Auris Catalytic Converter Theft Solutions - Catloc, etc

[Rav4ster]

Agree with you Frosty, just expressing my frustration. This crime spree started way before covid and it does not look like much being done by police (or at least made public) unfortunately. There is a lot of different 'low value' crime types numbers soaring, crooks know that they are very unlikely to be investigated or caught. Main reason for this is constantly decreasing police officers numbers and as a result they have to prioritise.

[Rav4ster]

Last night at 19:45, when we were putting kids to bed and the light in the house was off, Alexa told me that there is a motion at the front door. I looked out and saw a man walking away from our house. Looked at the doorbell video and can clearly see him looking under the car with the torch and then quickly walking away. He was not put off by the very bright floodlight, or doorbell camera, or other houses overlooking our drive. I spoke to the neighbours and one saw the car parked just outside our house and man going in and out quickly, she thought it was a delivery. Looks like the same people who stole cat converter from the nearby house a few days ago. I called the police, they took a description of the events and logged it as a suspicious behaviour. When I asked what should we do or if they're going to send a patrol car to our area, they told no, as no crime was committed yet. In case they come back to take the cat converter, we were told to call 101 again. Sceptic in me knows that by the time I will be connected to the control room, they will be long gone.  This is just reinforcing my opinion that police does not treat these crimes as high priority or important. Victims are just giving the crime reference number and are told to speak to the insurance company. I completely understand that police force is stretched and very low on resources, but this is resulting in a massive spike of 'low level' crimes. However, it is not cheap to replace the cat converter and in a lot of cases fix the other damage, then you have the insurance increase and if it happens again, insurance will be prohibitive or refused. There is also a mental health side, my wife is freaking out and did not sleep last night at all.
Our Auris has the catlock installed, and I hope thieves will leave it alone, but for now it is parked next to the fence and RAV4 on the other side. Booked the tilt alarm installation, just to give some reassurance to my wife that they will be scared by the loud alarm in the residential area at night.

 

[Rav4ster]

Next door neighbour just came around to tell me that the whole exhaust was cut off his 18 year old Mazda MX5 last night. Probably the same people who was checking our car.  Looks like they have an order list.

[TonyHSD]

Horrible, these are nastiest people you can meet. I hope they will not be coming back for your one since they had seen the cat lock but you never know and it’s a stressful situation you are in. 

[Colin Fone]

My first Cat was stolen in daylight last Sept. My insurance co. got it replaced and paid for a Toyota Auris Catloc as recommended by Police & Toyota UK.

Last week, the criminals were back at 1 am. They didn't  get the cat off this time but smashed up both front wings and the rear....... in temper. I have just completed a police Criminal Damage report but thats " just for records ". They can't help saying its an epidemic 

Estimate to repair damage to body is £2 to £3000.

I have been a loyal Toyota owner for years. Toyota UK just ain't  interested / don't care when I complained. 

I'll  never buy Toyota  or Hybrid again !!!!

Colin F.

[FROSTYBALLS]

25 minutes ago, Colin Fone said:

My first Cat was stolen in daylight last Sept. My insurance co. got it replaced and paid for a Toyota Auris Catloc as recommended by Police & Toyota UK.

Last week, the criminals were back at 1 am. They didn't  get the cat off this time but smashed up both front wings and the rear.

So despite the Catloc working effectively to deter the thieves the second time around, it is still Toyota's fault that the thieves vandalised your car as they couldn't steal the cat !!

Think a dose of realism is in order.

 

[TonyHSD]

Sorry to hear such a bad experience, Toyota has nothing to do with it, perhaps the place and times we live in. Some dose of bad luck too IMO.

[Mikw]

2 hours ago, Colin Fone said:

My first Cat was stolen in daylight last Sept. My insurance co. got it replaced and paid for a Toyota Auris Catloc as recommended by Police & Toyota UK.

Last week, the criminals were back at 1 am. They didn't  get the cat off this time but smashed up both front wings and the rear....... in temper. I have just completed a police Criminal Damage report but thats " just for records ". They can't help saying its an epidemic 

Estimate to repair damage to body is £2 to £3000.

I have been a loyal Toyota owner for years. Toyota UK just ain't  interested / don't care when I complained. 

I'll  never buy Toyota  or Hybrid again !!!!

Colin F.

Sorry to hear that, the theives really are a pain. Whereabouts in Leicestershire are you?

[Tintaglia]

The answer lies with the money.  If the thieves can't sell, they won't steal.  Scrap dealers legally cannot take cash for scrap from unknown sources any more following all the high profile copper/lead/anything else metal (and valuable) thefts.  These days there has to be a paper trail.  So it is down to the police to target a few of these scroats and winkle out the crooked dealers.  Although I can't see the police worrying too much about the theft of a catalytic converter or two in their area though when they rarely even turn up these days following a burglary.   

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

1 hour ago, Tintaglia said:

Scrap dealers legally cannot take cash for scrap from unknown sources any more following all the high profile copper/lead/anything else metal (and valuable) thefts. 

The legislation is supposed to be monitored by Local Authorities, and due to budget cuts, most aren't doing it.

[TonyHSD]

9 hours ago, Tintaglia said:

The answer lies with the money.  If the thieves can't sell, they won't steal.  Scrap dealers legally cannot take cash for scrap from unknown sources any more following all the high profile copper/lead/anything else metal (and valuable) thefts.  These days there has to be a paper trail.  So it is down to the police to target a few of these scroats and winkle out the crooked dealers.  Although I can't see the police worrying too much about the theft of a catalytic converter or two in their area though when they rarely even turn up these days following a burglary.   

