Honda Car Forum

My engine light has been on for months. I have taken the car in several times.
Honda has fixed things several times. The light always comes back on after a
day or couple of hours. My 2000 Honda Ody. is at the shop again now they say
it is the catalytic converter. Actually they have told me that it could be
that from the start, but because of cost we tried some other things it might
be. Anyway, my question is what happens to my car if it is not fixed. Cars
did not use to have them. I know it is for pollution control. But does it
have any effect on the car its self?

lynn wrote:
> My engine light has been on for months. I have taken the car in several times.
> Honda has fixed things several times. The light always comes back on after a
> day or couple of hours. My 2000 Honda Ody. is at the shop again now they say
> it is the catalytic converter. Actually they have told me that it could be
> that from the start, but because of cost we tried some other things it might
> be. Anyway, my question is what happens to my car if it is not fixed. Cars
> did not use to have them. I know it is for pollution control. But does it
> have any effect on the car its self?

the first question is, why can't these guys fix it??? you need to find
a different shop that knows what they're doing!!!

to answer the question, the car will still run, but if you're in the
habit of driving about with the light on, you're at significant risk of
damaging something expensive if another fault code develops because
you're already ignoring the fault indicator. just get an aftermarket
catalyst and deal with the problem properly.

"lynn" <u21355@uwe> wrote in message news:5f81b75c1c86e@uwe...
> My engine light has been on for months. I have taken the car in several
> times.
> Honda has fixed things several times. The light always comes back on after
> a
> day or couple of hours. My 2000 Honda Ody. is at the shop again now they
> say
> it is the catalytic converter. Actually they have told me that it could be
> that from the start, but because of cost we tried some other things it
> might
> be. Anyway, my question is what happens to my car if it is not fixed. Cars
> did not use to have them. I know it is for pollution control. But does it
> have any effect on the car its self?

The short answer is "no" - your car will do just fine without the catalytic
converter working at peak efficiency. In fact, the emissions are probably
not much greater than they were before the light came on.

The long answer involves knowing what "codes" are being seen by the shop
when they read them. Although the codes are specific, they aren't always
clear and don't often point right to the specific problem... that's why the
shop has danced around things like this. In fact, replacing the catalytic
converter may not be the solution, and that's a good reason for them to
evade it for so long. If you can find out what the codes are (they will be
in the form of a "P" followed by 4 digits, like "P0452") and relate them
here, we can confuse you more <8^P

There are two downsides I can think of in having the light on, other than
the distraction. There is a small risk that another problem that would
normally turn on the light will now be missed, and I don't believe you can
legally sell a car in the US with the "check engine" light on (not sure
about that.)

Mike

They can't fix it because the poster is telling them what they can and can't
do. The shop should just send him on his way if he won't let them apply
their knowledge and fix it. Odysseys have a lot of weak spots.Check out the
threads at www.odyclub.com . The exposure is being caught in a spot EPA
inspection or his area starts inspections. How many miles on the van? Are
the techs analyzing with an OBDII tester or just pulling the codes and
throwing parts at it. Has the EGR recall been performed. How long was it run
with the check engine light on before it was checked? ERG, O2@ problems can
destroy a cat in short time.


"jim beam" <nospam@example.net> wrote in message
news:g6ednfUkNezADM7ZRVn-ug@speakeasy.net...
> lynn wrote:
>> My engine light has been on for months. I have taken the car in several
>> times.
>> Honda has fixed things several times. The light always comes back on
>> after a
>> day or couple of hours. My 2000 Honda Ody. is at the shop again now they
>> say
>> it is the catalytic converter. Actually they have told me that it could
>> be
>> that from the start, but because of cost we tried some other things it
>> might
>> be. Anyway, my question is what happens to my car if it is not fixed.
>> Cars
>> did not use to have them. I know it is for pollution control. But does it
>> have any effect on the car its self?
>
> the first question is, why can't these guys fix it??? you need to find a
> different shop that knows what they're doing!!!
>
> to answer the question, the car will still run, but if you're in the habit
> of driving about with the light on, you're at significant risk of damaging
> something expensive if another fault code develops because you're already
> ignoring the fault indicator. just get an aftermarket catalyst and deal
> with the problem properly.

Thank you so much for your help. I will be asking these questions. you seemed
very knowledgable and you were most helpful. Thank you.

Michael Pardee wrote:
>> My engine light has been on for months. I have taken the car in several
>> times.
>[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>> did not use to have them. I know it is for pollution control. But does it
>> have any effect on the car its self?
>
>The short answer is "no" - your car will do just fine without the catalytic
>converter working at peak efficiency. In fact, the emissions are probably
>not much greater than they were before the light came on.
>
>The long answer involves knowing what "codes" are being seen by the shop
>when they read them. Although the codes are specific, they aren't always
>clear and don't often point right to the specific problem... that's why the
>shop has danced around things like this. In fact, replacing the catalytic
>converter may not be the solution, and that's a good reason for them to
>evade it for so long. If you can find out what the codes are (they will be
>in the form of a "P" followed by 4 digits, like "P0452") and relate them
>here, we can confuse you more <8^P
>
>There are two downsides I can think of in having the light on, other than
>the distraction. There is a small risk that another problem that would
>normally turn on the light will now be missed, and I don't believe you can
>legally sell a car in the US with the "check engine" light on (not sure
>about that.)
>
>Mike

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