Catalytic converter theft from cars isn’t a new crime, but it has increased significantly in recent times.
Police forces around the UK are advising owners of any car fitted with a catalytic converter to take precautions. In Toyota’s case it is second and third-generation Prius models (2004-2009 and 2009-2016 respectively) and second-generation Auris Hybrids (2012-2018) which have been particular targets for thieves.
Below we’ve gathered the best advice for Toyota owners who may be concerned.
What is a catalytic converter?
The catalytic converter is part of the car’s emissions control system. It cleans up the exhaust gases before they are expelled from the car through the exhaust pipe. Its internal elements react with the gases, breaking them down into less harmful substances and water vapour. All new cars sold in Europe since 1993 have had to be fitted with a catalytic converter by law.
Why are they a target for thieves?
Clearly the police are best placed to offer advice on the motives behind this crime. But we understand that the value of the catalytic converter for recycling is the main attraction to thieves, because it contains precious metals such as rhodium, platinum and palladium.
What can owners do to stop their cars being targeted?
Some owners have chosen to tag their catalytic converters with an invisible yet traceable forensic marking solution, such as that provided by SmartWater. This means that a stolen catalytic converter can be traced to a specific crime, helping police in their attempts to fight the organised gangs responsible. It also raises the risk to all those handling the devices along the criminal chain, from theft to eventual disposal and recycling. Mechanical theft prevention products such as Catloc devices can also deter thieves.
However, it must be noted that catalytic converter theft is a criminal operation and the scope of owners is therefore limited. Police forces are taking action, so it is important for anyone who is a victim of this crime to report it as quickly as possible.
In the main, older cars are more likely to be targeted. This is because advances in efficiency and technology mean the latest generations of catalytic converters contain vastly lower amounts of precious metals, while still doing their job just as well or even better. This means their value for recycling is very low and they are not attractive to thieves.
Does a mechanical lock give my car 100% protection from thieves?
Sadly not. It can make theft more difficult but thieves are using high-powered cutting tools to remove catalytic converters and because of this it is not possible to make them ‘unstealable’. A mechanical locking device makes it harder to steal a catalytic converter because it slows down thieves and therefore acts as a deterrent.
If I’m worried about my Toyota model, what should I do?
If you are worried about potential catalytic converter theft from your Toyota, we recommend you use our locator tool to find your nearest Toyota centre and contact them to discuss the best way to protect your car.
This article was last updated on 2 November 2024, so some of the responses to reader comments below have been superseded by more recent information.
Hi Peter,
Thanks for your comment. We will email you to find out more.
Thanks.
Hi Pete,
Thank you for your feedback which we will pass on to our technical team.
Thanks.
Hi Andrew,
Thanks for your comment. We are really sorry you have been targeted by thieves. We will email you directly to gain further details so that we can ask our customer relations team to look into this on your behalf.
Thanks.
I had my convertor stolen yesterday from a car park. As single parent the insurance excess has crippled me and caused me to cancel my only family holiday in four weeks couldn’t afford both. Now live in fear of it happening again!
Hi Jennie,
This is awful. We’re so sorry to hear that the catalytic converter theft crimewave has affected you in this way. We are urgently exploring new technical possibilities to deter criminals, but we would like to refrain from going in to specifics at this time for obvious reasons.
If you’d like to speak with our customer relations team, do let us know.
Thanks
Hi Wendy,
Thanks for your comment. We are so sorry you have been impacted by this crime. We will email you directly to gain further information in order to open a Lexus customer relations case on your behalf.
Thanks.
Looks like all these replies are done by a computer bot. Standard reply.
Or they are absolutely not in control of the ground situation and can’t help victims like us. I have been waiting for catalytic parts for more than 2 months.
Rewards of being green. Shambles.
Hi Francis,
We’re sorry you feel that way. It is a human here. We’re doing our best to manage the volume of comments on this blog post, and we’re putting all customers with complaints in touch with customer relations.
We’ve checked your details and can see that you have a customer relations case open. FYI – our supplier for the replacement catalytic converters has increased its shifts from one per day to three per day, and we hope this will allow us to get customers back on the road more quickly.
Thanks
Hi, I have been the victim last night. I have to pay £400 in excess. When called Toyota service centre I’m informed that wait if 4-5 weeks. We urge Toyota to come up with a plan
Hi Alwyn,
We’re very sorry to hear that your vehicle has been targeted by criminals.
We are doing all we can to minimise the inconvenience as much as possible. The increase in this crime in 2019 has been very significant, so much so that we have struggled to increase parts supply to meet this sudden demand. We are sincerely sorry for the inconvenience this has caused some customers and we are working flat out with our suppliers to try to resolve this as soon as we can. Our main supplier has now increased its daily production shifts from one to three, and we hope this will allow us to get customers back on the road more quickly.
