We have a 2.0 Ecoboost Explorer with 91,000ish miles on it and it needs its third catalytic converter. The first two were covered under warranty (the 80,000 warranty).

Details below, but there have been a stream of issues between the turbo and cat that have not been addressed and I'm wondering if the crack in this last catalytic converter could be caused by trouble with the turbo or just working in the general vicinity?

Quite frankly we don't have the money to pay for the third catalytic converter replacement. Should I expect more from the cat and my dealer and Ford? Or am I just being a whiner (tell me the truth).

Thanks,
Rodney



Back story:
From about 35k miles my wife (her car) smelled exhaust inside the cabin and had to use the "recirculate air" feature to not pass out while driving. At first the dealer didn't smell it. They finally smelled it when I left it over night and I sat in the cold car and started it with the tech.

They tried a bunch of stuff before realizing the cat was cracked and replaced it.

All was good until about 68k, then the smell came back, another cat.

Then 77k the turbo went out (also had issues at 22k).

NOW a coolant line to the turbo is leaking and the cat is cracked again (third time).

 

Hi Rodney,

To clarify, did the Ford Dealership diagnose the most recent catalytic converter issue? Let me know; I'd like to see what options are available to help.

Crystal

 

Yes, the dealership diagnosed the problem.

Thanks in advance for anything you can do,
Rodney

 

Thanks for responding, Rodney. Reach out to me via private message with your full name, best daytime phone number, VIN, current mileage, and servicing dealership; I'll get this into the hands of your regional customer service manager.

Crystal

 

Thank you Crystal.

I spoke to my service one last time before giving my information to Crystal and apparently he hadn't made the connection that this was the third cat my vehicle needed. Once he did, he was able to get it replaced at no cost.

I must be naive to think that he'd remember everything about my vehicle, when he works with so many.

It is resolved!

 

I'm glad to hear that your dealership took care of you, REB126. Feel free to contact me if there's anything I can assist with in the future.

Crystal

 

But STILL ?!?
Should it be failing that often ?!?

There has to be an underlying reason...
is it chemical, is it mechanical, is it vandals?

could it be that it is mounted under stress and it 'twists' itself broken ????

I'd push to the WHY of it, not just be satisfied with the repair...

 

I have a 2012 Ford Explorer limited with Ecoboost. Just the diagnosis that the catalytic converter is stopped up. The converter stopped up caused the turbo charger to rattle and broke the wastegate on the turbo.It also has codes for fuel pump not reading with in specs. Parts and labor for fuel pump, converter, and turbo (along with all needed gaskets and filters ) $5200.00.

Obviously not under warranty but in 2015 I had a battery replaced at the dealership and it was faulty. For the next several months my check engine light and my car was in the shop weekly. During that time, 3/19/15 battery replaced (unknowingly a defective battery was installed)
4/21/15 check engine light replaced wastegate regulating valve solenoid
05/22/15 check engine light excessive play/movement. Wastegate lever/shaft excessively worn causing wastegate not to seat properly. Replaced turbo assembly.
08/11/15 check engine light on. Inspect waste gate solenoid vacuum lines and found line split. Replaced vacuum lines.
10/05/15 Customer states since wastegate/solenoid replacement fuel economy has seemed to have gotten worse. Self test no codes inspect wastegate solenoid and vacuum lines good.

Was it the catalytic converter all the time? How could happen all over again. (Also had the battery replaced right before all this happened again but it was ok). Transmission was replaced a couple of years ago.

Any advice would be great. Thank you!

 

Welcome to FTE.

Emissions stuff is covered 8 years/80,000 miles.

No sure about your cat problem, but check your build date and mileage.

Does it still run, and who diagnosed the dead cat?

 

Good luck trying to attribute the current failure(s) to work done 4-5 years ago. That's quite a reach....

Warranty is not based on build date, rather it is based on the "in-service" date plus/or mileage.

 

2/03/15 Rattling/creaking in front of car and replaced sway bar
3/19/15 Battery replaced
4/13/15 battery dying, shift to park messages, no key detected
4/21/15 Replaced Wastegate regulating valve solenoid per TSB 12-12-2 found 9F479 Broken and replaced. (also replaced door latches because car wasn't shutting down, sensor assembly and control assembly)
5/05/15 Replaced bad battery that was put in on 3/19/15 (car wasn't shutting down
5/22/15 Turbo wastegate lever and shaft has excessive play and movement and turbo has rattle a rattle noise on start up. Removed turbo and found wastegate lever/shaft excessively worn causing wastegate not seat properly. Replaced Turbo assembly. Also found RH Halfshaft carrier bearing bracket broken and replaced bracket.
8/11/15 they found that the wastegate solenoid vacuum lines were split and they replaced the lines.
10/05/15 I took the car back to the dealer because it was sluggish and getting worse gas mileage than prior to turbo replacement. But they said lines were good when tested.
10/11/16 Experiencing shuddering when accelerating, replaced engine mounts
02/07/16 Transmission skipping so transmission was replaced.
01/23/2020 Didn't pass emissions. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS NOT ON. Yet Catalytic Converter was stopped up caused turbo to rattle and broke the wastegate on the turbo. Fuel pump needs replaced as well $5200.

So my question is with all theses problems should the catalytic converter have been replaced back in 2015. A mechanic told me that oil typically leaks into the cat when replacing the turbo. Since the battery replacement with the bad battery it seems that car has never run correctly. This is just a brief summary of things that have been replaced. Really just want to get rid of the car.

 

A little oil one time isn't a big deal to a cat . . . unless it was started and immediately taken out and abused wide-open throttle and whatnot.