At 64,000 miles my VW Passat developed an exhaust leak in the pipe between the cat. convertor and the engine. Question: Is this premature to go bad at 64,000 miles? My previous car was a Honda Accord with 165,000 miles without any problems in that area. The VW dealer has qouted the repair cost at $350. Please share your thoughts…
Its relatively rare however how old is your car? Anything can happen after a certain amount of time despite low mileage.
You don’t give any details. Did you hit something with your exhaust pipe or was in run in winter salt more? What was the time element?
Car is a 2002 in excellent condition. Has only experienced normally Michigan driving (hot summers / cold winters).
I’m not sure exactly how this meesage board works as far as if you can read my reply to the other comment, but… The car is a 2002 in great condidition driven under normal michigan condiditions (hot and cold temps) salted roads during winter.
Sorry about the timing. I’d want to see if the leak was in a place on the pipe where a galvanized sheet steel sleeve could be clamped over the leak using ordinary muffler clamps. You can cut the material needed from a piece of water heater vent pipe or whatever your hardware store might have. This may sound less than professional but it will get you another couple of years. Then sometimes you can do it again. Another alternative is to saw out the problem section and graft in a repair piece of exhaust pipe using muffler clamps.
If the pipe is thin from corrosion, then you are better off with new.
Dealers don’t do things this way, you need a back yard mechanic.
The leak may simply be the clamp that connects the down pipe to the exhaust pipe . It is a cylindrical sleeve with two clamp bolts that can work loose . Happened to my car ! Easy fix to loosen the bolts a little further and slide the clamp so it is centered on the pipes .
You did not state year, mileage, and engine, but if the leak is in the pipe that is part of the converter then I would think that the Federal Emissions warranty should cover this if the vehicle is less than 8 years old.
All this being said $350 is not a terrible price to fix this problem.
Don’t follow the suggestions of patches as this car is not a jalopy on its last legs.