[xclicx]

Hello,

Just discovering this forum looking for an explanation for what I discovered on my wife's car today.

I basically saw something dangling from the back of the car, and upon further inspection, found some white stuff looking like silicone on the catalytic converter of the car (please note, I'm not sure that it's a catalytic converter, it's the part just behind the bumper, with the exhaust pipe jutting from the right side).

It's a car from 2009 that we bought second-hand last year. Nobody told us anything about this, and it did its inspection without any problem last year.
I did a bit of research, and my best bet would be that the part was fixed with sealant at some point, and that with time and wear, it eventually melted (actually, I noticed a few times that the back of the car was hot, but thought it was just the engine).
But I'm definitely no expert, and would like another opinion on what it could be and what my options are. I guess I need to change the part entirely, with the silicone probably having melted everywhere inside.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[mloganusda]

You need to open up the engine cover and inspect inside to see if something has melted topside. There should not be anything coming out of the exhaust pipe. There is a safety recall I believe about the insulation falling on top of the engine and causing a fire. Search for recalls on forum.

 

[wahi]

Chewing gum? (left by a mechanic?)

 

[DudeInTheSmart]

Could you have run over some plastic that stuck and melted?

 

[SMARTKAR]

If there is no holes on the metal then it cam from somewhere outside

 

[the big e]

I’m with dudeinthesmart as it kinda looks like a plastic bag has blew up and caught on the muffler and melted to it.
I would definitely open the engine cover to make sure there isn’t more elsewhere under there.
Not having dealt with this I can’t say much but it may come off easy when the muffler is cool(trust me you don’t want to touch it when it’s hot)