Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting P0420

This is a rant, not a call for any kind of suggestions or solutions. I posted it here because it may help some who encounter this code ...

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I pulled 0420 back in March at roughly 77,000 miles (noteworthy is that this is 3,000 miles before the cat is no longer covered under warranty). They programmed the PCM to expect less from the cat, which made the CEL go away. ....until now. I just got the code again, and the fix (now that it's no longer under warranty at 89,000) is to replace the cats. Big [censored] surprise. I love my car, but this kind of service philosophy/gank is quite unreal.
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And thanks to this forum, because even though this is upsetting, it's far from surprising. Someone (and I will try to dig up the post) mentioned that the PCM reflash is done only to get the cat past warranty coverage. That appears to be what happened here.

EDIT: Found the post, though there are many with the same sentiment:

Originally posted by projectSHO89:

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Yeah, I can see that one....Now the customer pays to make the damned CEL go out and it will probably come back once the 8/80 runs out.

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From here.

Sorry Davo. As you already know, it is just to widen the limits before the CEL comes on again (and of course, Ford was hoping that it would not come on again until after the 8 year/80k mile warranty).

Yeah, and that gets an emphatic from me. As a token of consolation, the dealer decided not to charge me the $85 (!!!!!!) to diagnose the CEL. I'm glad an AutoZone is going up in town, I'll need to scan my CELs and paying the dealer to do so won't be an option when the warranty runs out.

you got hosed, my dealer acted like he didnt even know about the pcm flashing even after mentioning it to him. They just went ahead and replaced the precats and main cat just to be safe.

I guess I must have been psychic (or just plain cynical) on THAT one....

Seriously, I'd escalate the issue to the Ford Zone or Regional representative. The "fix" that Ford provided to the dealer has resulted in your getting screwed on your federally mandated warranty coverage due to an ineffective fix.

Or just make and install MILs if you're so inclined and Ford won't help you.

Steve

If I get the code again, I will just have the cats removed and put MIL-eliminators on. I may send a friendly letter or phone call Ford Regional's way, if only to tickle my pickle. My guess is that this won't be the first time they've heard a similar complaint, and will have a perfectly-crafted, liability-absent response.

A well worded letter to the Ford Customer Relations Department in Dearborn, Michigan may have better results than you imagine. Be very polite and describe your issue in depth. Give a complete history of what your problem is and the improper response that you received. You may be suprised to find a letter approving the requested repair in your mailbox. This has worked for me in the past.

FWIW I was in the same predicament a while back.

My car had 78,000 miles but was MORE than 8 yrs. old.
My friendly Fraud $tealership wanted 2,500 to change both cats. I told them I'd think about it. (I had 8 months to go before the next NY-state inspection).
Oh yeah, they also charged me $200 to 'verify' the CEL code and that the cats needed changing. Ba$tards!

I did some web searching + research and was 'advised' to put a can of Berryman's B12 in EACH tankfull of gas. It took 4 tankfull's of gas (read: approx 1200 miles) but the CEL has, since, NEVER come on.

THAT happened Spring 2005 ...it's now Spring 2006 ...and NO CEL *ever* since then.

So, my friend, before you start going down any particular path -- you might want to try the Berryman's B12 fandango.
"Couldn't hoit" ...as my brother-in-law would say.

Gerry