Thanks for the responses. I only have 49,500 km on it so now I will
have to check about the warranty. I purchased the car 2nd hand in
2003 and opted not to take the extended warranty so again, not sure if
it will be covered, unless it is an automatic thing with Mazda. $1200
was JUST the part here in Canada -- it is another $75 for installation
AND our wonderful GST and PST -- so I'm hoping I don't have to go
there.

Carol

On Fri, 11 Nov 2005 16:57:48 +0000 (UTC), Scott Hughes
> wrote:

>"DBLZOOM" > wrote in
roups.com:
>> If you suspect the cataylic convertor you should take it to a Mazda
>> dealership and have them check it out. The catalytic convertor is
>> warranted for 80,000 miles under the emmission control warranty (at
>> least here in the States).
>>
>>
>> Carol wrote:
>>> check engine light came on again. Took it back, he checked it out and
>>> checked the settings for the Catalytic Converter (which showed OK).
>>>
>>> He is now
>>> saying that I need to replace the Catalytic Converter (its around
>>> $1200) !!
>>>
>>> Carol
>
>I'll second that about the 80k mi warranty. Tho iirc, it was a US fed
>mandated warranty, so might not apply for you. Of course, if you're over
>80k mi, it's moot anyway. I had my cat on my OTM replaced at the
>79,800mi mark for free. On the bright side, I've been told by more than
>one knowledgable person that there's a good chance the cat itself was
>actually fine and that it was just a seal or something else that had the
>problem. Could have fixed the problem for much less if it wasn't gonna
>be warranty covered. If the warranty solution isn't available for you,
>I'd definately get an opionion from a trusted mechanic or 2 before
>replacing the cat. I've also been told that the $1200 that a dealer
>charges for that is way more than it should be for that job (at least in
>the Subaru world). Good luck.
>
> -Scott