This is my first post on this forum
I took my car, a 2016 Honda Fit EX (with a little over 97K miles), automatic transmission, on a road trip at the end of March and had four different lights come on at the same time. There is a Reddit thread about the issue here where other drivers have had the same experience. Long story short, I put some quality fuel injector (with PEA) cleaner in the gas tank and the lights went away. A couple weeks have passed, and now the check engine light is coming on (which was one of the four lights from the first issue). I just got back from my local car repair shop and was told that the catalytic converter needed to be replaced. Total estimate a little over $2300 after tax. Being unemployed, $2300 might as well be $2.3 million. I included a link to the itemized costs below. If you look on the official Honda recall website there are no recalls for my car, but I’ve read other websites that mention recalls for the fuel injectors and the catalytic converter. I wanted to ask if anyone has knowledge of problems with the 2016 Honda Fit EX catalytic converter, and if they think I should go ahead and bite the bullet and have the repairs done for my car out of pocket.
Thanks everyone!
On what basis is the shop saying that your catalytic converter needs to be replaced? What codes were found? Did the shop check live and/or freeze-frame data?
I was not told which codes were found, or if the shop checked live/freeze frame data. I was telling my wife this is why I don't like owning a car, because you have to take the mechanics word regarding what's wrong with the car. I'm scheduled to have the work done on Wednesday morning. I'm just going to go ahead and have the repairs done. I hope they know what they are doing. I've owned three other Hondas (a 1984 Accord, a 2001 Civic and a 2002 Civic) and never had a catalytic converter replaced.
Here's a problem found on that car that puts up 4 codes at once:
https://repairpal.com/check-engine-light-and-stuttering-while-driving-721
At the very least, as Chuck suggests, get one of the inexpensive code readers (Scotty recommends ones under Tools, upper right on this page) so you don't pay for a "wallet flush" with this shop.
I was telling my wife this is why I don't like owning a car, because you have to take the mechanics word regarding what's wrong with the car.
That's why it's nice to at least learn the basics and maybe pick up an inexpensive scan tool so you have a basis to evaluate and question what a mechanic tells you even if you don't do the work yourself.
I'm just going to go ahead and have the repairs done. I hope they know what they are doing. I've owned three other Hondas (a 1984 Accord, a 2001 Civic and a 2002 Civic) and never had a catalytic converter replaced.
Catalytic converters will usually last the life of the car unless fouled by engine problems (oil burning, mixture too rich, misfires, wrong fuel) or damaged externally. (Mine is still the original at 27 years old with over 370K miles and still functioning properly according to OBD2 diagnostics.)
If you do go ahead with the replacement hopefully there is not some underlying condition that will wind up damaging the new converter.
I just got back from my local car repair shop and was told that the catalytic converter needed to be replaced. Total estimate a little over $2300 after tax. Being unemployed, $2300 might as well be $2.3 million.
Why do you want to risk $2300 when it could be something as simple as a vacuum leak or an oxygen sensor? Being unemployed, your dollars really count! Go and get a scan tool. I have one with ABS capability and it cost me $100. Shoddy mechanics love to get unsuspecting people into buying stuff they don't actually need, because it's more profit for them.
Apparently I'm not the only person who's had a problem with the catalytic converter. According to this forum, it may be linked the faulty fuel injectors.
"Here's how it goes...
Carbon deposits build up on backside of valves which restricts air flow. Car runs rich. Plugs foul and catalytic converter fails. If the fuel is especially bad or the car isn't run hard enough, the carbon fouling can even extend into the combustion chamber and foul the plugs or cause injector failure.
Hence, the dealer seeing more catalytic converter failures. I'm sure it all began with 2015 models due to DI. Cars that aren't run hard, are used for short trips, or get low quality fuel will fail faster than others."