2005 V6 Catalytic converter or 02 sensor

[HURRICANES]

So I have roughly 192K on my 4runner and on the way home from work Friday the check engine light and a few other lights come on. Take it into local mechanic this morning and they call back stating the bank 1 converter is bad. Says it will be $750 to replace because its a CA compliant 4runner. I asked if there a definitive way to tell its the converter vs an 02 sensor and he states that they can tell for sure its the converter and possibly a bad sensor too. I'm not a mechanic, but I do know the converter is designed to last the life of the vehicle and its more common for sensors to go first. What would you all recommend?

 

[djpope09]

So I have roughly 192K on my 4runner and on the way home from work Friday the check engine light and a few other lights come on. Take it into local mechanic this morning and they call back stating the bank 1 converter is bad. Says it will be $750 to replace because its a CA compliant 4runner. I asked if there a definitive way to tell its the converter vs an 02 sensor and he states that they can tell for sure its the converter and possibly a bad sensor too. I'm not a mechanic, but I do know the converter is designed to last the life of the vehicle and its more common for sensors to go first. What would you all recommend?

Is it sensor 1 or sensor 2 on bank 1? Sensor 1 is the Air/Fuel ratio sensor and sensor 2 is the O2 sensor.

Either way, I would think the easiest way to tell is to swap the sensor to the other side (and vice versa) and see if the fault code moves to bank 2. All 4 sensors are easy to get to and shouldn't take more than twenty minutes to swap two of them. Just make sure the battery is disconnected while you do it so the fault on bank 1 doesn't stay on.

 

[XR250rdr]

Did they tell you which code(s) were thrown?

 

[firefoxed]

So I have roughly 192K on my 4runner and on the way home from work Friday the check engine light and a few other lights come on. Take it into local mechanic this morning and they call back stating the bank 1 converter is bad. Says it will be $750 to replace because its a CA compliant 4runner. I asked if there a definitive way to tell its the converter vs an 02 sensor and he states that they can tell for sure its the converter and possibly a bad sensor too. I'm not a mechanic, but I do know the converter is designed to last the life of the vehicle and its more common for sensors to go first. What would you all recommend?

This morning I was quoted $500 for the downstream cat and the upstream if needed will be around $600-$650. I had sensor 2 in bank 2 replaced for $180.

Get a second opinion if you can, I have been going around in circles for over a month now trying to get my truck sorted. I have had various codes ranging from the ecu to the maf sensor to the o2 sensor and now its possibly an incorrect cat fitted.

 

[HURRICANES]

I went and picked it up this afternoon and took it to another shop that I trusted a little more. They stated the same thing (cat needed to be replaced). They indicated it was the bank 1 cat on passenger side. They said the AF and 02 sensors should be fine. $700. That’s crazy. It should be ready in the morning.

 

[HURRICANES]

Did they tell you which code(s) were thrown?

I didn’t ask. I had thought about picking it back up and taking it to Advance Auto so they could read the codes, but I have felt like total crap the past week and just didn’t want to have to deal with it anymore. Normally I like to try and figure these things out.

 

[Bernardchan96]

I just got code p0137? sounds pretty pricey for an o2 sensor tbh. can find them on rock auto for under $100 and install is pretty easy. and if you don't you could put a spacer in the o2 sensors.