Review on 🚗 AUTOSAVER88 Direct-Fit Catalytic Converter for 2003-2011 Element 2.4L L4 - EPA Compliant by Sean Castator

Original review September 2020: Mine arrived today. First impressions are that given the price this is actually really good quality. The tube is bent on the mandrel (no folds or waves). Welded fillets are pretty sloppy, but that shouldn't be an aesthetic detail. As long as they used quality material and didn't overheat, the welds should hold. I can confirm that as of October 2020 the supplied bolts still do not and will not fit the factory Element flanges. The thread size is too big. So you still have to buy new screws (about $10 each from dealers or stores if you decide to go with a custom design). However, I received the last one from the current stock when I bought it. Perhaps a screw issue will be addressed in a future inventory. There are some laser etched numbers on the catalytic converter, but they are too small and insignificant to read. I'm assuming it's an EPA code and possibly a serial number. You practically have to find it with a magnifying glass to see it. At the time of writing this article I do not have this part installed and will update if it does not fit. I don't expect it to meet Colorado emissions but for the price it will be acceptable for visual inspection. If it fails the smog test, higher quality and higher prices are required. I'll update if/if I ever come back to see if it goes away. **Update: Installed and it fits fine. I learned the hard way that none of the fasteners (screws or gaskets) in this kit work, not even the gaskets. A few weeks later I had to repeat the setup with a Honda front seal (18229-S6M-003) because the exhaust was still coming out and squeaking horribly. I also used 2 Walker (brand) bolts, part #35129, and a small (rear) Walker gasket, part #31378. Everything turned very well and easily with them. It's been a few months now and the machine is still working perfectly. I'm including two other pieces of useful information I found out to help others: 1) If your car has all sorts of warning lights and error codes after your cat was stolen, install a new O2 sensor and replace fuse #4 in legroom. This fuse can blow if the oxygen sensor wire is cut and this will cause all types of systems to fail. After I replaced that fuse and cleared the trouble codes (with the OBD scanner) all of these systems like traction control etc were back to normal. 2) I bought a new O2 sensor from 1aauto.com. It was significantly cheaper than other brands or Honda and still performed great. And one last note, since installing this cheap cat, no one has stolen them because I don't think they have any aftermarket junk value. However, I assume that not all thieves will find out about it and it can still be stolen by a thief unaware that it is not one of the valuable OEM units. **Last updated November 2021 noted in original review. Less than a year later, this cat is doing great. As mentioned, I had to switch to OEM gaskets as the gaskets that came with the cat (can't tell right now) fit but don't work, are too big and cause an exhaust leak. As already mentioned, the supplied screws were way too big. The car did NOT pass the Colorado emissions test with this cat, which was expected. The HC, CO and CO2 values were actually quite good and my engine is also very healthy. However, the NOx result in the exhaust gas test was too high. It was 2.8595 gpm which if the other numbers look normal indicates an inefficient catalytic converter. Long story short, I had to buy a CARB catalytic converter to pass the test, and other things being equal, NOx dropped to 0.3970 with a $700 CARB cat. So the difference is that you get an additional $550. This means that if you live in a state that requires CARB emission quality (I think it's California, Colorado, New York and maybe a few others, you should check) you need one of the certified CARB cats, this EPA won't do it, even if your engine runs very clean. If you are not in one of these states, this one is perfect for you. Now that I've passed the emissions test, I turn the EPA device back on because if one of these gets stolen I'd rather have the cheap one, and of course the cheap one is a lot less enticing to thieves. I've provided this lengthy review in the hope that it will help people like me who have been victims of catalytic converter theft but can't shell out a few parts for an OEM replacement or have a shop fit it at an outrageous labor cost. I hope it helps you. How about a full review, right?