I notice it first when my car sounded like it had an aftermarket exhaust. Then i find out, like the other complains for the exhaust system, the muffler pipe broke on the weld connecting the flange with the pipe. This flange was still bolted on the resonator pipe flange, COMPLETELY rusted. the nuts were hard to get off even with rust penetrant. I got it off finally and ordered a new muffler and gasket from Rockauto. $110 plus $20 rush 2 day shipping. This happened yesterday Tuesday), I will replace it Friday after work and update on the quality and ease of install of the new muffler (I doubt it will be great for $100 but better than the manufacturers). If it lasts me another 90k miles would be nice. Autozone wanted $170 for the muffler without tax.

A suggestion would be for those that can, weld the flange back with the muffler pipe and reattach, this being the cheapest fix costing nothing more than new nuts. This would only be temporary though.

Also when I removed the rusted nuts, i found out that the bolts were attached to the resonator pipe flange and were not loose bolts. I did NOT damage these and I would have to pay extra for the whole resonator unit if i did damage it. Or rig it to where it i can use regular bolts.

It pays to do the work yourself. Average of $400 for other people!! I don't know what parts they are using but I found prices ranging from $100-200. Do yourself a favor and invest in a car jack.

This guy does a FANTASTIC job of explaining how to fix my exact situation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMrsHMVFFp8