Catalytic convertor lock

[Ochunchris]

I have a first generation Toyota Auris and my local dealer says the older ones gen 1 and 2 are being targeted as they have more precious metals than the more recent ones - not sure how true that is as most models being targeted.

Hoping to get a catlock fitted next month but not confident this will deter thieves a great deal. I had a service done and took out the service plan at the same time but no one mentioned the theft issues at the time - feel rather peeved to have to pay for a catlock which I have little confidence in. It seems its not just the theft that's a real problem but also having to wait months to get a replacement cat - how many of us can afford to pay for a hire car for that long?! Is it worth ordering a cat' as back up?

Ive also heard of thefts of the hybrid Battery packs for the metals - looks like Toyota and other car manufacturers will have to rethink their designs, not that I could ever afford a new car.  

[TonyHSD]

Seems like nothing stops the thieves, it’s not an manufacturers problem unless the whole car been stolen, it’s a police issue and the law. If those !Removed! gets proper punishment they will not still, they know that nothing can be done against them so game is lost. And if the cat lock doesn’t bother them I don’t think there is any point of it at all, extra cash for something that would not prevent this happen to your car., I don’t know. For few months time I already been targeted for breaking in my car while I am taking a break inside, first time in Harlow and the other night  in London Kensington, Young guys on bicycles with torches and backpacks, stoped and looked  through the car window, did try to open the boot too and when they saw me in, they run away fast. Thanks God I wasn’t sleeping and doors were locked. What a wonderful times we live in.

[Scottydog007]

I have a new RAV4 and I emailed my dealer asking about the CATlock and had an email back saying not to worry RAV4's are not being targeted only the Prius and Auris. That does surprise me being RAV's are so much higher so I assume more simpler to get at.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Toyota's supplier has had to put on extra shifts to cope with demand (up around 2000%) for Catlocs for just the Auris (2nd generation) and Prius.

[Ochunchris]

Further to my previous comment   - as predicted Toyota have not produced any cat locks for first generation Arius's.

I'm told thefts are  generation 2 upwards, but on the Toyota site it states 'older generation Auris are the main target'. Maybe my first gen Auris hybrid is regarded as 'Geriatric' but I love driving it.  However as my cars warranty is now invalid as its a 2010 it does mean I can fit a generic cat for a cheaper price, and probably easier to get hold of , if it should get stolen. 

Again confusing advice about whether to park your car with the exhaust or the bonnet up against a wall/barrier. For my car I was told 'park with your bonnet close to a wall  as at access via the front of the car, but realise that its easy to access the cat from the sides as well'. Maybe keeping my car looking unwashed and tatty will help! Other suggestions have been to paint over the blue bit of the hybrid Badge to make it less identifiable. 

Like other people I do feel Toyota should reconsider their designs and put the cat within the engine like Honda or at the very least fit a cat plate as standard. This issue is not going to go away like other 'phases of crime' , precious metals will continue to increase. Maybe in time a cat without precious metals can be designed. 

I feel gutted for the owners who have had cats stolen, and not just the shock of that but the months of waiting for replacement cats puts a huge financial pressure on owners. May the Hydrogen future cars get this sorted!!!

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

The real issue isn't so much the design of current cars in production, but stopping where the thieves can offload the stolen cats. From articles I've seen, the legislation covering sales of scrap metals only to authorised dealers, isn't being enforced, and until this is done, thefts are going to continue.

Obviously changing the location of cats in current production models, isn't going to help owners of those vehicles which are out of production, and are targets for these thieves.

[Parts-King]

5 hours ago, Ochunchris said:

Again confusing advice about whether to park your car with the exhaust or the bonnet up against a wall/barrier. For my car I was told 'park with your bonnet close to a wall  as at access via the front of the car, but realise that its easy to access the cat from the sides as well'. Maybe keeping my car looking unwashed and tatty will help! Other suggestions have been to paint over the blue bit of the hybrid badge to make it less identifiable. 

