My Prius sounds like a V8 engine car after an exhaust leak

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Pete K., Sep 9, 2023.

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  1. Pete K.

    Pete K. New Member

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    2006 Prius
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    II
    Hi guys,

    total car newbie here so Im sorry for any stupid questions/remarks upfront. Also English is not my native language. Bought a Prius 2nd Gen as my first car ever a couple months ago and a few days ago I noticed it sounds like a Subaru Impreza while driving, only downside is that it doesn't drive like one :D
    Lifted the car up today and had a look at the bottom and found the issue pretty much immediatelly, see attached pics. As I mentioned, I am a car newbie and by any means no mechanic, but here's a couple options that I figured could work?

    1. Get a whole new catalytic converter. From what I've seen online it costs about 200-300 EUR in Europe. It usually comes as a whole 2 piece set if I understood this correctly. Is it possible to get just a smaller part of it cheaper? If I buy it I got no probs replacing it myself as I usually repair all kind of things myself
    .
    2. Find someone with a welding machine who can simply weld the 2 broken parts together? Looks like it could be a temporary solution and hold for a couple months maybe?

    Just trying to find a good quality/price solution here as I am kinda short on cash and for the next couple months atm.

    Any sensible advice here is very much appreciated. Thanks :)
     

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    #1 Pete K., Sep 9, 2023
  2. pasadena_commut

    pasadena_commut Senior Member

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    Contact an exhaust shop in your area and find out how much they will charge to install whatever type of catalytic converter is required in that locale. In the meantime, find the cut wires for the sensor and wrap each of them in insulating tape. If they short out it can damage the ECU. When the cat is reinstalled have them put a plate over it to foil future cat thieves.
     
    #2 pasadena_commut, Sep 10, 2023
  3. pasadena_commut

    pasadena_commut Senior Member

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    Should have looked at the picture first. Just assumed it was yet another stolen catalytic converter.

    Take the car to an exhaust shop, or send them the picture, and get an estimate. I'm guessing that they might just be able to weld that pipe back on.
     
    #3 pasadena_commut, Sep 10, 2023
  4. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    Welcome to PriusChat, and your english is near perfect (or AI, lol).
    Please realize that your existing OEM cat (my precious) may be worth around 1000usd on the black market (it goes up, and down), and that is regardless of if it works or is soaked in carbon. You might be better off removing it for safe keeping (easy investment money you have there), then replace it with something that costs less. Other option (assuming you live nowhere, or not among nearby thieves) is to pay someone to weld it (40 euros?). Otherwise someone (could be anyone at this endgame stage) will come along and expend two (2) minutes of work to make 1k USD, or some happy ending that isn't yours.
    So wish anyone would sell, or ship into our US market this option, literally all we have are slip sleeve or weld on options. No 'bolt on' here.

    Basically, take what you can get and be happy (sorry it that sounds Klaus like).

    FYI : you're moderated until you've posted 5 times.
     
    #4 SFO, Sep 11, 2023
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