no cats....warranty?

[chris1866]

Hey guys
I have an MSP that the stupid owner before me straight piped the exhaust (including precat, cat, and resonator) with a 3.25in pipe and left the OEM racing beat exhaust on.
So i was at my local Mazda dealership this past summer getting my brake rotors replaced (under warranty) and the service manager informs me that the warranty on my engine is void because i have no cats.
So i'm driving home from college today for fall break and the CEL comes on. I pull off the road and check all the important stuff (oil, coolant, etc). Everything appears fine so i drive the rest of the way home (only about 10 mins.)
Several possibilities:
-earlier this week the cigarette lighter lost power (i assume just a fuse....haven't gotten around to checking it out yet). So could it possibly be electrical related......?
-I had just gotten gas about 30 minutes beforehand when my gas light had come on........bad gas--dirt in injectors....?

Bottom line: WHAT SHOULD I DO!? I've been looking around for a set of OEM MSP cats....(like from someone selling the whole stock exhaust system). I found some "universal" protege ones on ebay....
Any ideas?

 

[hoindawall]

go to autozone or something and get the code read

 

[chris1866]

see the thing is: the mazda dealership where i go to school (greenville, SC) sponsors me for autocross, so he would most likely honor my warranty even without the cats....but i'm concerned about how safe it is to drive back up there (4 hrs) with the light on.

 

[Ryoga28]

see the thing is: the mazda dealership where i go to school (greenville, SC) sponsors me for autocross, so he would most likely honor my warranty even without the cats....but i'm concerned about how safe it is to drive back up there (4 hrs) with the light on.

One way to tell if it's safe to drive back there is to get the code read like the above poster suggested

 

[B1GHAM]

-I had just gotten gas about 30 minutes beforehand when my gas light had come on........bad gas--dirt in injectors....?

Ill almost bet its evap emmisions... are you sure you screwed the gas cap tight? I did the same thing twice, and had that exact issue... either after I got gas directly or the next day when I would start it up the next time. If it IS that CEL then no it wont hurt anything and a simple clear will fix it... but rescrew your gascap. GET THE CODE CHECKED!! Im betting its evap but I wouldnt want to be wrong.

Sean

 

[chris1866]

I usually tighten the gas cap until it clicks several times.....i mean i'm sure it's a possibility that i neglected to do so this time but i'd say it's not very likely.
That being said, when i pulled over to check all the vitals, i DID tighten the gas cap until it clicked a bunch of times---light didn't go off...(not sure if it's supposed to).
I think i'm probablly going to just take it to the mazda dealer here and get it checked out. *hopefully* it's that evap code (P0455 i believe). If it's something serious then i guess i'll just have to pay to get it done cause apparently i have no warranty on my motor. BUT if it's not, i'll wait until i get back up to school and hope i will be taken care of there....(otherwise that magnet isn't going on my car when i autocross anymore )
Thanks for the replies guys
don't hesitate to offer any other suggestions and i will keep you updated.

 

[hoindawall]

maybe you could reset the ecu to clear the code. if the code comes back it is most likely not the evap code.

 

[sephiroth]

I usually tighten the gas cap until it clicks several times.....i mean i'm sure it's a possibility that i neglected to do so this time but i'd say it's not very likely.
That being said, when i pulled over to check all the vitals, i DID tighten the gas cap until it clicked a bunch of times---light didn't go off...(not sure if it's supposed to).
.

you can't get rid of a CEL until you erase it via a OBDII scanner, or re-set you ECU. so if it was gas-cap related and poped it on, the CEL isn't going to go away if you fixed the problem anyway.

 

[Blackrose]

you can't get rid of a CEL until you erase it via a OBDII scanner, or re-set you ECU. so if it was gas-cap related and poped it on, the CEL isn't going to go away if you fixed the problem anyway.

Yes it will. The system checks OBDII related things at diferent time intervals. Some take minutes, some can take days. You have to meet certain driving conditions in order for some things to get checked by the ECU. The best thing to do is get the code read to see if it is a vital issue. Then if it is something like the evap valve, then just give it some time it will go away when it checks the system again.