Do NOT paint any front badges, the badges on later models with adaptive cruise etc are very special indeed, for the LIDAR to work, by painting it you run a serious risk of danger. Those badges are about £500, so not JUST an ordinary Badge

I believe Rhodium is about £4000 an ounce, what was just a London based problem has firmly moved northwards, criminal cartels organise these thefts, cats are stolen by young scroats who pass them up the gang line, they are then sent to India/China with no questions asked, to be dealt with, all cash transactions. I was listening to a chap on the radio the other day, very interesting subject, but with the likelihood of being caught being non existent, criminal gangs are just getting away with it, very sad, nobody could have seen this coming I doubt 

[Catlover]

5 hours ago, Ochunchris said:

Again confusing advice about whether to park your car with the exhaust or the bonnet up against a wall/barrier. For my car I was told 'park with your bonnet close to a wall  as at access via the front of the car, but realise that its easy to access the cat from the sides as well'. Maybe keeping my car looking unwashed and tatty will help! Other suggestions have been to paint over the blue bit of the hybrid badge to make it less identifiable. 

I might have seen the same article or a similar one.  I remember it said if you can park between 2 cars (so the sides access is restricted) and nose the front up to a hedge/wall/fence then that makes it more difficult. 

[sportse]

FYI it's about £50 for the 2 new non-hybrid logo badges for the front and rear on a standard auris MK2 hybrid without radar/etc.

The front is a clip on Badge, the rear stick on, so fairly easy to change.

I used to park away from other cars and nose out in open/free car parks, but now look to park between 2 cars and nose in to make it a bit more difficult for them to get the jack down the side.

Downside is I'll probably get loads of door dings now from other cars, but it's less hassle than being stranded without a cat.

[Rob2012]

I decided to add a tilt sensor to the factory fitted alarm so at least it will warn me or passers by if the car is jacked up.  Only time will tell if makes any difference but it should give any potential cat thieves a bit of shock!

[bruce e]

17 hours ago, Rob2012 said:

I decided to add a tilt sensor to the factory fitted alarm so at least it will warn me or passers by if the car is jacked up.  Only time will tell if makes any difference but it should give any potential cat thieves a bit of shock!

 How / who added the tilt switch. Sounds like a very good idea

[FROSTYBALLS]

1 hour ago, bruce e said:

 How / who added the tilt switch. Sounds like a very good idea

There is a topic in the Corolla club.

[Rob2012]

12 hours ago, bruce e said:

 How / who added the tilt switch. Sounds like a very good idea

I basically followed this example 

 

I used piggyback fuses from the box under the glove-box for the live and ignition live rather than directly tapping the wires.  The actual tilt sensor is available in the UK on eBay but the shock sensor which comes with the actual interface (pod) to make it work was only only available in the US (£28 + £14 import duty).  It's a very simple idea by tricking the alarm into thinking a door has been opened when the car is jacked up.  So far no false alarms and does go off when jacked up.

Cheers

Rob  

[Steve Whits]

I tried contacting my local Toyota garage to find out how many Cats they've replaced in the last 12 months but they wouldn't divulge anything other than a stock response and offering to fit a Catloc at £250.  

So I've just submitted a FOI request to my local Police force asking for details of Cat thefts in the last 12 months.

 

[Va123a]

My cat converter (auris) was stolen 2 months ago and the toyota dealership still has not been able to find a replacement. Anyone else in the same situation? 

[MT7726]

On 10/7/2019 at 10:37 PM, Va123a said:

My cat converter (auris) was stolen 2 months ago and the toyota dealership still has not been able to find a replacement. Anyone else in the same situation? 

My catalytic converter from my Auris 15 reg gen 2 was stolen on 14 June this year. Despite ordering a replacement converter from my local Toyota stealership the following week (btw, initially quoted £1700 from Steven Eagle Toyota in Northampton - the lying, thieving Mod edit*) it finally arrived today (ordered and posted from another Toyota dealers for £795 total); Over 4 and a half months after the theft! My car will probably need towing away to get this converter fitted since it hasn't even been fired up since the theft.

