# New catalyst recall



## Mustang Matt (Mar 26, 2019)

At 27k miles my check engine has come on a few times. It's always code P0430 catalyst below efficiency. I finally setup an appointment and the dealer portal listed a recall for this exact issue. Looks like catalytic system is to be replaced. Just a heads up if anyone else has this going on.


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## giowop (Apr 30, 2019)

Oh boy. I have 2 other recalls due maybe I should wait for this to go official. Yours 2018 or 19?


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## Mustang Matt (Mar 26, 2019)

2018


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## Veedubin02 (Mar 26, 2002)

Is this a new recall or related to the one that was released two months ago about the exhaust temps running to high? It sounds like your vehicle fell victim to that recall and so they are replacing you catalytic converter. 

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## rocknfreak (Jul 10, 2018)

Normally I received letters about this, but this one I have not received any letter! (Anyone else experiencing this?)

And is this recall just a SW update or also the cat replacement? Some say just SW update and some say both (on facebook)


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## quaudi (Jun 25, 2001)

V6 or turbo 4?


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## Veedubin02 (Mar 26, 2002)

rocknfreak said:


> Normally I received letters about this, but this one I have not received any letter! (Anyone else experiencing this?)
> 
> And is this recall just a SW update or also the cat replacement? Some say just SW update and some say both (on facebook)


It's just software, had ours done a couple weeks ago. I believe only for the V6

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## rocknfreak (Jul 10, 2018)

Veedubin02 said:


> It's just software, had ours done a couple weeks ago. I believe only for the V6
> 
> Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk


Remedy: Install new catalyst.


There are two different action codes on the catalyst recall. Mine posted in the picture is for a 2018 VW Atlas SE with tech V6


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## brachiopod (Sep 15, 2018)

Just scheduled an oil change, supposed to be quick and contact less, and was informed that they have to keep my 2018 overnight to swap the converter for a recall. Sounds like actual new converter. Have not had any check engine and get good mileage at 11K miles (not driving much these last few months), but there you go. Next week. So there is a new campaign.


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## Veedubin02 (Mar 26, 2002)

Sounds like 18s get new cats, 19s seem to be software. Wonder if it's due to mileage or just vehicle age.

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## mhjett (Oct 16, 2000)

rocknfreak said:


> Remedy: Install new catalyst.
> 
> 
> There are two different action codes on the catalyst recall. Mine posted in the picture is for a 2018 VW Atlas SE with tech V6


This is correct. My 2018 SEL V6 4Motion R Line comes up with Service Campaign 26N6, rather than 26M4. 

Here's 26N6:



> GEN2 MY 2018 Atlas Catalyst & SW
> VW Action Code 26N6
> Start Date: 05-19-2020
> Description: Over time and mileage, the factory-installed catalyst may not perform as required. If the effectiveness of the catalyst is reduced, this may result in increased tailpipe emissions and the vehicle could fail an emissions (IM) inspection.
> Remedy: Replace catalyst and update ECM software.


Just to clarify, these are service campaigns, not recalls.


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## mhjett (Oct 16, 2000)

if anyone gets either 26N6 or 26M4 done, post up your work order. Would be interesting to see.


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## stack8080 (Sep 20, 2018)

mhjett said:


> if anyone gets either 26N6 or 26M4 done, post up your work order. Would be interesting to see.


I had min done last week along with a leaking head gasket. 2018 SEL Premium. They replaced the cat and updated the ECM. The forum won't allow me to post a link or I would post the invoice.


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## boygirlca (Feb 5, 2011)

*Atlas catalyst recall (26N6/26M4)*

Mine(2018 Atlas V6, bought at Aug 2017, now is 65400km) just did it today(Jun 11, 2020), didn't receive the recall letter from VW Canada so far, dealer called me last week. Here is the dealer's service report.


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## sidewinder1 (May 12, 2020)

coincidentally cel came on the 18 v6 last week and took it in. they said this recall just came came out and had the parts on hand so it was replaced it and now cel is gone. incidentally the remote start wouldn't work after the replacement (cel on dash and hear click from starter) so ended up taking it back and they said one of the fob was low on battery and cleared the code and also replace the fob battery. remote start is now working but not convinced that was the real cause. make sure remote start works before leaving the dealer after cat replacement.


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## 13Tig (Sep 15, 2016)

Mustang Matt said:


> At 27k miles my check engine has come on a few times. It's always code P0430 catalyst below efficiency. I finally setup an appointment and the dealer portal listed a recall for this exact issue. Looks like catalytic system is to be replaced. Just a heads up if anyone else has this going on.


