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Ben Stallings, Beck Service Center: “A couple different noises that you may hear in the exhaust; ones that are just overall louder exhaust noises than you are used to. A lot of times, what you will find there is a hole in the exhaust pipe or muffler. Or a lot of times these newer cars have got a stainless steel exhaust on them, which last quite a bit longer than what the old exhaust did. To put a little flex and movement in them they put a short stainless steel flex pipe in the exhaust. The most common repair job we do as a garage these days is that flex itself wears through and most garages can cut that piece of flex out and put a new piece in for a substantial amount less than replacing the entire exhaust system. If you get a rattle in the exhaust another very common noise you get, there is a catalytic converter in the exhaust that is part of your emissions and it has a ceramic sub-straight and what happens is that sub-straight will break down. To start with it’s probably this big around and this long in one piece. As it breaks down, it will originally break down into a couple different pieces, then it will bounce around in there until it gets to the size of golf balls or rocks and when that happens it blows back through the exhaust system. You’ll find that you struggle to get over 50-55 miles-per-hour and at that point it will be a more costly repair.”

Angie’s List Tips:

• If your car is louder than normal, it could be a hole in your exhaust system.
• A simple fix can be as little as $100.
• A bad catalytic converter can make a rattling noise when sitting still.
• Replacing a catalytic converter can cost $150-$600 or more if the car is an import.