Not even an apology from Toyota, or even a courtesy car from them when I temporarily needed one the about 2 months back. It is the last time this greedy, unapologetic, despicable organisation will be getting a single penny from me, for I will be selling my Auris after fitting this converter and not buying from them again. 

*Mod edit: attempt to overcome swear filter removed - warning given.

[sportse]

I understand you can get an aftermarket cat fairly easily, but they're not of the same quality as the Toyota ones.

My local dealer has had fitting issues, so there may be some adjustments required.

Also they might not last the 10+ years a genuine Toyota one does.

[Parts-King]

10 hours ago, sportse said:

I understand you can get an aftermarket cat fairly easily, but they're not of the same quality as the Toyota ones.

My local dealer has had fitting issues, so there may be some adjustments required.

Also they might not last the 10+ years a genuine Toyota one does.

I deal with a very large aftermarket company who supply cats, exhausts etc, they cannot get aftermarket replacements at this time either

We have had some cats come through that have been on order for a couple of months 

 

[furtula]

12 hours ago, sportse said:

I understand you can get an aftermarket cat fairly easily, but they're not of the same quality as the Toyota ones.
Also they might not last the 10+ years a genuine Toyota one does.

They will probably steal it long before that, so no need to look for a long life one 🙂

[sportse]

2 hours ago, Parts-King said:

I deal with a very large aftermarket company who supply cats, exhausts etc, they cannot get aftermarket replacements at this time either
We have had some cats come through that have been on order for a couple of months 
 

There are still some on eBay at the moment:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m4084.l1313.TR6.TRC1.A0.H0.Xauris+hybrid+ca.TRS0&_nkw=auris+hybrid+catalytic+converter

I read about someone with a lexus hybrid ordering one all the way from the USA with reasonable delivery. But the US exhaust was a slightly different spec so had to be bodged a bit to get it to fit a UK one.

[juleshussey]

On 10/7/2019 at 10:37 PM, Va123a said:

My cat converter (auris) was stolen 2 months ago and the toyota dealership still has not been able to find a replacement. Anyone else in the same situation? 

Mine was also taken two months ago. was just replaced today with a catloc for £1400! we had only had the (used approved) car 6 weeks! Toyota did organise a loan car but it arrived the same day the cat came into stock......

[marekz]

I've just called Toyota Jamca (Enfield) - they have catloc for Auris II (mine is 2014). It's 250 GBP including VAT and fitting. Will do in a few days.

[MSHasan]

I've had a metal piece fitted on my Lexus CT200h by a local independent that serves a lot of the Prius taxis in London, it cost me £70.

Not sure how sturdy or resilient it may be against an angle grinder but my hope is that the added time it would take to cut an appropriate hole through it might dissuade any thieves.

There are options out there other than the main dealer rip off ...

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

[monya]

Just had a catloc fitted to my 68 plate Auris hybrid after the original got stolen back in March. The insurers have a loan car bill of £1600 as it’s taken nearly 3 months. Hope it works....

[Brian Austin]

On 10/28/2019 at 8:27 PM, MT7726 said:

My catalytic converter from my Auris 15 reg gen 2 was stolen on 14 June this year. Despite ordering a replacement converter from my local Toyota stealership the following week (btw, initially quoted £1700 from Steven Eagle Toyota in Northampton - the lying, thieving Mod edit*) it finally arrived today (ordered and posted from another Toyota dealers for £795 total); Over 4 and a half months after the theft! My car will probably need towing away to get this converter fitted since it hasn't even been fired up since the theft.

Not even an apology from Toyota, or even a courtesy car from them when I temporarily needed one the about 2 months back. It is the last time this greedy, unapologetic, despicable organisation will be getting a single penny from me, for I will be selling my Auris after fitting this converter and not buying from them again. 

*Mod edit: attempt to overcome swear filter removed - warning given.

My experience of Stephen Eagle is not good and would not use them again, if buying another Toyota. Had two before Carina & Yaris both bought privately. 

Had a Cat Loc fitted as it seemed a wise precaution, against the cost plus waiting time for another Cat /exhaust. If I were 30 years younger would have done it myself, but given up crawling under cars now🙄