Gen 2 Cat stolen

[PeteB]

1 minute ago, TonyHSD said:

Just checked the number plate of the vw and seems a legit car and number matches , also has tax and mot, nothing illegal here, they are just so nasty that doesn’t care at all. Why insurence doesn’t cover that ? It’s a vandalism. 

 

1 minute ago, TonyHSD said:

... Why insurence doesn’t cover that ? It’s a vandalism. 

It does!  Doesn't it?

[Parts-King]

The car will be stolen. They get a reg number from a matching legitimate car, same year/make/model and make that plate and put it on the stolen car, makes it look legal 

[TonyHSD]

46 minutes ago, PeteB said:

 

It does!  Doesn't it?

Nothing to worry than, only the excess but it’s a bad experience anyway 

[FROSTYBALLS]

59 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

Why insurence doesn’t cover that ? It’s a vandalism. 

Would have thought insurance would count it as 'theft from' rather than vandalism.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Theft of the second generation Prius cats probably isn't as bad as the plague affecting Vauxhall Corsas, where thieves are stealing the fronts - passenger window smashed and theft of (up to) front bumper, grille, wings, bonnet, lights and associated wiring.

[David Kent]

Hi, today I had the cat removed from my Gen2 2008 Prius.  Another Priuis on a '58' plate was also targeted at the same time.  Both cars were parked in the Hollywood Bowl, Tolworth car park.  Perhaps we were being watched as we went into the Bowl.  The Scrotes could assume that we would not be back for some time.  There may be CCTV.

My car has been taken to Jemca Croydon from where I purchased the car and where it has been serviced since then.  I have been quoted around £2000 for the cat and £200+ for the Lock.  I've been told that it could take up to six weeks to get a replacement from Japan.  I wonder if the Lock comes with some sort of guaranty?  Otherwise I will be reluctant to leave the car parked anywhere.

[Parts-King]

Sadly nothing is foolproof, however, with a catlock fitted, it makes it very tricky to remove from the car as the cat is anchored by steel wire to the body which is not easy to remove on your back on the side of the road. Take a look on Youtube and you will see how they fit

 

[David Kent]

My insurance company is paying for the repair as is the other owner's insurance.

[Mo-786]

Yes they do also target the Gen 3 Prius (2010 onwards)!!! I have a 2010 Gen 3 Prius TSpirit and I found out the hard way last Thursday afternoon (01/08/2019). Parked my car in the Islington area in London for two hours and returned to find my car started up sounding like a tractor. Looked beneath the motor and found the heat-shield had been ripped open and was dangling down and the Lambda Sensor was cut off too. I’m officially stranded without my beloved Prius!
Furthermore, closer inspection revealed that the catylic converter had indeed been cut off and stolen by some foolish miscreant of society!!!

[QuantumFireball]

I heard a cat was stolen from a Prius in the same business park where I work, and I'm not sure if it was a Gen 2 or 3 as I've only noticed a 3 outside the office where it occurred. Thefts have also got the attention of the national papers here in Ireland too.

I wonder would a Dashcam be enough of a deterrent? I was thinking of getting one anyway, but I guess I would need to look into the type that operate when parked too (motion detection, etc.)

 

[PeteB]

41 minutes ago, QuantumFireball said:

...I wonder would a dashcam be enough of a deterrent? I was thinking of getting one anyway, but I guess I would need to look into the type that operate when parked too (motion detection, etc.)

Did you see the video on page 1 of this thread (20 Feb by TonyHSD)?

I'm not sure any CCTV will deter these guys much, but any deterrent may reduce the risk slightly.

My current Nextbase Dashcam starts recording when parked if it detects movement (using a built-in rechargeable battery), whereas my last one, a Road Angel Halo stayed active until the 12V Battery voltage started to drop, which often took less than 6 hours so it might not have caught it.

[QuantumFireball]

32 minutes ago, PeteB said:

Did you see the video on page 1 of this thread (20 Feb by TonyHSD)?

I did, but there's nothing to suggest the targeted car has a dash cam there. I'm thinking the obvious physical presence of a (functional) camera in the car may be more of a deterrent - I would imagine car thieves look out for things like that these days.

[PeteB]

I was thinking more about their apparent lack of concern about their audience, and were possibly aware at least one person was filming them.

[QuantumFireball]

I think that's different though, in that other people only appeared after they had already started. They're generally going to look for the easy targets, so a car with a dash cam may be avoided. Just my speculation though.

Do you find yours good?

[PeteB]

Touch wood it's been like insurance - I hope I never need it, but will be invaluable if I do.

So far it's only helped someone else whose car was damaged while parked in front of mine!

Does give a degree of peace of mind though.

[Chris Dance]

This crime can take place in full view of the general public who think it is someone fixing a broken down car. This happened to a widow lady I know; when she got back to her car started it and it sounded like a tractor a local shopkeeper said he thought the man he saw underneath her car was fixing it. She eventually got it sorted on insurance but it cost her the excess that was on the policy. The claim will stay on her insurance record for 5 years. It was not a Prius car. 

Why doesn't  the alarm on a Prius go off when the car is being jacked. I always thought movement such as that would trigger the alarm.