 

Exactly, metal traders not only buying these but stimulate thieves to do it and offer double payments for Toyota hybrids exhaust. 

[Mick13]

Got a Catloc fitted at my local dealer today, bought the car a month ago, member of staff said 4 were stolen in same area recently, feel slightly better knowing it should put off casual thieves. Walking around my local area i never realised how many Toyota hybrids lie out on driveways, there are at least a dozen within a ten minute walk.

Would be easy pickings during the night if they were quick!

[FROSTYBALLS]

Just to show cat thefts are not just restricted to Toyotas:

Appeal after catalytic converter is stolen from vehicle in car park - Lichfield Live

[TonyHSD]

Anything that is easy to cut and take away. Auris 1.6 are at risk too. 1.33 not. 

[Rav4ster]

After the attempted theft, I cannot blame Toyota for the problem. When they designed the car, the cat theft was not a problem. When it became a problem, Toyota released the cat lock and the tilt sensor (it took them a fair amount of time, but both are available now). In the latest models, they changed a location and / or reduced the amount of materials in the cat converters, so they are less profitable for thieves. This problem needs to be managed by the  local authorities and police, but both are not doing much about it, as they have no resources for it.

[mpm235]

Some degenerate parasitic  scum nicked the Cat from my 2008 Prius in 2019. Was in Rotherham Hospital car park (visiting my Mum, who was very unwell), in broad daylight, very busy area. I know the Cops don't have enough resources to do much about stuff like this (My Son is a Cop). I reported it to them anyway, they phoned me back a few days later and told me they were doing an operation to investigate the actual scrap dealers who buy the stolen Cats. I also spoke to the Security at the Hospital, they told me there had been lots of thefts, usually Toyotas and Hondas.  I'm lucky as one of my best mates owns his own  Garage. he put me a new exhaust system (old one was 11 years old and getting ready to be replaced anyway)  and a cheap (relatively) aftermarket Cat on for £400. Prius runs perfectly smooth and quiet, same MPG as always.  If scumbag scrotes get underneath again, I hope they won't bother with the cheapo Cat (I also hope the jack collapses and their worthless vermin life is extinguished in blood soaked agony).

[Auris James]

What we need is a device fitted that shakes the car violently when jacked up! 

James👍

[TonyHSD]

We need an electrician that can take a wire from the 220v Battery and attach it to the exhaust pipes. No more hybrids been a target. 😂

[Colin Fone]

On 1/31/2021 at 10:07 PM, Mikw said:

Sorry to hear that, the theives really are a pain. Whereabouts in Leicestershire are you?

Ashby.....

[Colin Fone]

Ashby...

[Rav4ster]

Tilt alarm was installed (£100) and demonstrated by lifting the car on one side (RRG Toyota). It triggers the alarm and it cannot be switched off by car key, you need to come out and switch the car on to switch the alarm sound off. I was told it is to stop people with smart key relay device disarming it. I was not given a user manual, just a card with the pin code, that tells you to press the tilt alarm button (it is installed next to the gears selector) in  sequence to turn it off and then the same to turn it on (useful for the tyre places, when they just lift one side of the car). According to the technician, when it is off, there is no light at all, and a blinking light when it is armed. Maybe someone who works for Toyota can share a user manual, if there is one (I remember reading a while back that tilt alarm light should blink in the curtain way, if the car was lifted while it was armed)

Looking at the invoice, it is actually two parts installation:
PW625 - 00101    actual tilt sensor
PW625 - 00201    battery backup siren (installed into the engine bay)

 

[Rav4ster]

Quick update. A friend of mine, who got the cat converter stolen from her Auris a few weeks ago, handed Auris back to the lease company (company car) and got the Corolla Icon Tech TS 1.8 delivered. She asked for the catlock and it was installed by the supplying dealer. I looked under the car and it is proper Catlock device, but it is different to one that is available for Auris. It also looks like it was specifically designed for Corolla 1.8, as it fits very neatly under the car. 

[Gerg]

A Catloc designed for a new Corolla - a car that has no history of catalyst thefts? 

Is it that the negative publicity surrounding these thefts has meant Toyota have to have a watertight answer to customer queries regarding this problem, or the threat of this problem, for when awkward questions are asked in the showroom, and new car sales might be impacted.  Interesting.

The anti-tamper manifold bolts that Toyota have developed against cat. theft, seem to have been forgotten about.  Perhaps because they are not a particularly visible deterrent?

Cheers for posting this.

[delbois]

I dont know if debadging makes any difference to cat thefts but it can't hurt. I was a bit nervous about debadging my 2020 Corolla TS and had intended setting aside an hour or so, a hairdryer and a load of dental floss. But earlier today I thought I'd do a quick trial with an old credit card and had all three off in about three minutes. Just used strong constant pressure with a slight sawing/seesawing action, taking care not to snap the badges at the weak points where the letters are joined together. Sorted 👍

[TonyHSD]

35 minutes ago, delbois said:

I dont know if debadging makes any difference to cat thefts but it can't hurt. I was a bit nervous about debadging my 2020 Corolla TS and had intended setting aside an hour or so, a hairdryer and a load of dental floss. But earlier today I thought I'd do a quick trial with an old credit card and had all three off in about three minutes. Just used strong constant pressure with a slight sawing/seesawing action, taking care not to snap the badges at the weak points where the letters are joined together. Sorted 👍

Good job ✅