I've has mine replaced twice so far and I'm at 17k miles on my 2018. My dealer has been great about it both times so not a huge inconvenience bit definitely a known issue and now a recall as well


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## mhjett (Oct 16, 2000)

Here's stack8080's work order -- 

atlas invoice cats by mhjett, on Flickr


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## lupegarza (Jan 11, 2010)

*Notices for this*

To all who are worried about not receiving notices yet, you will. VW is phasing the mailers to make sure there are enough parts for all.


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## Harrybinh (Sep 21, 2017)

Mine was just done. My SA said the original ones are smaller and caused power/exhaust issues











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## Mustang Matt (Mar 26, 2019)

Mine goes in Wednesday. Cat replacement, PCM update. Is it odd that they broke three manifold studs on such a new vehicle?


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## mhjett (Oct 16, 2000)

Mustang Matt said:


> Mine goes in Wednesday. Cat replacement, PCM update. Is it odd that they broke three manifold studs on such a new vehicle?


Seems odd to me...


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

Mustang Matt said:


> .....Is it odd that they broke three manifold studs on such a new vehicle?


What does the age of the vehicle have to do with it?


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## TablaRasa (May 12, 2008)

Mustang Matt said:


> Mine goes in Wednesday. Cat replacement, PCM update. Is it odd that they broke three manifold studs on such a new vehicle?


Did they tell you they broke it? Usually when it is a recall I have experienced, they change everything to brand new even with bolts.

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## Harrybinh (Sep 21, 2017)

They used all new hardwares to replace the cats


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## CarolinaSmoke (Jun 12, 2020)

Is this just an emissions recall, or safety related?


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## Mustang Matt (Mar 26, 2019)

They broke all 6 studs. Ugh! But it's fixed.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

Mustang Matt said:


> They broke all 6 studs. Ugh! But it's fixed.


So, if you had been doing the work, how would you have prevented breaking the studs?


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## rocknfreak (Jul 10, 2018)

Mine is currently in, but I saw on all facebook groups that the ECM is "broke" afterwards. For example they say when you do remote start and then ACC does not work.


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## 801 (May 23, 2011)

I did mine. They replaced my cats and some software. My head gasket was replaced a bit ago.


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## TablaRasa (May 12, 2008)

801 said:


> I did mine. They replaced my cats and some software. My head gasket was replaced a bit ago.


is this only on certain builds of 2018's? I never received a recall notice for this, yet

Edit: Nevermind, I just saw it. It looks like a service campaign rather than a recall.


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## rocknfreak (Jul 10, 2018)

My ACC stopped working after this recall... They replaced the CAT and did a software update.

Any ideas how I can fix with with OBDeleven or do I need to go back to the dealer?

I saw on facebook groups that others have the same issue and they said their car is at the dealer for multiple days because the dealer doesn't know how to fix it.


Remote start. ACC does not work.
Start car normal. ACC works.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

rocknfreak said:


> My ACC stopped working after this recall... They replaced the CAT and did a software update.
> 
> Any ideas how I can fix with with OBDeleven or do I need to go back to the dealer?
> 
> ...


So, which is it, it doesn't work or only doesn't work after a remote start?


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## boygirlca (Feb 5, 2011)

I did this recall 3 weeks ago, change the catalyst and update the ECM software. Today I test the ACC, normal start, ACC working well. Then remote start and drive the car, ACC still working well.


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## twotwenty (May 11, 2019)

rocknfreak said:


> Remote start. ACC does not work.
> Start car normal. ACC works.


Same thing happened to me yesterday after I used remote start, and was fine later in the day when started normally. I had my 2019 Atlas serviced last week and they did the recall work.


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## TablaRasa (May 12, 2008)

I just picked my car up yesterday from this recall. On the drive home, check engine popped up. Service was closed already so texted my service advisor and brought it this am for them to scan. O2 sensor so they have to order the part. Will need to bring it back again. Interesting as he said they have seen it a few times when they did this recall before. In my mind , why they didn't anticipate it so that the customer won't be inconvenience.

Anyways remote start didn't work because he said the check engine light is preventing it. I known my start stop also was disengaged. I don't know about the ACC as I was traveling local roads. I will have them check it out when I bring it back again for the sensor 

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## camaroz1985 (Mar 2, 2020)

Our ACC works with or without remote start after this recall.


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## KarstGeo (Jan 19, 2018)

Appointment Monday to have mine done. CEL came on for the cat a few days ago. 2018.


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## AudiVW guy (Feb 7, 2006)

just called my VW dealer and they are ordered parts and extra studs.. then they will call me in, once the parts arrive ....


