RAV 4 Hybrid & Catalytic convertor theft

[Andy68]

On 1/6/2022 at 5:07 AM, Kelly K said:

1999 Rav 4L- CAT just sawed off and stolen the first of 2022. Not sure if this was a harvest due to age of car or just for money. Pretty disgusted by incident.  Stolen from well lit parking area of complex. Phoenix Arizona

I have just had my catalytic converter stolen while the vehicle was parked at an underground station in London. Thieves have sawn  through both ends and taken it. Having seen how easy it is and how exposed the converter is,Toyota really need to think about future design. The hassle this has now caused me is unbelievable. Currently being recovered by AA 😭

[Strangely Brown]

10 minutes ago, Andy68 said:

I have just had my catalytic converter stolen while the vehicle was parked at an underground station in London. Thieves have sawn  through both ends and taken it. Having seen how easy it is and how exposed the converter is,Toyota really need to think about future design. The hassle this has now caused me is unbelievable. Currently being recovered by AA 😭

Do you have a RAV4 Gen4 or a RAV4 Gen5? If the latter then I would be interested to know exactly what has been stolen. The cat on a 4.5 is part of the exhaust manifold and remarkably difficult to get at from under the car. If the missing piece is further back then, AFAIK, that is not the cat but is the GPF?

https://toyota-club.net/files/faq/19-09-10_faq_gpf_eng.htm

[_dct_]

The GPF is just a normal catalytic converter with a more restricted particulate filter.

[TonyHSD]

19 hours ago, Strangely Brown said:

Do you have a RAV4 Gen4 or a RAV4 Gen5? If the latter then I would be interested to know exactly what has been stolen. The cat on a 4.5 is part of the exhaust manifold and remarkably difficult to get at from under the car. If the missing piece is further back then, AFAIK, that is not the cat but is the GPF?

https://toyota-club.net/files/faq/19-09-10_faq_gpf_eng.htm

Definitely it’s the gpf, but the trouble is that if the thieves steel just a peace of the pipe the new part replacement most likely comes as one huge peace that includes catalytic converter, gpf and middle silencer and all that cost a lot. Let insurance  deal with and only use original Toyota parts and preferably a Toyota dealer to fix it or if any issues afterwards to check it for you. 👍

[ROCKETRON]

Does GPF also have precious metals in them as in the cat. As I haven’t heard of people stealing the cat or gpf on the rav4 hybrid. During the last few years when stealing cats were at epidemic proportions the RAV4 hybrid doesn’t seem to have had many stolen compared with other cars and even Toyota didn’t make a catloc for Rav4 hybrid.

[Strangely Brown]

2 hours ago, TonyHSD said:

Definitely it’s the gpf, but the trouble is that if the thieves steel just a peace of the pipe the new part replacement most likely comes as one huge peace that includes catalytic converter, gpf and middle silencer and all that cost a lot. Let insurance  deal with and only use original Toyota parts and preferably a Toyota dealer to fix it or if any issues afterwards to check it for you. 👍

The cat is part of the exhaust manifold. The relevant piece of exhaust to replace the GPF is quite expensive though. I have seen pages online that suggest in the order of $800.

Ouch.

2 hours ago, ROCKETRON said:

Does GPF also have precious metals in them as in the cat. As I haven’t heard of people stealing the cat or gpf on the rav4 hybrid. During the last few years when stealing cats were at epidemic proportions the RAV4 hybrid doesn’t seem to have had many stolen compared with other cars and even Toyota didn’t make a catloc for Rav4 hybrid.

AFAIK, the GPF does contain some precious metals but nowhere near as much as the cat. It is thought that the cat was moved to the manifold location to make it much more inaccessible.

Whether the thieves know that the GPF is not the cat and is far less valuable to them is unknown. It could just be a case of stupid thieves, not that it helps if you're the victim.

[TonyHSD]

40 minutes ago, Strangely Brown said:

The cat is part of the exhaust manifold. The relevant piece of exhaust to replace the GPF is quite expensive though. I have seen pages online that suggest in the order of $800.

Ouch.

AFAIK, the GPF does contain some precious metals but nowhere near as much as the cat. It is thought that the cat was moved to the manifold location to make it much more inaccessible.

Whether the thieves know that the GPF is not the cat and is far less valuable to them is unknown. It could just be a case of stupid thieves, not that it helps if you're the victim.

All said its true, however the problem and the risk is that some thieves are thick enough to cut anything that is a part of exhaust system on any Toyota hybrid. Those men work on orders and they had been stimulated and pushed to target Toyota hybrids as easy target and highest pay job. Some added protection like metal plates can be beneficial, although at the right place and time nothing will stop them to cut and take away what’s they are looking for. 👍

[_dct_]

On 3/27/2023 at 3:21 PM, Strangely Brown said:

The cat is part of the exhaust manifold. The relevant piece of exhaust to replace the GPF is quite expensive though. I have seen pages online that suggest in the order of $800.

There are 2 catalytic converters, one is as you said is part of the exhaust manifold, the other one is further downstream before the middle muffler. On the 4.4 it is just a cat while on the 4.5 it gains a new name - GPF - as it is now more restrictive to filter the extra particulates generated by direct injection.

[KenJr]

One approach (From today''s Albuquerque Journal) ..

THURSDAY, MAY 11, 2023 WWW.ABQJOURNAL.COM »

Want to make your catalytic converter less of a target? APD and Jiffy Lube are offering a free option  Albuquerque residents can now deter theft by having their vehicle’s VIN numbers etched onto the “cat” over heat-resistant green paint.