Thanks.
I am similarly concerned regarding my new Corolla TS which is currently on order. Anxiety about the catalytic converter being stolen is not something I should be feeling really when waiting for a new car. My dealer offered nothing constructive by way of information. I am giving serious consideration now to cancelling the order.
Hi Stuart,
Thanks for choosing Toyota. Older models seem to be a target for thieves due to the amount of precious metals in them – there are less in our latest models, so we don’t expect it to be a problem.
Thanks.
Stuart, don’t let this relatively minor issue deprive you of a brilliant car (no, I don’t work for Toyota, just on my 6th hybrid and I see this as a minor inconvenience compared to the fuel you will save and the other benefits!)
Nothing in life is perfect but I think TMC is closer than most…!
Risk is still there. The thieves will only come to know if it’s worth once they have stolen. Any Toyota car is a magnet for thieves.
Hi Francis,
Theft of catalytic converters is not a new offence, but it has always been relatively rare. Since-mid 2019 however, this crime has risen sharply. Despite a significant rise in this crime, and not detracting from the distress it causes the victims, it still only affects a tiny fraction of our vehicles.
Thanks
Cold comfort to those who have not one but two, even three stolen from the same car.
10 weeks without a replacement catalytic converter (and no delivery date in sight) is certainly not a ‘minor inconvenience’. I absolutely love my hybrid and had no hesitation in re-ordering a second hybrid. However, this debacle has completely put me off as in reality, it will only be a matter of time before the cat is stolen again….
Hi,
These criminals seem to be targeting older vehicles as we have reduced the quantity of precious metals in catalytic converter design over time. Just so you’re aware, we are urgently exploring new technical possibilities to deter criminals, but we would like to refrain from going in to specifics at this time for obvious reasons. We’ll hopefully have more news soon.
Thanks
Hi Toyota
The biggest issue I see now is that there is no information as to when shipments will take place, every Toyota garage I have spoken to have no information, all they know is that it could be weeks or months before parts come in. This is were Toyota has failed customers.
The head office should start to pass on quality information.
It would still be good to know how many parts are being built daily and the current back orders.
Hi,
We’d be happy to put you in touch with our customer relations team if you’d like to discuss this further. Please let us know.
Thanks
This is not true, Toyota please stop giving false information. I have read today all the comments and there are mix infact more of new vehicles people are reporting stolen with CAT converters. I got the victim of this theft also with my 2016 Toyota Auris Hybrid in Watford (NHS nursing). Same problem, part not available, out of car for next 2-4 months or more may be. Thats it Toyota is out. Will sell mine as soon as it gets fixed. Nobody wants to live in a fear all the time that something will happen to my car. Only person who has been victim can feel the inconvenience and stress someone has to go through when this happens.
Toyota should be offering this change free of charge and put CatLocks on them which I still doubt will fully prevent.
My understanding is you have not prevented this in your new Corolla design also otherwise would have stated here somewhere on the forum which means i don’t see any permanent solution on this problem in near future or another year or 2.
Your same repeated paragraph email won’t do better but only lose Loyal customers. It is your duty or as a courtesy at least inform via email or post letters to your customers about these theft on Toyota cars and guide about how I prevent. Not recommending anyone Toyota anymore until permanent solution on this.
Hi there,
Thanks for your comment. We are deeply sorry you have been targeted by thieves and for the distress this may have caused you.
We appreciate you feel this may not help, but we can assure you our customer relations team is working hard to support all our customers impacted by this crime, by assessing each case on an individual basis.
We will email you directly to gain further details in order to open a customer relations case on your behalf.
Thanks.
Reading all these comments fill me with awful dread as I know my much-loved 2nd gen Prius could be targeted anytime. I have seen Youtube videos where the job is done UNDER ONE MINUTE! I had a Catloc fitted recently, but now realise that if thieves can saw off the Cat, they can do same to the screws holding the Catloc. What a fool I have been, thinking my Catloc would protect my car! I now rarely take my car to supermarkets (I take a taxi instead or I ask my wife to stay in the car while I shop) and I am even scared taking it to the hospital where I work. I was thinking of getting another Toyota or Lexus as my next car, but having read all these comments, I definitely won’t. Probably go for a Tesla or any non-hybrid instead.
I have just been made aware of theft of Catalytic converters (one of my local dealer’s own company vehicles was victim of this) and I wanted to protect my car as soon as possible – but Listers tell me that therer is no CatLoc available yet for 2019 MY Prius. Are they right?
