Hello. Attempting to help my parents who are in their 70'* and greatly appreciate any guidance the community can offer.

My parents own a 2018 Cadillac XT5, under 50k miles, purchased new. They have a CEL and had it taken to a local GM dealer to have it diagnosed. This is the same dealer where they purchased the car, however this location no longer sells Cadillac for whatever reason. The next closest authorized Cadillac dealership is about an hour away from their home.

I've attached the estimate/writeup which states the catalytic converter needs replaced as well as 2 exhaust pipes. Is it customary/required for the exhaust pipes to be replaced when replacing the CC? The service advisor asked my dad if he had been driving it rough conditions to which my dad responded no, which is the absolute truth; they aren't off-roading in their Cadillac.

I guess my main questions are

1. Are these 2 pipes required to be replaced when replacing the CC?
   
2. If they are required to be replaced as normal operating procedure, should that be included under the 8yr 80k federal emissions warranty?
   
3. If the pipes aren't required to be replaced when replacing the CC, would you advise my parents take the vehicle to the Cadillac dealer to have a 2nd opinion?
   

Basically my parents began to feel uneasy that the dealership wasn't being forthright and just want to ensure they are only paying for what is necessary to have the vehicle functioning as designed. I appreciate any guidance you can provide. Thank you.

I see they have a P2096 code, excess oxygen at downstream oxygen sensor. Makes sense that they want to replace it. I see it listed as a warranty repair with a cost of $0.00 on the printout, so it looks like warranty is going to cover it.

The two exhaust pipes that they have on the list are in orange and purple below. I can't tell if they're really cracked or not from here, but maybe they are prone to it and/or maybe your parents drove over something that them and didn't realize (hence the dealership'* question about rough roads). Maybe they are known to break as they are taken apart and put back together, so the dealership is getting ahead of that likely issue.

The downstream catalytic converters are part of a much more complex assembly, in green below.

Funny thing is, the part they quote in the warranty section is an upstream catalytic converter, either the blue one or the gray one. The P2096 would tell me that a downstream converter has the problem, not an upstream converter.

Discaimer: I am not the mechanic and I haven't seen this car in person, so my opinion is derived from an incomplete picture and has great odds of being wrong. I'm definitely not here to second-guess the mechanic working on this car.




If the car hit some debris or one of those parking lot concrete bump stops or somesuch, I could see it damaging stuff as this event seems to describe.

The pricing is a little steep, but not terrible as dealership pricing goes. I'm finding the same two pipes for around $250.00 before shipping online, so their $358.23 each isn't terrible (again for dealer pricing).

What would really help is some pictures. If you can get some posted up here, we could tell you more.

You can get the pipes for a lot less. Under 200 each at GM Parts Direct. Tell them to match the price or you will buy form Direct and bring the parts.

Thanks so much. I'm going to head over to the folks' house this weekend with my bi-directional and ramps. Will read the codes and snap some pics. Would these components in the diagram be exposed or will there be any disassembly necessary to lay eyes on them? Thanks again.

Looks like they want 220 for labor. So two hours. I'm not sure if you need to remove cross member or such but seeing it'* still a youngster it may come apart without needing heat.

The damage should be pretty easy to see if you have it on ramps, especially since the shop asked if they'd gone over any rough terrain.

I went from back to front examining the undercarriage and all pipes and could not find anything that would in any way indicate that there were impact related issues anywhere. Here'* a link to the photos. Appreciate any additional feedback. PHOTOS

Zero damage there.. I see no obvious problem with the pipes they want to replace.

Thank you for taking your time to look and provide feedback. Appreciate you.

I'd ask them to show you the crack in the pipe.