JT Exhaust Rear Catalytic Converter Compatible with Chevrolet Cruze 2011-2015, Cruze Limited 2016 1.4L (EPA Compliant)

Pipe flange was not compatible with the original exhaust pieces on the car

Used this on a 2014 Chevrolet Cruze 1.4 turbo. The old flex pipe portion of the exhaust system had rusted out so I needed to do a repair. Unfortunately the flex pipe portion is attached to the exhaust pipe and rear catalytic converter and not separately available. The entire assembly from GM costs around $800 and is on permanent backorder anyway so that's not an option. Considered having a muffler shop simply cut off the old flex pipe and weld a new one in. But they wanted $200 or more to do this and the flex pipe is really close to the front flange making the welding difficult.So I decided to take a chance with an aftermarket pipe and converter. To be clear, I really didn't need to replace the converter and just needed to fix the flex pipe portion at the front.This pipe/converter comes as a two-piece system that join with a slip joint and muffler clamp. The original is a single one-piece pipe. In some ways the two-piece is better because it gives you some wiggle room to adjust things if they don't line up exactly. The tradeoff is that it's another place to leak, but if you secure the clamp well it's not really a problem. Even though the package included the clamp to join the sections, I decided to get a better stainless steel muffler clamp as the included one is kind of low quality. Likewise it includes gaskets but I decided to get the OEM steel gaskets rather then use the included composite gaskets. The OEM gaskets are not very expensive and it's not worth taking a chance with the included gaskets.The overall construction seems good. The welds are much better than what's shown in the product listing. Not sure why they show such terrible welding in their listing. See my pictures for examples. A few of the welds look a little cold and might be lacking some penetration so we'll see how it holds up.According to the product listing the catalytic converter shell is supposed to be made from stainless steel. Can't really confirm that as it is magnetic. That doesn't necessarily rule out stainless as some are still magnetic, but rules out higher-end stainless alloys.Fit was no problem at all. As mentioned earlier, the two-piece design makes it easy to get everything to line up. Basically you get the rear half connected to the muffler and in the bracket, then slide the front half into the pipe and attach to the front converter. Since it's a slip-fit at the joint you can rotate or extend/shorten as needed.As to the quality of the catalytic converter... Can't really say. Always a risk buying aftermarket stuff. And frankly the low price of this indicates that it's probably not that good and won't last that long, but one can always hope. The price of catalytic converters is driven by the amount of precious metals (like platinum) that they contain. And the precious metals are expensive so if it's low cost it really can't have that much in it. The listing says it has 'Extra Precious Metal Content' so there's that.So will this catalytic converter work? Probably just fine, at least for a while. Will it last as long as the original, probably not. But one way to look at it is that it only costs 1/6 of the one from GM assuming you can even get it. For a car that's already 11 years old it's fine for me.Now some warnings: If you live in a state that requires emissions testing or inspections I would probably avoid aftermarket and go with the OEM parts. Again it's back to whether this catalytic converter is working well and how long it holds up. If it's not doing a good job then you'll fail the emissions check.As for "check engine lights"... The rear converter in a Chevy Cruze is not monitored by the computer. So if it fails or doesn't work well it will never set a check engine light. Likewise, if you have a check engine light already, replacing this converter will not fix that problem. If this converter fails or works poorly you'll just be generating more pollution but the computer won't know it and you'll never see a check engine light and the car will run just fine. So if you see reviews that say it fixed their engine light or the engine light came back, ignore them as they replaced the wrong parts. For the Chevy Cruze if you get a catalytic converter engine code (like P0420) then it's for the front converter which is monitored by the computer using the oxygen sensors. Replacing the rear section with this product won't fix that problem. The caveat to this is that if you have an exhaust leak in the flex pip (like I did), then this could fool the downstream oxygen sensor with faulty reading and could possibly set a false P0420 code. So in that case it's not that replacing the rear catalytic converter would fix anything, it's the result of fixing the pipe in the front where it might be leaking.

My best friend’s daughter had the catalytic converter stolen off her 2012 Chevy Cruze at a Park & Ride—for reasons I still cannot discern. (It was a rusty, 13-year-old piece of junk.). This replacement made sense: less expensive than OEM, solid construction, and a practical solution for an older car that needs to stay on the road without draining her college fund.It’s a direct-fit part, appears well made, and installed without any drama (by a professional). No CEL, no rattle, no issues so far. Time will tell on long-term durability, but for now, it’s doing its job.PROs:(+) Affordable, direct-fit replacement(+) Appears well-built with quality materials(+) Great option for keeping an older vehicle road-readyCONs:(–) Requires pro installation (should be obvious)Verdict:5 stars (pending long-term testing). If you’re fixing an older car on a budget, this is a smart move—and a whole lot cheaper than a trip to the dealership. Although I’m still baffled why someone would steal an older Cruze’s converter