Here is the low down. I have spent past 3 hrs with 4 different dealer ships and ford customer relations. I hope this helps all you cali owners.
All dealerships checked my vin- I have a 2000 duratec auto. The part number for the pre-cats DO NOT fall under the CA mandated extended emissions warranty of 5 yr - 70k miles, just 3/50. They showed me the books, I donot have the part number but unfortunately CA contour owners are OWNED by friggin cali mandate. I was told I could register the vehicle in Nevada, and roll it into cali and get it fixed under federal 8/80 warranty.
So 2000 contour owners are SOL. So are Windstar owners with the 3.8. So folks I am bummed, but I have seen the ford warranty booklet pre cats are good for 3/50. Not more not less.
A silver lining for me at least- I think I tripped the CEL lightby dumping in fuel system cleaner. I have no symptoms of a precat failure, great gas mileage and no deterioration in power, not that auto duratecs feel all that fast. I have a gut feeling it isn't a burnt out cat, but gutting the pre-cats seem like a great alternative!
Thanks for all the help guys!
Oh- any cali owners with gutted pre-cats? Let me know how smog inspection went.
