Dougsshed

Hi Jim, I'm new to this forum and just read your post. Sorry you're having issues like this. Catalytic converters should last just about the life of the car....certainly longer than 80,000km. That being said, certain conditions will reduce the life of the converter. Unburnt fuel and oil will reduce its life by coating it with deposits so that the catalyst surfaces can't interact with the exhaust emissions. I'm a little worried about your comment "serviced when needed". It is really important to service your car when due. Your comment sounds like you don't do this. Forgive me if I'm wrong. By now, your car should have had 24 services based on 6 mthly intervals. One of the things that any dealer (any brand) will do when faced with an 'out of warranty' claim is look at the service history. If the car has been religiously serviced by the dealer at every specified interval, they may do a good-will warranty or a discounted repair but if services have only been done at random intervals, then the response will almost always be negative. In this instance, if you fall into the category of occasional services when the car 'feels like it needs it', then bad adjustments let go for too long may have contributed to the problem. I'm not a mechanic but I try to keep myself informed about my cars and used to do all my own work when I was younger. Regarding Toyota, you'll always have some dealers that aren't user friendly (any brand) but Toyota is very well known for reliability and quality and the dealers are generally pretty good. Their reputation relies on it. I think that there are products that you can buy that may clean converters but I've never needed to use such a product and, for me, I'd be very careful with aftermarket additives. I would stay with Toyota and Toyota original equipment. If you are unhappy with this dealer, try a different one (unless there's only one in your area). Otherwise, perhaps ask a private mechanic what they think. Lastly, in case I sound like a Toyota employee or something, let me assure you that I have absolutely no affiliation with Toyota. I've just had a really good run with Toyotas.