's not something you should ignore.

 

how many miles are on your forester?

cats are covered to 80,000 miles under the emissions warranty...

 

if you are no longer under warranty,

you can replace the cat yourself

just buy the part from an online source and install it.

 

see this catalog:

https://www.subarugenuineparts.com/oe_parts_cat.html

 

when you drill down to it, the Cat itself is $524.16 + shipping

 

that will save you $300 or so if you install it yourself

(and it's not too hard to do)

 

 

Jamie

[Cougar]

The convertor may have a 5 year warranty. I would check into that.

[pinister]

hi

i have a 2000cc forester, year 1999.

the car has 2 catalytic convertors, the first has wide gaps which allows the gases to flow freely, and the second is tighter.

2 years ago i removed the inside of the second one, and later, to delete a certain "hollow noise", i replaced it by a simple pipe (my machanic did it).

since then the gases flow freely, no "check engine", and the car even passed successfully the "4 gases check" in the annual check.

just another solution.

pini

[mtsmiths]

I"ve a 2001 Subaru Forester 5 speed. A few days ago while driving the "check engine" ... took it to the dealership ... tell me that the catalytic convertor was going bad ... $865 (parts & labor)

 

As I said the car's running fine for now, except for the nagging "check engine" light.

 

Check the SOA site for the TSB re: faulty 02 sensor throwing CEL codes. It's just amazing the number of dealers that know about this TSB and are willling to NOT tell the customer, and instead sell them a $900.00 catalytic converter job they don't need.

 

Our stealership tried this too. Next time you throw a code go to an AutoZone, or a Checkers, or whatever national auto parts chain is in your neighborhood, borrow their OBDII scanner and have them read the code for you. It's usually free.