Mazda Catalytic Converter Scrap Price: Skyactiv and Ford-Shared Units

Mazda catalytic converters scrap from about $12 to $857, with most gasoline units landing between $150 and $450. The strongest Mazda numbers on record are diesel and DPF units — the RFY6 off a Mazda 6 has hit $1,221, and a Ford-numbered 3M51-5F297-FB off a Mazda 3 has hit $857. At a yard counter expect far less: the US national average across all converters was $101 each on 21 August 2026.

What sets a Mazda converter apart

Mazda is a two-history brand for scrap purposes. Until roughly 2010 Mazda was part-owned by Ford and shared platforms, exhaust hardware and part numbering with Ford and Volvo. After that Mazda went its own way with Skyactiv. The two eras stamp their converters completely differently, and mixing them up costs money.

Published ranges by model:

Note the floors. A $12 Mazda unit is real — that is a gutted, aftermarket or badly damaged core. The ceilings are six-month maximum observed prices on verified, complete units, not what a walk-in gets.

Reading the Mazda serial number

Native Mazda converters carry a short stamped code, usually four characters, sometimes with a suffix. It is stamped along the converter body or on the heat shield itself. Buyer guides list examples such as L3H8-7B2, L3P 2055X and N3H4.

The first two characters are the giveaway. They map to the Mazda engine family:

• L3 and LF — the MZR four-cylinder family, 2.0 and 2.3 litre. Codes like L3H5, L398, LF44, LF50.
• SH — Skyactiv-D 2.2 diesel. SH01, SH15.
• PE and PY — Skyactiv-G 2.0 and 2.5 gasoline.
• RF — the older MZR-CD diesel. RFY6, RFC5.
• Z6, S5, 02 — smaller and older units. Z615, S561, 02K6.

The numbers sit on the body or on the shield, and on plenty of units they are hidden under the shield edge or worn flat. Do not strip the shield to hunt for them.

The Ford-shared platforms

This is where scrappers lose money. A large share of 2001–2012 Mazdas carry converters with Ford part numbers, not Mazda ones. If you look at a Mazda 3 and expect a four-character Mazda code, then find a long hyphenated string, you have a Ford-numbered unit — and those are often the better payers.

Which Mazdas share Ford hardware

• Mazda 3 (BK) 2003–2008 and (BL) 2009–2013 — Ford Global C-car platform, shared with the European Ford Focus II and Volvo S40/V50. Those three share roughly 60 percent of their parts.
• Mazda 5 / Premacy (CR) 2005–2010 and Mazda CX-7 2006–2012 — same C1 platform.
• Mazda Tribute 2001–2011 — Ford CD2 platform, shared with the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner.

Reading a Ford-format number

Ford uses a three-block code: a four-character prefix, then a five-character group, then a suffix. Example: 3M51-5F297-RA. The middle block is what identifies the part — 5F297, 5E211 and 5H270 are all exhaust and converter groups. North American Ford numbers run a different pattern, such as 5L8Z-5G232-CA on the Escape and Tribute 3.0 V6, where 5G232 is the converter group.

Many Ford-numbered units carry two references, an inlet number and an outlet number, on the same converter. Record both.

The Skyactiv era

Skyactiv-G arrived on the 2012 Mazda 3, and the CX-5 launched as a Skyactiv car in February 2012. Skyactiv changed the valuation picture in two ways.

First, Skyactiv-G runs a very high compression ratio and a lean combustion strategy. That means a hotter, cleaner exhaust and, in general, less washcoat loading needed than an equivalent older engine. Skyactiv-G gasoline units are not premium payers.

Second, Skyactiv-D 2.2 is the opposite. The SH01 and SH15 units are combined catalyst and particulate filter assemblies, they are physically large, and they are platinum-heavy. SH15 has posted $444 and SH01 $290. Skyactiv-D was never sold in volume in the US, so most American scrappers will not see these — but if one turns up, it is not a plain diesel cat and should not be priced as one.

A general caution on diesel: a plain diesel oxidation catalyst holds only 2–3 grams of platinum group metal against 10–15 grams in a gasoline unit, and ScrapMonster listed its plain diesel grade at just $13 each on 17 August 2026. A DPF is a different animal. RRCats listed DPF at $30–$806 on 21 August 2026.

How Mazda units grade

Buyer guides put most Mazda converters into foreign pre-cat, foreign small or foreign medium. Published category prices on 21 August 2026 were foreign pre-cat $20–$271, small foreign $30–$228 and medium foreign $40–$452.

Grading is nominally by size: foreign small under 10 inches long, foreign medium 10–14 inches, foreign large 14–18 inches and up. But size is a sorting shortcut. On 17 August 2026 ScrapMonster listed foreign small at $192 and foreign medium at $150, with the smaller grade paying more. Loading pays, not volume.

Metal prices behind the number

Converter payouts run roughly 25–35 percent of recoverable metal value after refining. Spot prices in the week of 17–21 August 2026 varied by source:

We are giving ranges because the four sources checked did not agree, and averaging them would invent a number none of them published. Watch out for stale calculators: one tool was quoting rhodium at $4,800/oz in August 2026 and another list was running platinum at $1,050/oz. Both are far below the exchange.

Related scrap price guides

• Catalytic Converter Scrap Value by Serial Number: How Buyers Price Your Unit
• FoMoCo Catalytic Converter Scrap Value: Reading the Part Number
• Scrap Metal Prices 2026: Complete Rate Index by Material