[kithmo]

1 hour ago, Chris Dance said:

This crime can take place in full view of the general public who think it is someone fixing a broken down car. This happened to a widow lady I know; when she got back to her car started it and it sounded like a tractor a local shopkeeper said he thought the man he saw underneath her car was fixing it. She eventually got it sorted on insurance but it cost her the excess that was on the policy. The claim will stay on her insurance record for 5 years. It was not a Prius car. 

Why doesn't  the alarm on a Prius go off when the car is being jacked. I always thought movement such as that would trigger the alarm.

AFAIK there are no external tilt sensors on the Gen 2.

A dash cam wouldn't stop these people, SWMBO had her cat stolen in full view of a security camera in the car park, footage supplied to the police who determined the car they were using was stolen and cloned and the perps were not locals.

[RelaxedDrive]

I can't believe I now need to worry about my gen4 after being assured at the time there was no issue with gen4's... It's really depressing. I'll probably get a catlock(now available for gen4 apparently), but it sounds like even that is not foolproof...

What I really don't understand is why it's just prius' (and Aurius) being targetted, surely most toyotas hybrids are now at risk?

I had a quick look under some cars today at the dealership - looked like a new rav4(a possible future choice for me) would be easy, lots of access, I doubt you even need to jack it.

I have not heard anything about lexus being affected, so I looked under a NX 300h and the end of a cat is just visible coming down from the engine bay area, so I guess it would be very hard to remove!    Do lexus have tilt alarms too?    (I do like the NX, but it's so inefficient with a WLTP of 37mpg!)

My next car might just be a lexus at this rate, or I give EVEZY a try... but what a shame when the prius is so good... I expect this will be my last toyota because of this.

[PeteB]

There's no cast iron guarantee whatever you drive.

Gen 3 & 4 Prius were thought to be slightly less at risk because the extra plumbing for the Exhaust Recirculation etc. likely made it a harder job to remove, but if lowlifes like these want it I'm afraid they'll have it.

In the video above it looked to me like they just stopped next to the Prius, blocking the road and holding up following traffic, and they (generally) obviously don't mind being on CCTV (much like relay carjackers), so I doubt dashcams or mobile phone cameras (or alarms) will be any more of a deterrent. 

Much as I'd like to put these people in hospital if I saw them doing it, I'm not sure it would be wise to try because if they're that brazen they probably carry weapons and won't be afraid to use them.

[Catlover]

33 minutes ago, RelaxedDrive said:

My next car might just be a lexus at this rate, or I give EVEZY a try... but what a shame when the prius is so good... I expect this will be my last toyota because of this.

Why is that....... don’t other manufacturers fir cats?

[RelaxedDrive]

I found out that CCTV is useless unless they can cleary see the faces and id them. The plates were cloned, so no help there either.

Regarding toyota, I would not trust their hybrids until something is done. I'm sure other cars are affected too, but only mine was attacked in our car park! 

Do hybrids have more tempting CATs I wonder?  (2 instead of 1?)

At least an electric car would be CAT less!  I probably would have gone EV this year, if there were suitable ones available at the time..  We are almost there I think.... 

[QuantumFireball]

 

15 hours ago, RelaxedDrive said:

Do hybrids have more tempting CATs I wonder?  (2 instead of 1?)

Toyota have claimed it is due to the comparatively "high quality" of the cats in the Gen 2 Prius, but it is also down to the ease of access - as we've seen they can be removed in minutes.

In a recent news report in Ireland, the Yaris and Mercedes Sprinter were also mentioned as common targets.

[FROSTYBALLS]

A couple of articles copied below confirm it isn't just Toyotas which are being targeted - others include VW, Audi,  Honda and also SUV's. Reasons for the increase in thefts include the high price of metals such as Palladium, and also the fact that legislation on illegal metal trading isn't being enforced. Any security method used to protect cats can only be a deterrent, rather than an ultimate solution - in the same way that car alarms, trackers, steering wheel devices, etc may deter thieves, but cannot guarantee to stop vehicles being stolen or being stolen from.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/09/11/gangs-stripping-cars-ofcatalyticconverters-broad-daylight-steal/

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/thieves-stealing-more-catalytic-converters-2613695

https://www.adrianflux.co.uk/blog/2019/08/catalytic-converter-thefts-soar-all-you-need-to-know.html

[kithmo]

On 8/28/2019 at 6:17 PM, RelaxedDrive said:

I found out that CCTV is useless unless they can cleary see the faces and id them. The plates were cloned, so no help there either.

Regarding toyota, I would not trust their hybrids until something is done. I'm sure other cars are affected too, but only mine was attacked in our car park! 

Do hybrids have more tempting CATs I wonder?  (2 instead of 1?)

At least an electric car would be CAT less!  I probably would have gone EV this year, if there were suitable ones available at the time..  We are almost there I think.... 

Apparently batteries are a target as well and EVs have a bigger Battery that is worth stealing.

Not an EV but here's a shocking example of Battery theft from a Gen 4 :Hybrid battery theft

[PeteB]

1 hour ago, kithmo said:

...here's a shocking example of battery theft from a Gen 4 :Hybrid battery theft

shame the thieves didn't find it 'shocking'!   👹