Catalytic Converter Return Policy
Eastern warranties all converters for 5 years or 50,000 miles with proper paperwork completed and Return Goods Authorization # (RGA#). Shipping for any warranty claim must be pre-paid to our Langhorne, PA facility unless instructed otherwise. All returned products must have the RGA# clearly written on the outside of the box or on a tag or label and all parts must have our warranty form completed for warranty review.
Converters that can be classified as DEFECTIVE are relatively rare; we would like to again provide guidelines to help you determine when a defective converter actually exists.
These are defects that occur during the manufacturing process and escape our quality control process. They include:
- Welds that may have spaces around the inlet and outlet pipes or between the seams of the two shells that escape detection and cause a leak that is sometimes detected by a high pitched whistle.
- A spot weld that holds the heat shield to the converter body, which may not have adhered correctly resulting in a loose heat shield at the weld point.
- A part that does not fit the vehicle it is specified for due to possibly incorrect pipe bending, inlet/outlet flaring, incorrect flange or flange rotation, damage in shipping, etc.
These defects rarely occur, but converters diagnosed with these problems that are in the original condition with all included gaskets and components, may be return for credit with prior Return Goods Authorization (RGA).
All catalytic converters have a five (5) year warranty against structural failure. Structural failures include:
- A failure during the established (an invoice with a proof of purchased date) warranty period caused by perforation rust (a hole rusted completely through the converter body or pipes).
- Any other failure to the structure of the unit that was not caused by impact or abuse. If a converter had a dent, from impact, that either causes the substrate to crack or break or the structure to sustain physical damage, it is not the responsibility of the installer or manufacturer and may NOT be returned for credit.
All converters have a 50,000 mile performance warranty (Federal Law is 25,000 miles). Performance failures are difficult to determine.
- Converters that show signs of excessive heat, usually by being discolored, and fail any performance criteria, are not defective, but instead have been abused by an improperly functioning engine, usually the result of an excessive rich condition that expels high amounts of unburned fuel into the converter causing temperature spikes. These converters are NOT defective and may NOT be returned for credit.
- When a converter is installed due to a MIL or “check engine light” illumination, and the new converter fails to remedy to the problem, it may be that the converter was not the cause of the problem originally. There are over 1,200 diagnostic codes that can trigger the MIL or the “check engine light.” Only eight (8) of those codes deal with the right and left converters operating below efficiency. Documentation from a trained mechanic indicating the code number designation, diagnostic details, and repair must be included with returned converter to obtain credit.