0420 Code for 2002 Camry LE V6

P0420 Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 1)

Try this link,

I don't know what can make the efficiency be below the threshold, but my first guess would be the sensor itself. The CAT can be toast, but I would not expect it to be bad at this point in your car's life. This is an emmission system item, and should be covered by the warranty.

what are the symptoms of a bad cat convertor or oxygen sensor? I passed my drive clean emission by a WIDE margin 2 weeks ago. The dealer said I need a firmware upgrade for the CPU

Cat is degrade by 60% or better. It will come back on

Your car is a 2002, so you will find the OBD II data port along the underside of the dashboard, in the vicinity of where your left leg is while driving. The port looks sorta like a printer port (on the printer, not on the computer), except it only has something like 16 pins instead of the printer's 40 pins. The shape of the pins and the connector look like the back of a printer, but there aren't as many pins.

Anyway, many auto parts stores have the OBD II code reader in stock, and you can check it out - like a book from the library. Use the code reader to reset all of the codes, then don't worry unless the Check light comes back on AND it throws another P0420.

It is conceivable that you would need a firmware upgrade, but if the logic is that the computer is an emission system component, then the firmware should be a free upgrade during the emission system warranty period. For the firmware to be the problem, then there is nothing wrong with the car, but the check for whatever this sensor is telling you has a window tha tis too small, and the firmware will make the window larger to prevent false reporting of this particular error. If you reset the light, then the odds are that it will not come on again for a very long time, and this would tend to point to firmware errors causing a false report.

Thanks Jeff.

I went to the local garage and his brother works at the dealership and told me that since the car is running fine, the computer needs a firmware update.

I had the light reset and so far, it has not come on yet. If it does, and as you said, I get the same 0420 code, then I will get the firmware upgraded to the cost of $100. Since the car now has about 70,000 miles on it, it is out of warranty and this is a "grey" area under the ECP Toyota warranty.

So far, I have had the Check Engine light come on 2 times : Shift Solonoid Malfunction, and when the Throttle Body was frozen. Both times it was fixed in warranty and under ECP and the repair bills were $2400 and $1500 respectively.

Needless to say, when that light comes on, I think "oh crap, there goes $1K!"

A 4:20 code?

Your Emissions System Warranty runs for miles or time, WHICHEVER TAKES LONGER. You are nowhere near the time, and the firmware upgrade should be free. Stomp your feet and get red in the face and demand that the emissions system is malfunctioning and should be repaired - whatever it takes - under the warranty that is there specifically to protect you from this sort of failure.

The whole point of the warranty is that the consumer is open to huge repair bills from a federally mandated system that is by its very nature prone to a hostile operating environment. The manufacturers are required to make the system withstand the hostility, and yours seems to be prone to problems that can be corrected by a simple firmware upgrade. It takes a matter of a few minutes to load new firmware, and the alternative for the dealership is to fix hardware so it complies with the small window tha tthe firmware demands. They (apparently) found that there was a significant number of repairs to whatever the P0420 reports, and the timing window was too small. The way they figure this out is by taking the stuff back that is repaired under warranty and then testing it. The sensor that reports the P0420 errors could have been found to be within spec, but the ECM is still reporting the error. The fix is to open the window for which the sensor can come up to speed, so to speak.

In any case, just because you have gone over the waranty period - in miles - for the rest of the car, you have not gone over the waranty period - in time - for the emissions system.

snip

Jeff: Looking in my 2003 Corolla Owner's Warranty book (Federal Emission Control Warranty), let me quote the following:

"Federal regulations require that this warranty be in effect for two years or 24,000 miles fro the vehicle's in-service date, whichever occurs FIRST.

"Additionally, components marked "8/80" in the parts list on pages 15-16 have coverage of eight years or 80,000 miles, whichever occurs FIRST.

Thanks for the education. The last time I had to get warranty service on my emissions system, it was the longer of the two. I was not aware that this had changed. I do have a new Tacoma though, and I'll have to double check just beacuse I'm a "doubting Thomas" kind of guy.

Warranties expire at a given time or mileage, whichever comes first, not whichever takes longer.

The "whichever comes first" part of the warranty has always been the case for Toyota. It has NEVER been whichever comes last. Think about it... If someone drives 200,000 miles in a twelve-month period, in a whichever comes last scenario, the emissions warranty would translate to 1 million miles or

The corrosion perforation warranty has a time but no mileage limitation.

I once owned a Honda that had an exhaust system failure that was covered by the emission system warranty that ran the longer of time or distance. The car had gone over the time limitation, but was under the distance spec. Emission system warranties were for a good many years the LONGER of time or distance, while the rest of the warranty coverage was the shorter of time or distance.

What happened was that consumer protection people were worried that the automakers would cobble together a bunch of crap that would take a dump in a few years, and expose the consumer to huge repair bills. I haven't bought a new car in many years, and all of my vehicles - save for my Tacoma that my daughter drives - are well beyond any warranty either by time or distance, so I have lost touch with the nuances of emission warranties. But you can be sure there was a time when an emissioin warranty was the longer of time or distance, this might not be the case anymore, and emission warranties might only be longer than the rest of the car's warranty, or it could all be the same.

I can't speak for Honda, but Toyotas NEVER had an emissions warranty that was the longer of time or distance and frankly, I can't believe any manufacturer would leave themselves so open to what could amount to a lifetime warranty.

A car that is driven two thousand miles a year would have a 25 year emissions warranty, way past the time when manufacturers are supposed to even stock parts. Are you sure the repair wasn't covered by an SSC?