Catalytic converter thefts on the rise

[Louie]

Hi all hope you had a reasonable Xmas and here is wishing you a Covid free new year.

Recently having read some crime news in the national and local press there appears to be a rise in "cat" theft incidents. My local town recently had experience of two vehicles being targeted. I rang my local dealer Stephen Eagle in Peterborough and was told that Priuses seem to be a particular target because of ease of access. They managed to reassure me that the Corolla Hybrid  was not on the villains target list because of the location of the " cat "under the bodywork. There are  "anti-cat" theft kits around but they are pricey however the cost of these is nothing compared to the cost and inconvenience  of replacing a cat plus the fact its illegal to drive a vehicle with a missing cat. I am going to give it a miss and will just be ultra careful how and where I park my vehicle.

Last week  I had my first service and was a little bit concerned as to how well my car would be cleaned afterwards bearing  in mind my area and Peterborough is in Tier 4. I need not have worried my car was picked up by a masked/gloved driver and I was assured that the interior had been thoroughly cleaned. Nevertheless after delivery I left all the doors etc open for about two hours in the open air after delivery and gave the steering wheel door handles etc a good wipe over and so far so good. 

Stay safe guys. 

 

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Also see previous topic - 

 

[Catlover]

Louie, yes Toyota do supply and fit catloc devices for a subsidised price of £250. However you can buy alternatives that do the job for a lot less. I bought one for my Prius and the wife’s Auris hybrid, delivered and then fitted by my local garage for about £140 in total for both. Thicker plate then a lot on the market too.  They are detergents, not thief proof. More a case of that’s going to take longer to get the cat then I want to spend.....I will go and do another hybrid. It’s not just hybrids they go for, any cat has the precious metals inside, that’s what they after, not the cat itself.

[Louie]

Hi Joe

So these catlocs (detergents ? ) come in a plastic bottle filled with green liquid and i fit them using water and a sponge LOL.  Okay so you forgot to use Grammarly so you are excused.

Stay safe my good man.

 

[RUToyota]

Fairy 'nuff.

[john p williams]

Just now, RUToyota said:

Fairy 'nuff.

Can anyone join this bubble ?

[Louie]

Hi Guys

Sadly i am having to raise the issue of cat thefts again.

A couple of weeks ago we saw locally Long Sutton and Sutton Bridge (South Holland Lincs)a spate of cat thefts targeting here is the text "

A Sutton resident has warned all car owners of a thieves wearing hi viz jackets that are operating in the borough stealing catalytic converters. “I had my catalytic converter stolen off my car a couple of days ago while it was parked outside my house,” said the resident. “They jacked up the car, crawled underneath, cut it off the exhaust system and were gone in minutes! I didn’t hear of see a thing. Following research it appears that this is happening all over the country and that there are so many incidents garages don’t have replacement catalytic converters to fit. they wore hi viz jackets which made them look official.”

The article does not mention the vehicles involved they were a Prius, Auris and Honda Jazz.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Topics merged

[Treefrog]

On 2/5/2021 at 3:19 PM, Louie said:

Hi Guys

Sadly i am having to raise the issue of cat thefts again.

A couple of weeks ago we saw locally Long Sutton and Sutton Bridge (South Holland Lincs)a spate of cat thefts targeting here is the text "

A Sutton resident has warned all car owners of a thieves wearing hi viz jackets that are operating in the borough stealing catalytic converters. “I had my catalytic converter stolen off my car a couple of days ago while it was parked outside my house,” said the resident. “They jacked up the car, crawled underneath, cut it off the exhaust system and were gone in minutes! I didn’t hear of see a thing. Following research it appears that this is happening all over the country and that there are so many incidents garages don’t have replacement catalytic converters to fit. they wore hi viz jackets which made them look official.”

The article does not mention the vehicles involved they were a Prius, Auris and Honda Jazz.

Hello

Just wondered if the new corrolla hybrid has the cat in harder to reach location than the Auris, as looking to swap my Auris for new corrolla touring.

Thanks

[Cyker]

In the newer hybrids cars the cat is integrated into the exhaust manifold (Like it was in most of their normal petrol cars) so not possible to be cut out without accessing the engine bay.

However some copy-cat thieves have been stupid enough to cut out the resonator, thinking it's a cat, as to the untrained eye they look similar and are in the same place. The organized ones seem disturbingly well informed tho so are much less likely to target the newer cars as they know the difference.

Also the newer cars use much less of the expensive metal catalysts so are much less profitable to steal which also reduces the chance of them being targetted.

 

[TonyHSD]

Very rare occasions but yes there are some reports as cyker said they cut the pipe or the particulate filter that worth nothing for them but price of new replacement it’s the same as stolen cat because these parts comes as one peace. 

[Spo2]

Where is the cat located in C-HR? 

[TonyHSD]

2 hours ago, Spo2 said:

Where is the cat located in C-HR? 

Same as Corolla and all other Toyota hybrids, behind the engine immediately after the exhaust manifold. 

[Wez88]

I'm going to buy a 2019 Toyota C-hr soon. Is the CAT is this 2019 model safer  against theft ?Or should I worry since I park in hilly street. 

[TonyHSD]

54 minutes ago, Wez88 said:

I'm going to buy a 2019 Toyota C-hr soon. Is the CAT is this 2019 model safer  against theft ?Or should I worry since I park in hilly street. 

Hi, 

you shouldn’t worry about it but there is always a risk someone dumb enough to cut your exhaust pipes who might think he is getting a catalytic converter, which on these cars is fitted straight to the engine and it’s part of the exhaust manifold . If you unsure best to buy and fit cat lock (plate) to secure underneath. Also you can remove hybrid badges from the car and this will make it less attractive to thieves. There are many posts in Corolla and auris forums. 
Regards 

[AisinW]

If you live in area with high theft, putting shields worth every penny. The parts may be backorder and we cannot use the car without 2nd catalytic converter.  the 1st catalytic converter is on the exhaust manifold. The fuel tank will melt from exhaust gas. 

Thieves steal the 2nd catalytic converter that is located right after control arms. In UK eBay, there are many shields sold with easy installation. Just put a secure 14mm bolts with red loctite, they will never remove it without torch/heat. 

If yours is already stolen, you can temporarily weld a straight pipe to the resonator. The engine will not trow any code.  The O2 sensors only monitor the main 1st catalytic converter.  

If the car is too old like Prius 2004, it is too expensive to put another 2nd catalytic converter and often total the whole car once it is stolen. Very bad for environmental point wasting good runnimg economical car. So, welding a straight pipe and install cover under it so MOT cannot  see it, or just put a pipe that looks like catalytic converter. The emission is still lower than most nonhybrid cars even with only one catalytic converter in any hybrid.

I do not promote breaking the law but the law system does not protect us from Thieve and scrapyard who buy them. If scrapyard is strickly monitored and cannot buy catalytic converter unless it is from junkyard itself, the theft will be very low like in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

[Wez88]

On 7/17/2022 at 3:13 PM, TonyHSD said:

Hi, 

you shouldn’t worry about it but there is always a risk someone dumb enough to cut your exhaust pipes who might think he is getting a catalytic converter, which on these cars is fitted straight to the engine and it’s part of the exhaust manifold . If you unsure best to buy and fit cat lock (plate) to secure underneath. Also you can remove hybrid badges from the car and this will make it less attractive to thieves. There are many posts in Corolla and auris forums. 
Regards 

Thank you Tony much appreciated. 

 

[TonyHSD]

3 hours ago, Wez88 said:

Thank you Tony much appreciated. 

 

You are welcome 👍