Check engine light is on, not blinking and burning smell when accelerate?

I have a 2001 volkswagen jetta and the check engine light came on last night and stayed on. I immediately went to an autozone to have them give me a code and they pulled up P420, and it followed with something about the catalytic converter. Today and I went out and drove the car and when accelerating I smell a burning smell, cant make out what kind of burning smell. I recently had the wires and spark plugs changed and I have oil. My gas cap is tight, yadda yadda.



My question is that, could it really be the catalytic converter, if it is, can I drive around with a bad one without damaging my engine, just for a while until I get $$$ but if it must be repaired ASAP, how much does a catalytic converter cost on this car.



A knowledgeable mechanic that knows about Volkswagens would be helpful.



Thanks A Bunch in advanceCheck engine light is on, not blinking and burning smell when accelerate?yes it is a catalytic converter especially if it is a sulfur smell. I ve had this problem with my truck. No it wont do any damage to your engine just make your car smell a little funny. the Prices vary all depending if you want to upgrade or not. the price is any where from 50 to 100 dollars for stock. NO serious damage will come of this from not replacing right away.Check engine light is on, not blinking and burning smell when accelerate?I think you mean PO420%26quot; Catalyst efficiency below threshold%26quot;. It does not mean that you need to replace the cat necessarily but you do need to do some diagnostic work. Sounds like your fuel mixture is not within limits. If you have a mechanic that has a factory level scan tool go see him. It will be worth paying for a system specific scan for your piece of mind and save from unnecessary component damage.Check engine light is on, not blinking and burning smell when accelerate?i had the same type of problem, i found out the vac-hoses were bad and cracked and no good , i replaced them and the sensers and it really smelled bad for about 2 weeks as it was burning of the old junk that had builot up in the converter,, try the hoses an vac-lines ,Check engine light is on, not blinking and burning smell when accelerate?Give Lloyd 10 points.



You can replace the cat all you want, but you aren't fixing the real cause of the problems.



Thankfully, OBD2 is generic and this only takes diagnostic skills and common sense.