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## TablaRasa (May 12, 2008)

AudiVW guy said:


> just called my VW dealer and they are ordered parts and extra studs.. then they will call me in, once the parts arrive ....


Should mention to them about the O2 sensors replacement as well. That's what happened to me after they did the recall, check engine light on the way back home from the dealer. Now I have to back again when the part arrive. Would save you a second trip back 

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## AudiVW guy (Feb 7, 2006)

TablaRasa said:


> Should mention to them about the O2 sensors replacement as well. That's what happened to me after they did the recall, check engine light on the way back home from the dealer. Now I have to back again when the part arrive. Would save you a second trip back
> 
> Sent from my J8170 using Tapatalk


i did mention that and they said not required lol

but the way VW is being jerks.. no shuttles or loaners.. using covid as an excuse


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## AudiVW guy (Feb 7, 2006)

UPDATE, i got my atlas back and remote start and the ACC works.. 
but when i parked it and it started cooling down, it was making a lot of ping sounds from underneath 
other than that.. seems good so far.


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## KarstGeo (Jan 19, 2018)

Got mine back. New cats. New ECM program. Works fine. No issues with ACC and remote start. Noises/smells from having the new cats is all.


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## brachiopod (Sep 15, 2018)

Yeah, definitely had that new catalyst converter smell for a few drives after replacement.


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## GjR32 (Dec 22, 2010)

So I took my 2018 SEL-Premium in to the dealership a couple of days ago to get the catalyst recall done. When I picked it up later that day I first tested the remote start and guess what it didn’t work! I then got in my car and started the car normally and the check engine light immediately came on. The service tech then spent the next 40 mins working on it and hey presto everything works fine now. Thanks to all you guys for posting about remote start and saving me a second trip to the dealer.


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## DasJunk (Mar 5, 2012)

Just posted about this on the what did you do today - I dropped my 2018 SEL-P at the dealer because remote start works sometimes, but the ACC definitely doesn’t work after remote start. I’m told it’s only if you remote start after turning the car off with ACC enabled. If you turn ACC off before turning off the car, it’s not a problem to remote start. 

Anyone have insights on when a fix is coming or anyone has successfully fixed this with ODB11?


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## KarstGeo (Jan 19, 2018)

GjR32 said:


> So I took my 2018 SEL-Premium in to the dealership a couple of days ago to get the catalyst recall done. When I picked it up later that day I first tested the remote start and guess what it didn’t work! I then got in my car and started the car normally and the check engine light immediately came on. The service tech then spent the next 40 mins working on it and hey presto everything works fine now. Thanks to all you guys for posting about remote start and saving me a second trip to the dealer.


Would be helpful to provide some info on what they did if you have it.


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## LenE (Dec 23, 2002)

I had this recall done two weeks ago with the first oil change. They told me that it was only a software update for my 2019 SEL-P. Everything seemed good when I left the dealer, but now I have ACC failures 50% of the time, with no correlation to remote start. 

The only ACC failure I had previously was during a slush-accumulating snow storm where the VW emblem got coated with slush. Now, it is a coin flip if the system will error and fail out on first engagement of a drive. I’m going to take it back in on Friday to see if they can reflash. 

There were some oddities about this ACC failure condition. You can turn off cruise and turn it on, but it won’t allow it to work because of an unspecified ACC error. If you pull off the road and turn off the engine, you may be able to re-engage ACC, the distance setting becomes visible again, but success at re-engaging ACCis only about 50%. If you move too close to a car you are following, the ACC gives the too close warning, even though it doesn’t show the car on the display. This distance is too far for the ultrasonic park sensors, so the radar is still picking the car up, even though the ACC claims to be erroneous in some way. It really sucks that No ACC means no cruise control at all. The fallback is to not have any opportunity for driver complacency. 

I would be less upset if a better explanation was given about what the error actually was or if there was an override or easy reset available for ACC. I guess I am in disbelief that a recall fix was issued that caused more visible problems that greatly impact driver workload and destroyed value of unrelated systems. ACC has nothing to do with the emissions system. Chalk this as a data point that remote start is not what influences ACC failure after this recall “fix”.


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## shadytheatlas (Jul 5, 2018)

LenE said:


> I had this recall done two weeks ago with the first oil change. They told me that it was only a software update for my 2019 SEL-P. Everything seemed good when I left the dealer, but now I have ACC failures 50% of the time, with no correlation to remote start.
> 
> The only ACC failure I had previously was during a slush-accumulating snow storm where the VW emblem got coated with slush. Now, it is a coin flip if the system will error and fail out on first engagement of a drive. I’m going to take it back in on Friday to see if they can reflash.
> 
> ...


