'05 Corolla Exhaust Pipe Crack - Corolland: the Toyota Corolla Forums

There's a large crack in the exhaust pipe section between the resonator and the muffler on my '05 Corolla LE. Kind of disappointed at the quality of that exhaust system. Should last longer than that, especially when 95% of my 77,038 miles have been long distance highway miles. I can understand rust developing from frequent, one or two-mile trips around town where moisture from combustion doesn't get a chance to burn out. Even in this day and age, engineers still don't know how to develop a good exhaust system. Or, they do, but company policy dictates they keep using the same cheap steel that rusts out so they keep making money on replacement exhaust parts. That's why I've always been a big fan of stainless steel for exhaust systems and aluminum bodies for cars. Might cost a lot more, but they'd never rust out. Of course, the auto makers would never go for that!

Anyway, better off bringing it to a Midas shop or a Toyota dealership? I've read a lot of bad reviews about Midas, and Toyota dealerships charge you through the nose, so... Any thoughts or suggestions?

Go ahead and shop around. Went to National Muffler for a new catalytic converter on my '98 S10 pickup a few years ago, and about a year later, it started sounding bad again. Shops are only as good as management + personnel they hire, and, of course, the parts they use. If you know of a good, all-around shop capable of welding an exhaust system together, you might want to go ahead and buy your parts, and have the shop install them for you. Any good shop I've been to doesn't mind going that route.

If you feel your local Midas shop doesn't do quality work, there are always other places to go, including your dealer. Went around looking for tires a couple weeks ago, and the best deal I found was at my Toyota dealer. So, like anything else, do your legwork before you buy, and ask lots of questions. Your local NAPA store may have the best parts for the price. Just depends, really.

Just a follow-up. Today, I brought my Corolla to a Tuffy Auto Service Center. After putting it up on the hoist, the manager and one of the mechanics looked over the exhaust crack. The manager came back in the waiting area and told me, "Well, I've got good news for you. The crack falls in the $60 price range!" He told me the exhaust system IS made of stainless steel (which I was unaware of), but the flange located about 18 inches ahead of the muffler is not. That part rusted out since it always gets road salt splashed up by the right rear tire.

So, the mechanic welded a 4 inch section of pipe in the area where the rusted flange used to be. Problem solved and I'm a happy camper! The total bill with labor and tax came to $67.98!

I was really impressed with the manager of this Tuffy Center. He went out of his way to squeeze me into his busy schedule. After hearing him talk to other customers over the phone, I could tell he doesn't want people to pay any more than they have to for auto repairs. Sure is nice to know there still are some auto repair shop managers who are looking out for the customer!

Awesome result! Good to see that there are a couple of honest shop guys out there. Quite unusual for a franchise service center, unless the manager was a former mechanic or came from a poor shop.

Second that, great to hear! About a year ago my exhaust disconnected right at the weld behind the resonator, was pretty loud. After looking into aftermarket replacement parts and seeing problems with connections to the cat, decided to take it to a local shop to get their opinion. Guy put it on the lift, took a look, did a quick weld around the circumfrence to reattach the pipe, and 20 bucks later I was out the door. I've since recommended that shop to several friends, so in addition to it being a great experience for me, it's also very good practice for them.