As cars have developed, so has their impact on the environment. Earlier versions of cars pumped harmful gas in the form of exhaust into the air without regulation.<\/p>\n
A vehicle\u2019s catalytic converter fixes that. The catalytic converter\u2019s main job is to take pollutants from the engine\u2019s combustion cycle and turn them into less harmful gases before releasing them. It uses mesh filters made of platinum, palladium, rhodium, and gold to filter exhaust fumes.<\/p>\n
The filters keep the toxic exhaust fumes from entering the environment. The catalytic converter\u2019s job is so essential that if this part of the vehicle doesn\u2019t work, you will likely fail an emissions test.<\/p>\n
A catalytic converter has two oxygen sensors\u2014the front and back, or upstream and downstream, respectively. Their job is to make sure the catalytic converter is operating at peak efficiency.<\/p>\n
When these sensors work properly, they operate in tandem. The front sensor\u2019s readings typically fluctuate, while the back sensor\u2019s readings remain steady. These sensors should never read the same or similar to each other. When they do, they generate the P0420 code.<\/p>\n