GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

so i got the code yesterday... i tapped the cat convert and didn't hear anything rattling. i checked both the O2 sensors and cant really tell what is what. i'm trying to figure out what's causing the code before i have to drop a few hundred dollars. the sensor on the right is the one before the cat, the one on the right is after.

It points to being the heated o2 sensor.

the one on the right? and this would throw the code?

P0420 is a code for the cat. Some say it can be corrected with O2 sensors, mine was only fixed with a new cat. search for P0420. one result will be http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=19728

well i reset the code, and so far it hasn't come back on.

Quote, originally posted by joatmon »P0420 is a code for the cat. Some say it can be corrected with O2 sensors, mine was only fixed with a new cat. search for P0420. one result will be http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=19728Thank you for correcting my mistake. I looked up the code and the first thing I read was the heated o2 sensor. Next time I'll read further than the first line.

420 means that Cat is not working as it should. If you are getting the code intermittently then it is on the verge of being finished. there are few ways around this. 1 replace the Cat, kinda expensive but best for environment.2 wire in a resistor on the blue wire from the 2nd O2 sensor. This fools the ECU into thinking the Cat is working. O2 output fluctuates pre cat, post cat, the waves are supposed to be smaller, but with a burned out Cat the waves are similar to precat, therefore ECU believes this is 420. 3 space out the 2nd O2 sensor, this will result in having less airflow over the sensor so it again fools the ECU in a different way. Ive read these ideas from different forums, I personally have not tried it.

I own a 2003 Vibe with a 1ZZ-FE engine with about 89,000 miles on it.A few months ago, the check engine light came on. The guy at my favorite garage said it was the P0420 code and he cleared it out for me, saying that sometimes the cold can make that code come up.A couple of weeks ago, the CEL came on again. They checked it, and it was the same code. I had already done a bunch of research online about how it could be faulty O2 sensors, but it seemed like everyone who changed out their sensors ended up eventually having to change out their Catalytic Converter anyway.My 20 year old son works on cars as a hobby and insisted that he could cut out my old cat and weld in a new one for me. So I called around to 4 auto parts stores to price a cat. The highest price for the part was about $600 because they wanted to sell me the entire pipe from the cat to the muffler. Two places wanted about $400. And Advance Auto Parts wanted $269 for the exact same part from the exact same manufacturer as one of the ones who wanted $400.My son took out the old cat, put in the new cat and 2 days later the CEL went out.Oh, I almost forgot. I happened to mention to my son - who worked at a Toyota dealership for a while - that the smell of sulfur went away, too, and he said that sometimes a cat will give off the smell of sulfur when they have gone bad or are going bad. So that might help someone here.

You could try this?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5icTmYItwiE

Man, you are definitely a bassist. I play string bass, but my fingers don't look half as rough as yours.

so i fixed this for 4$ and posted how to on the how to section.