The General actually did something right…

24Jul10

I took the vanilla bean (a.k.a. 2003 white cavalier with nothing for options) into the dealer to see why it wasn’t shifting unless you were at minimal throttle. As it turns out, it has something to do with the catalytic converter. Let me back up a bit.

A few months ago the bean’s check engine light came on. I took it to the local auto parts store to borrow their obd II scanner to see what all the hub-bub was about. It gave me a code saying something about the catalyst was not correct. I called my best friend/car guy about what it could be. He gave me a couple options; pre-cat O2 sensor, catalytic converter, or post-cat O2 sensor. From the above paragraph you now know, like I do, that the catalytic converter was the culprit. I had put off making any repairs as I was certain it was the O2 sensor.

Fast forward to today. After a few hours in the shop, the service consultant calls to tell me that there is a code signaling an obstruction in the catalytic converter. The best part of this is that GM has a policy that no catalytic converter can fail before 8 years or 80k miles. Luckily the bean is just under 8 years old and just under 80k miles. Savings of about $800!

Hopefully that is all that needs to be fixed to make the bean run like a champ again for another few years.

H-T.E.

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Tags: cars