A catalytic converter is a vital component of modern cars, as it purifies your vehicle’s exhaust fumes and thus suits modern pollution specifications. Nevertheless, it is possible that it may become clogged or breakdown, in which circumstance a change or cleaning is important. In this article we are going to check out how to clean a catalytic converter on Scion tC? To achieve this, to begin with, we will explain the scenarios in which it may be interesting to clean the catalytic converter of your Scion tC, then, how to carry out this cleaning to recover the effectiveness of the catalytic converter of your car.

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Why would you want to clean up the catalytic converter of your Scion tC?

In this first part we will describe why it may be valuable to clean the catalyst of your Scion tC . In actual fact for some of you it might seem obvious but most of you do not know how it functions and the results dirty catalytic converter .

Function and functioning of the catalytic converter of a Scion tC

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The catalytic converter of your Scion tC has the function to get rid of harmful exhaust fumes associated with the process of your engine unit. In actual fact, it is one of the most important parts that fight against the pollution discharged by your Scion tC. It will convert these harmful gases into water or nonpolluting fumes. In order to convert these gases, the catalyst of your Scion tC a mesh of precious metals which, when the gases pass at high temperature, will break them down by chemical reaction . A catalytic converter can only work from 400°, it is therefore necessary to avoid clogging the catalytic converter of your Scion tC. If you are considering making sufficiently long journeys to heat it up regularly (count more than 10 kilometres for the catalyst to reach the right temperature), this will allow you to optimize the life of this part and preserve best engine unit efficiency.

Consequences of a dirty or faulty catalytic converter on Scion tC

We will now find out what can be the results of a dirty or failing catalytic converter on Scion tC . This will allow you to discover the signs of illness that should alarm you to a malfunction of your catalytic converter, here is the list of signs of illness of a faulty catalytic converter:

  • The catalytic converter of your Scion tC is clogged: As we said above, if you make too short travels like 50% of people, it will not have the time to start functioning and the catalytic converter will clog up with exhaust fumes.
  • Switching on the engine light: : Following a clogged catalytic converter, engine light of your Scion tC may come on, do not think twice to seek advice from our content page to identify how to switch it off.
  • A faulty lambda sensor : The catalyst functions in close connection with the lambda sensors downstream and upstream of it, they will review the air flowing inside it, if it is clogged the sensors will often also have problems.
  • A metallic noise originating from the exhaust: In case the catalyst is dead you should hear this noise which means that the ceramic is damaged.

Why you should clean the catalytic converter of your Scion tC

Before we finish with the step you are probably most interested in, how to clean the catalytic converter of a Scion tC? We will describe why it may be relevant for you to conduct this cleaning. In actual fact, a catalytic converter is a very expensive component (about 500 euros with the installation, the price can differ depending to the engines). In addition to being no longer good for passing the technical control , you may be at risk of over-consumption of fuel . Finally, the last benefit is that cleaning a catalytic converter is not that expensive and doing it regularly will save you quite a lot of money.

How do you clean the catalytic converter from its Scion tC?

Finally here is the stage that you are likely most keen on in this content, how to clean the catalytic converter of your Scion tC? Know that this procedure is very very easy, and that there are two approaches to accomplish:

  • Scrubbing the catalytic converter from your Scion tC frequently: This approach is especially effective for people who specifically do short trips . To do so, nothing could be less complicated, from time to time, make a long trip (about 30 minutes to optimize the efficiency of the process), thinking of making your engine go up in revs so that the temperature in the catalyst increases and it can be cleaned.
  • To use a catalyst cleaner: You can discover some in a car center for about 20 euros. All you have to do is add it to your fuel directly in your tank with about half a full tank. Afterwards you will have to drive on a long distance for at least 1 hour at mid-range by trying to go regularly at high rpm . If you can before and afterwards do an exhaust gas analysis to examine that you have recovered healthier exhaust fumes after the process. You can conduct this process every 15 000km.

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If you wish more guides on the Scion tC, go to our Scion tC category.