I own a 2000 civic with 130K miles and I had to replace the cat twice in 9 months. My dealer says that it is clogging b/c I'm burning oil. I am in fact burning some oil (about a quart every 2K-3K miles) but I don't think it's enough to make a difference. Anyway, I was burning some oil way before I had to replace the cat the first time. The dealer charged me $1200 to replace the cat the first time under the "this is the Honda approved cat" excuse. My concern is that if the dealer is right and I have to replace the cat every 8-9 months, they won't keep doing it under warranty forever. Should I just get rid of it and get a new(er) car?

 

burning oil will kill a cat, doesn't seem like your oil burning is quite enough for that though. many other things will kill a cat also, look inside next time and see if the honey comb is melted or pluged

 

why don't you correct the burning oil situation. once thats fixed you wont have to worry about replacing the cat every 9 months.

 

1200 to replace a cat? holy crap

 

damn thats alot of money....good luck bro...

 

Burning oil will kill your cat, so fix that. And then, next time you have to replace it... do it yourself.

 

so the cat is under warranty but your oil burning engine isnt?

 

1200 for a new cat every 9 months... y not just swap a B16 for about 2,000 and no more burning oil and no more new cats

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fuzzyrom &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I own a 2000 civic with 130K miles and I had to replace the cat twice in 9 months. My dealer says that it is clogging b/c I'm burning oil. I am in fact burning some oil (about a quart every 2K-3K miles) but I don't think it's enough to make a difference. Anyway, I was burning some oil way before I had to replace the cat the first time. The dealer charged me $1200 to replace the cat the first time under the "this is the Honda approved cat" excuse. My concern is that if the dealer is right and I have to replace the cat every 8-9 months, they won't keep doing it under warranty forever. Should I just get rid of it and get a new(er) car?</TD></TR></TABLE>
Fix your car
If a honda engine is burning that much oil it has been HEAVILY beat on. Do a leakdown test...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by instrument &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">so the cat is under warranty but your oil burning engine isn't?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Im with you. Why are they replacing the CAT under warranty and not the motor? Oh 130K is Honda Lifetime Warranty on Emissions? I think they are, but if the Cat is Clogging they should replace for free. 1200 is alot considering you could have had an exhaust shop do it for 200 bucks with a free-er flowing cat.

I also agree that you need to fix that oil leak. 1qt every 2-3K miles is quite a bit. I would say look at replacing your rings or your valve stem seals, because your motor is going to need something. and for 1200 bucks you could have a pretty nice rebuild. Or at least a basic rebuild that a shop could do for you.

 

never take your car to the dealer to get it worked on...get a price from them and then go somewhere else..you will see how much they are rip-offs...fine a friend that knows about hondas..

 

yeah, that is a lot of money, my friend destroyed his motor because of a clogged cat, the engin blew, but it was a d series so not that bad, and the dealer charges a shitload for parts

 

The cat is under warranty b/c I already paid to have it replaced. The warranty on the engine expided 30K miles ago. To fis the oil burning (not leaking) I would have to have the engine rebuilt. That will run me between $3k-$4k. Woldn't it make sense to just trade the car in for a new civic?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by transpar_nt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If a honda engine is burning that much oil it has been HEAVILY beat on. Do a leakdown test...</TD></TR></TABLE>
What? 1 quart every 2000-3000 miles is considered normal oil consumption.

I burn double that amount - at least 1 quart every 1500 miles. I have never had a catalytic convertor problem in the 3 years and 30,000 miles I've owned the car. It just passed emissions inspection easily last week.

 

why would it cost 3-4k? who the hell is doing this work? don't let the dealer do the work, take it somewhere else

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Targa250R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
What? 1 quart every 2000-3000 miles is considered normal oil consumption.

I burn double that amount - at least 1 quart every 1500 miles. I have never had a catalytic convertor problem in the 3 years and 30,000 miles I've owned the car. It just passed emissions inspection easily last week.</TD></TR></TABLE>

agreed. its pretty difficult for an engine not to burn some oil. but do a leak down test and comp test just so you can rule that out, maybe. don't let the dealer do it though, the way your talking they wil charge like 1k for that

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Targa250R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">What? 1 quart every 2000-3000 miles is considered normal oil consumption.

I burn double that amount - at least 1 quart every 1500 miles. I have never had a catalytic convertor problem in the 3 years and 30,000 miles I've owned the car. It just passed emissions inspection easily last week.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Really? When I swapped my engine, the d15b7 had ~423,000kms (265k miles) and I never once noticed any change in the oil level whatsoever. It got over 40mpg on the highway too. I see no reason why an engine with such tight tolerances (compared to almost anything else made my most other manufacturers) burning oil should be considered "normal". Maybe I was just lucky and the carbon deposits were holding it together!

To the OP, piston rings can be changed for an outlay of a couple hundred bucks. Three to four thousand is just a number you made up. Seriously, most stuff isn't worth getting fixed at the dealership and most aren't any more honest than any other shop. Assuming you can't do it yourself, ask around on a local forum. I know where I live there a few well known, honest guys that do stuff like this for cheap and are very good. They don't have a shop to support, so they can make more while still charging less.

 

In order for ANYONE to pay $1200 for a cat you must have some mental disorder or something man. You better go to a doctor. Health is first.

 

you got ripped off man