Help/advice required please. My daughter lives in Dublin and drives a 2000 Fabia 1.4 petrol. Loves the car but, recently, the Engine Management warning light came on. Car runs fine but the light stays on. Went into the Skoda dealer in Dublin (?) and was told the car needs a new Catalytic Converter at a cost of EURO1000. Shock horror. :eek:

Is this likely to be correct diagnosis ? Is price correct ? Any advice for alternate places to try ?

Any help gratefully accepted.

Ta.

Without seeing any fault codes etc its anyones guess.

even if the cat did need changing is 1000 euros realistic?

I got a cat off an SDI if you want it?....

Diesel and petrol cats are different J.

I would have thought you could get a 1.4 cat over here for circa £300 plus fitting. But be wary, I have fitted many cheap aftermarket cats for people and they dont pass come MOT time.

Diesel and petrol cats are different J.

Figured they might be. Think I will just stick with the few quid Mr scrapman will give me for it.

Diesel cats are two way, petrols are three.

They work in a different manner and you may find you dont get much for a diesel cat.

Without seeing any fault codes etc its anyones guess.

Fair point but I've no way of getting codes.............doubt she was quoted any.

Guess the real question is..............is €1000 / £700 reasonable for a new Cat, (fitted) ?

A catalytic converter (front exhaust pipe) from Skoda is around £300 to £400, then you need to add maybe £20 for the cost of a joining pipe and gasket. An hour to fit it should be more than adequate. We have in the past fitted non Skoda cats (in an effort to save the customer some money) and they have been nothing but trouble, with the customer returning with the engine light on and creating a fuss - never again.

If it was showing an efficiency fault the cause could be a sensor, without the codes it is not possible to diagnose.

Lead in petrol has an adverse effect on cats and Lambda probes, the petrol we get is un leaded not lead free, which contains small quantities of naturally occurring lead, so in theory given enough quantity cats and probes will fail at some point.

What's the progress so far?

My daughters Fabia has the same problem. Went to Skoda dealer for diognosis and was informed needed new cat (£816.00 fitted :eek:). We were given the report of the following codes: P0130, P1141, P1176, P0140, P0130

I fitted a new (non Skoda) cat but it failed emissions test.

Print out from my local garage is as follows: CO level 0.77%, HC level 173ppm, CO2 level 13.90%, O2 level 0.54%, LAMBDA 1.00, Oil Temp 95c.

They say the problem is with the new cat. I phoned another local garage and they agree based on these figures.

I phoned the cat people who wanted the figures faxed through and after looking at them say the probem is not with the cat but probably with the coil pack or Mass air flow sensor. There is a slight lumpyness when idling but I changed the spark plugs and the ones that came out looked lovely, grey and light brown.

So off to another garage and diagnostic test and on the way the light came back on the dash (after being reset by Skoda). After reading faulty Lambda and checking it he said the front lambda sensor was not switching. This guy said that it looked like faulty cat but wouldn't condemn it untill Lambda sensor changed. So forked out more money and fitted the new front sensor. Went back for reset and check and guess what? No different!

His test results after replacing the Lambda: Hydrocarbons 162ppm, Carbon Dioxide 8.98%, Carbon Monoxide 0.69%, Oxygen 2.11%, Correction CO 1.07%, LAMBDA 1.11

I asked these garages about coil pack or MAF sensor but they disagreed that this could be the problem.

Please can anybody help??????:confused:

Incidentally, the new cat makes a high pitch noise under load which goes when you ease off on the throttle. Definitely no leaks on the exaust.

Edited 30 October, 200817 yr by PazisFab

is this the 1.4MPi?

You might be able to use the CAT off a 1.3 Felicia as the 1.4 8v is the modified Skoda 1.3 unit.

Mines a 10yr old Felicia and the cats fine, had to have a new centre and back box exhaust as they corroded.

Could it be burning more fuel than usual?

Thanks, yes it is a 1.4MPi 8v. If the cat is faulty then I am asured it will be replaced under warrenty after being returned and tested by the manufacturers, which would be hassle and expense. But they are adamant that it is not the cat judging from the quoted figures.

My daughter hasn't noticed if it's burning more fuel. Pottering round town it does about 30-35mpg.

We got a low mileage second hand cat for a Fabia 1.2 from Catalyticuk, Sale and UK distribution of catalytic converters and exhaust systems

Ring him and discuss, he will post to anywhere. It was actually from a Polo that had been written off. We got a local back street cheap garage to fit it. I think the cat was £120, postage £20 and the fitting was £50. The only problem is that the polo and fabia heat shield mountings are different, so the shield looks as if it is not fitted correctly but still does the job. Flies through emissions test now:)

resurrection.

 

My dad has the same issue, his light comes on and he thinks is the cat.  Same car, 1.4 65bhp.  Nearly 120.000miles, anyone has an idea what else can be wrong?

resurrection.

 

My dad has the same issue, his light comes on and he thinks is the cat.  Same car, 1.4 65bhp.  Nearly 120.000miles, anyone has an idea what else can be wrong?

 

Could be one of the Lambda sensors. Needs scanning for fault codes.