I am curious if you got a letter about your cats needing to be replaced. I took mine in to have mine replaced and was told that VW had just sent dealerships a letter that stated cats can’t be replaced unless the customer has a CEL or they received a letter. To top it off I found out the same day the cylinder head had to be replaced. So now I still have a cat recall and a rebuilt engine. Anyway, the master mechanic told me that the cats that are failing are just poor quality and the new cats are the same size as the old ones. VW really dropped the ball on us 18/19 owners...


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## LenE (Dec 23, 2002)

shadytheatlas said:


> I am curious if you got a letter about your cats needing to be replaced..


I got a letter about a service campaign for emissions, but nothing explicitly saying anything about the catalytic converters. My Atlas is a late 2019 build. My wife has an earlier 2019, and her letter was identical. We haven’t had the urgency to take hers in for anything, so hers has not had the update yet. Based on my experience with the ACC afterwards, she is in even less of a hurry.


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## shadytheatlas (Jul 5, 2018)

LenE said:


> I got a letter about a service campaign for emissions, but nothing explicitly saying anything about the catalytic converters. My Atlas is a late 2019 build....


So you have 2 19s and 2 letters and I have an 18 and no letter.... how many miles on your vehicles? Mine is 3 years old and has 19,000 on it.

I don’t blame you for not rushing your wife’s vehicle.


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## KarstGeo (Jan 19, 2018)

Just go here and drop your VIN to see if you are impacted by the service campaign or not - take out the guess work.

https://www.vw.com/owners/recalls/


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## TablaRasa (May 12, 2008)

shadytheatlas said:


> So you have 2 19s and 2 letters and I have an 18 and no letter.... how many miles on your vehicles? Mine is 3 years old and has 19,000 on it.
> 
> I don’t blame you for not rushing your wife’s vehicle.


I have an '18 and didn't get a letter but it showed up when I typed my vin in the link Kartsgep provided. It's not technically a recall but a service campaign so you have to scroll down on the page. It also showed up on my profile at the dealer. It gave me a notification.

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## shadytheatlas (Jul 5, 2018)

I am familiar with the link. My vehicle is affected. That’s why I made an appointment to have the cats replaced.

When I showed up I was told they will not replace them unless I have a CEL OR the letter. I have neither but mine is affected. I even called Customer Care and they could not help.

What I am trying to figure out is what the criteria is for the letter. Is it miles or purchase date or random?


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## LenE (Dec 23, 2002)

shadytheatlas said:


> So you have 2 19s and 2 letters and I have an 18 and no letter.... how many miles on your vehicles? Mine is 3 years old and has 19,000 on it.


I have 11,000 on mine, and my wife has around 29,000.


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## mhjett (Oct 16, 2000)

shadytheatlas said:


> Is it miles or purchase date or random?


Probably neither, it's probably VIN.


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## shadytheatlas (Jul 5, 2018)

mhjett said:


> Probably neither, it's probably VIN.


Newest VINs first and working backward? I know someone else with an 18 who is affected but hasn’t received a letter yet.


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## mhjett (Oct 16, 2000)

shadytheatlas said:


> Newest VINs first and working backward? I know someone else with an 18 who is affected but hasn’t received a letter yet.


Per the website I'm affected but haven't received a letter.


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## Atlas53 (Jan 29, 2018)

The Cat Converter was changed on mine about a month ago. I'd driven my '18 Atlas about 50k miles, and the check engine light came on. The service manager told me about the cat recall and I had to wait until the part came in - about 3 months. I was told that the original had inadequate flow capacity, and I believe it. With the cat changed, the throttle response seems better, and it growls a bit more under throttle. I like it!


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## matsavol (Jul 26, 2015)

Just got mine done on my '18. My service order list all the same parts except the Exh Pipe part number is *3QF254500KX*. I have to assume that is a newer (hopefully even better) revision?


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## shadytheatlas (Jul 5, 2018)

The VW parts sites show it supersedes another part. The mechanic and my local VW dealership told me the catalytic converters were defective, poor quality or something. If that is the case I am not sure why there is a software component to the recall.


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## sayemthree (Mar 2, 2006)

Just got the recall letter


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## vondutch (Feb 8, 2010)

Have our in now as well, but the cats were changed out a couple years ago with 3QF-254-500-*DX. *
So I'm curious are the new cats 3QF-253-059-PX and/or 3QF-254-500-*KX* cats a new version again, allowing more flow?


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