hi, new to this forum and to working on mpv/mazdas.
was riding withTHE girl (she made me capitalize the)doing mainly highway miles.... then noticed the check engine light was on. brought it to autozone for the free diagnostic code service.... they came up with the p0421 and p0481 codes. so i googled that and found that the p0481 was probably nothing.... but the p0421 should be looked into (peculiar that they both went off at the same time???). the car has 75k on it.... should i be worried about the 80k warranty on the cat converter??? or is this just a brokenpressure seal on the gas cap???i went to buy the service book on this car and couldnt find it anywhere?!?!? whats the deal with that??? should i just look at the ford winstar manual or something???
any thoughts would be appreciated!!!

 

I would take it to the dealer if you have a warranty before it runs out. Converters are very pricey.

 

well,my girlfriendcalled the local dealer/service center(quirk mazda in quincy ma)..... the service guy was not exactly nice, although admittedly,my gfdid not communicate the problem in the best manor. she started to tell the guy that she had a 2001 mpv with75k on the car, but he [rudely] interrupted her to say there was nothing under warranty at that mileage (total write-off B.S. from a guy who doesn't want to work hard???? wtf). after my gf got the guy to listen to the "hypothetical" problem and codes (p0481, p0421), he said it sounded like a little leak and a big leak. this diagnosis does not strengthen my trust with this shop!!! the guy saidif we wanted to bring it down tohim, they would check it.... FOR $100!!! i understand labor time cost something... but thats ridiculous.he alsorecommended checking the gas cap.
sooooo, i unhooked the positive lead on the battery and cleared the codes and set the gf to work.... we'll see if the light comes back on.......

 

P0421 is cat converter and has nothing to do with a leak. It is covered 8 years/80k miles. You can call corporate and bypass the service writers. If that does not work you can call NHTSA and stir up a real hornets nest. I doubt you would have to go further than corporate though. If they tell you it is a tuneup problem or related to the small leak code they are lieing. A bad tune can cause converter damage but it is not required in order to warranty the concerter.

 

soooooooooo.... i reset the light..... gf has driven the car for, maybe, 50 miles in a variety of conditions (highway at 60mph, highway at rushhour, inner city traffic of 20-30mph) and the light has not come on again. i just hate the idea of waiting for the problem again while the mileage/warranty is ticking down fast (only 4k left!!!).
hixx- thanks so much for your advice....
where should i start this "corporate" ladder climb???? i thought i should just go to the dealer.... is there a "more corporate" way to go??? please, point me in the right direction(s).
thanks again for your time/advice.

 

Call the dealer and ask them for the corporate 1-800 number or call information. There is one for every region.