Would an incorrect catalytic converter on my car be causing these symptoms?
What is your question?
Current smog station tells me for the first time ever that my car will not pass and the serial number does not match. Tells me that the previous smog station passed it then must have switched out my catalytic converter for some other one and over the last 2 years my car feels clogged, has no power when I accelerate, the RPMs shoot up for no reason and periodically I can't get it into gear. The symptoms didn't happen all at once they kind of crept up slowly starting with the power not really being there anymore giving me a feeling os if it was clogged then the RPM's shooting up started happening here and there overtime and finally now at the two years the last symptom of not being able to get it into gear periodically started not too long ago. I've never had any problems with my car. There's no mods and mileage is at 165 and I have the tiniest oil leak I think it's on the underside I believe. Appreciate any knowledge anybody has to offer
What makes this problem better or worse?
I haven't noticed any particular situation making it better or worse
How long has your 1990 Mazda Miata had this problem?
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Hi this is Bo, I'm one of the auto experts on RepairPal's Car Genius team. A loose matrix inside of the catalyst could certainly cause running issue if its causing a partial blockage. Do you have a check engine light on? If so, what's the code? If the catalyst is partially blocked and is "shaken loose" during hard acceleration that may explain the jump in RPMs. You can try to replace the catalytic converter with a nice, high quality part and see if that makes a difference.