 

[B1GHAM]

Yes it will. The system checks OBDII related things at diferent time intervals. Some take minutes, some can take days. You have to meet certain driving conditions in order for some things to get checked by the ECU. The best thing to do is get the code read to see if it is a vital issue. Then if it is something like the evap valve, then just give it some time it will go away when it checks the system again.

you might be right.... But I had mine, and they didnt go off until I cleared them and the last time it happened (I knew what code it was) didnt go away after about a week and thats when I went in and cleared it. Luckily it hasnt come back.

BTW I learned something funny. DO NOT fill up with gas when the keys in the ignition (in any poss.). Supposedly the car will still run system checks and might possibly cause a CEL while filling up, thats how my last code started. I was told from then on to stop filling up with the keys in the ignition and it hasnt yet come back... I used to leave my car in the accessory position to listen to the radio, keep my cellphone charging, etc.

 

[MP3Architect]

BTW I learned something funny. DO NOT fill up with gas when the keys in the ignition (in any poss.). Supposedly the car will still run system checks and might possibly cause a CEL while filling up, thats how my last code started. I was told from then on to stop filling up with the keys in the ignition and it hasnt yet come back... I used to leave my car in the accessory position to listen to the radio, keep my cellphone charging, etc.

interesting...ive always left my keys in to listen to the radio on all my cars and never had this issue. hmmm.....
yo i would try taking it to a dealer anyways. maybe the guy just said it voided your warranty but never recorded it or anything. call mazdausa and just be like "yeah i was just wandering what day my warranty expires because i forgot." they'll look up your vin and im guessing when they do that they'll see if your warranty was already voided. just my $.02

 

[chris1866]

Well as far as the warranty goes, he told me it was void on the engine because of the straight pipe but that if i got some cats that it would be ok.
I'm going to call first thing monday morning and get it checked out.......hopefully it's nothing major.
(i'm almost positive the CEL itself is anything to do with the straight pipe because it would have showed up way before this......i've had the car for a year now).
thanks for all your help
I am considering just getting a cat from magnaflow or something as well, but one thing at a time.

 

[bazooka joe]

what a bunch of crap...it's either voided or it's not...dealers!

 

[BOOSTR]

Like several wise people said, just go get it read for free at Autozone or a similar store that offers it. Its an idiot light and could be any number of things. Have you looked in to the straight pipe to see if the O2 sensor is just threaded in there without a fouler or MIL eliminator wiring? If not get the HELP anti fouler kit to remove the O2 from the direct flow path.

 

[Blake]

GET THE CODE CHECKED the light can be one of ten gagillion things. We can all sit here and take guesses all day long, but you wont know unless you get it read.

 

[orng1]

I'm with everyone else, need to get the code read before we can start to diagnose it. You can buy a scanner so if or when the light comes on you can just check it yourself instead of debating whether or not to take it to the dealer. If it is related to any part that has been modified they will charge you for the diagnosis. !hr adds up these days, I don't know what they charge but here it's somewhere around $80 an hr. I also always fill my car before it turns off and even then I will leave the radio on and have never had issues with that.

 

[chris1866]

Yeah, i'm taking it to the dealer on monday (i hope) to get it read. Prob. no big deal. Like i said though, actually my biggest concern is the warranty....i'm gonna ask the service manager if i get a cat from magnaflow or something (only like 80 bucks) if my warranty will be good again because that's what he seemed to imply.

 

[210_ZOOM]

dont go to the dealer, if they see the before, they wont care about the AFTER. Go to autozone for free and they will tell you what the CEL code is and then all the guru's online can digest that and give you a helping hand in fixing this. ONCE AGAIN DO NOT GO BACK TO THE DEALER untill you get the cats on.

 

[Aricjm15]

if its not flashing you are fine. When it starts flashing is when you know you have problems, for example a multiple cylider missfire

 

[chris1866]

So i drove the car to the dealer today-light was on the whole time. Tech gets in to pull it into the garage, starts it up--no light. lol must have been the gas cap. I'm very relieved.
On the upside, they had just gotten in a Mazdaspeed 3 that i got to test drive.....AWESOME car. Very nice, fast, handles well. Doesn't feel quite as light as our cars but still a heck of a little hatchback.