diff --git a/Project.toml b/Project.toml
index 22b20989..332b0e83 100644
--- a/Project.toml
+++ b/Project.toml
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ Optim = "1, 2"
 NLSolversBase = "7, 8"
 PrecompileTools = "1.2.1"
 Reexport = "1.2.2"
-SymbolicUtils = "4"
+SymbolicUtils = "4.1"
 Zygote = "0.7"
 julia = "1.10"
 Random = "1"
diff --git a/ext/DynamicExpressionsLoopVectorizationExt.jl b/ext/DynamicExpressionsLoopVectorizationExt.jl
index 7b41f767..2db4e07a 100644
--- a/ext/DynamicExpressionsLoopVectorizationExt.jl
+++ b/ext/DynamicExpressionsLoopVectorizationExt.jl
@@ -215,7 +215,13 @@ function bumper_kern!(
     op::F, cumulators::Tuple{Vararg{Any,degree}}, ::EvalOptions{true,true,early_exit}
 ) where {F,degree,early_exit}
     cumulator_1 = first(cumulators)
-    @turbo @. cumulator_1 = op(cumulators...)
+
+    # Avoid `@turbo @.` here: older LoopVectorization versions (used by downgrade-compat)
+    # can error during macro expansion on vararg tuple construction.
+    @inbounds for j in eachindex(cumulator_1)
+        cumulator_1[j] = op(map(c -> c[j], cumulators)...)
+    end
+
     return cumulator_1
 end
 
diff --git a/ext/DynamicExpressionsSymbolicUtilsExt.jl b/ext/DynamicExpressionsSymbolicUtilsExt.jl
index 637faa94..b4d5cc55 100644
--- a/ext/DynamicExpressionsSymbolicUtilsExt.jl
+++ b/ext/DynamicExpressionsSymbolicUtilsExt.jl
@@ -98,19 +98,30 @@ function parse_tree_to_eqs(
     # Convert children to symbolic form
     sym_children = map(x -> parse_tree_to_eqs(x, operators, index_functions), children)
 
-    # Only a small subset of functions have symbolic methods in SymbolicUtils.
-    # For unsupported operators:
-    # - when `index_functions=true`, we encode them as function-like symbols so they
-    #   can be round-tripped back to operators via their name/arity.
-    # - when `index_functions=false`, we throw a clear error, since attempting to
-    #   construct a SymbolicUtils term headed by an arbitrary function object can
-    #   fail with a MethodError.
+    # SymbolicUtils only defines methods for some Base/stdlib functions, but
+    # user-defined operators may still be traceable if they are written in terms
+    # of symbolic-friendly primitives (e.g. `pow2(x) = x*x`).
+    #
+    # Strategy:
+    # - when `index_functions=true`, we encode operators as function-like symbols so
+    #   they can be round-tripped back to operators via their name/arity.
+    # - when `index_functions=false`, we attempt to *trace* the operator by calling
+    #   it on symbolic children. If this fails with a MethodError, throw a clear
+    #   error instead of a cryptic MethodError.
     if !(op ∈ SUPPORTED_OPS)
         if index_functions
             op = _sym_fn(Symbol(op), tree.degree)
             return subs_bad(op(sym_children...))
         else
-            throw(error("Unsupported operation $(op) in SymbolicUtils conversion"))
+            traced = try
+                op(sym_children...)
+            catch e
+                if e isa MethodError
+                    throw(error("Unsupported operation $(op) in SymbolicUtils conversion"))
+                end
+                rethrow()
+            end
+            return subs_bad(traced)
         end
     end
 
diff --git a/test/test_symbolic_utils.jl b/test/test_symbolic_utils.jl
index 08bfe034..8a3aa5a5 100644
--- a/test/test_symbolic_utils.jl
+++ b/test/test_symbolic_utils.jl
@@ -149,10 +149,47 @@ end
     expr_custom = parse_expression(
         :(myop(x)); unary_operators=[myop], binary_operators=[+, *, /], variable_names=["x"]
     )
-    @test_throws ErrorException node_to_symbolic(
+
+    # If the custom operator is traceable (i.e. it operates on symbolic inputs),
+    # `index_functions=false` should still work by tracing it.
+    eqn_custom_traced = node_to_symbolic(
         expr_custom, operators_custom; index_functions=false
     )
+    expr_custom_traced_rt = symbolic_to_node(
+        eqn_custom_traced, operators_custom; variable_names=["x"]
+    )
+    @test eval_expr(expr_custom_traced_rt, operators_custom, ["x"], X1) == [3.0]
+
+    # If you want to preserve the custom operator itself for round-tripping, use
+    # `index_functions=true`.
     eqn_custom = node_to_symbolic(expr_custom, operators_custom; index_functions=true)
     expr_custom_rt = symbolic_to_node(eqn_custom, operators_custom; variable_names=["x"])
     @test eval_expr(expr_custom_rt, operators_custom, ["x"], X1) == [3.0]
+
+    # If a custom operator cannot be traced (e.g. no method for symbolic inputs),
+    # `index_functions=false` should throw a clear error rather than a MethodError.
+    float_only(x::Float64) = x + 1
+    operators_float_only = OperatorEnum(;
+        unary_operators=(float_only,), binary_operators=(+, *, /)
+    )
+    expr_float_only = parse_expression(
+        :(float_only(x));
+        unary_operators=[float_only],
+        binary_operators=[+, *, /],
+        variable_names=["x"],
+    )
+    @test_throws ErrorException node_to_symbolic(
+        expr_float_only, operators_float_only; index_functions=false
+    )
+
+    # Non-MethodError exceptions should be rethrown, so downstream code sees the
+    # original failure.
+    boom(x) = throw(ArgumentError("boom"))
+    operators_boom = OperatorEnum(; unary_operators=(boom,), binary_operators=(+, *, /))
+    expr_boom = parse_expression(
+        :(boom(x)); unary_operators=[boom], binary_operators=[+, *, /], variable_names=["x"]
+    )
+    @test_throws ArgumentError node_to_symbolic(
+        expr_boom, operators_boom; index_functions=false
+    )
 end