When will this be released please? Don’t need to be waiting weeks for a new cat if stolen! RSVP
Hi John,
Thanks for your enquiry. A Catloc for the current Prius is in development. We will have more news on this soon. For now, we recommend following police advice: https://www.met.police.uk/cp/crime-prevention/theft-from-a-vehicle/vehicle-safe-and-sound/
Thanks
Let’s be honest, the advice given by the Met. Police is NOT very useful. These thieves break into locked compounds, attack anybody who tries to stop them with an iron bar, jack up cars in broad daylight and feel themselves outside of the law. The police don’t know what to do and just hope it will go away.
When the thieves start targeting police vehicles they may take notice!
We need an anti-tilt solution that sets off a banshee ear shattering siren underneath the car and it ‘might’ put them off – at least we’d know it was happening!!
I had my catalytic converter stolen from my Toyota Auris hybrid (2013) outside my house in Leyton. My neighbour spotted 2 men doing something underneath my car and tried to take a photo. It happened so quickly (roughly 30 seconds) that she could not take any clear picture. It costs me over £800 to replace the converter and a sensor. I was lucky because a local garage helped me find the parts quickly when I heard a lot of victims have to wait at least a month for the replacement. I was not aware of this crime until this thing happened to me. I contacted Toyota in Woodford Hill to enquire about the Catlock but I was told to call back in 2 or 3 weeks because they were running out of locks. I would not believe that Toyota kept recommending their customers to install a catlock while there is not any lock available. Without the lock, I do not feel secured to park my car on public road or outside my home.
Hi Kwong,
We’re very sorry to hear that your vehicle was targeted by criminals. We’ll email you directly to get some details from you, then we’ll open a case with our customer relations team so you can discuss this further.
Thanks
Last week I parked my Auris in the car park of my local tube station and went off to work. Even though the car was parked pretty much below the CCTV cameras, the catalytic converter was stolen.
Like the other car owners here, I knew nothing about this sort of crime until it happened to me. In the days following the theft from my car, I heard that catalytic converters were stolen from cars in the car parks of local supermarkets, stations, leisure centres and even a local hospital.
As mine was parked in a tube station car park, I was told that I’d need to report it to British Transport Police. My eldest child and my partner are both serving Police officers in the Met, so I’m in full support of law enforcement; however, when I reported the incident, I did so purely out of protocol so that I can provide my insurer with the crime reference number. As a Londoner, I’m resigned to the fact that it’s highly unlikely they’ll catch those who are responsible for these thefts, unless people like those posting here and myself, now aware of the matter, report a crime in progress.
To add to the above, British Transport Police have advised that it may take up to 28 days “although often sooner” to obtain the CCTV footage. Funny but it never takes that long for CCTV footage where a parking or traffic contravention is concerned – that’s pretty much instant.
My insurers arranged for the vehicle to be collected and transported to their approved repairer. The driver of the breakdown truck told me he’d collected so many Toyotas for cat theft that he was now getting fed up with it.
The insurer’s approved repairer telephoned me to say the car was economical to repair but Toyota had such a back log that it would take six to eight weeks for a replacement catalytic converter to arrive. So I now will not have my car for two months, by which time the manufacturer’s warranty and MOT would have expired. Needless to say, I’m not happy about this and have raised a case with Toyota, although from the email replies I’ve received from their Customer Relations Team, I have little to no confidence in them doing anything to assist.
So, one of the world’s leading car manufacturers cannot supply a part for several of their best selling models for two months? And you’re now saying that you have a “Catloc” device that will make it harder for thieves to steal catalytic converters and you’re offering it to us at a discount? If thieves are cutting away catalytic converters in under two minutes, what’s to stop them cutting away the Catloc too – another 20 seconds perhaps?
Does anyone else remember the “Hot Hatch” problems of the early 90s? The theft of small to medium sized, performance hatchbacks – GTis, XR2is, XR3is etc., was so prolific that insurance premiums skyrocketed over a very short period of time. In turn, the price of these vehicles plummetted because few people could afford to insure them. Do you get my point Toyota?
I have over 30 years no claim discount and wondered why my Auris was the most expensive car I’ve had to insure in the last two decades. Now I know!
I don’t see this problem being resolved anytime soon, not with everything else the Police have to deal with right now. With this in mind I was hoping my insurers would deem the vehicle uneconomical to repair, that way I would cut my losses and buy a vehicle that I don’t have to worry about parking in a supermarket, leisure centre or station car park and not be able to drive home on my return.
This is a very serious problem Toyota.
Hi Mike,
We’re very sorry that your vehicle was targeted by criminals. We have checked your details with the customer relations team and can see that you do have a case open. They will do all they can to try to assist you in this difficult time. Just so you’re aware, we are working flat out with our suppliers to try to resolve this as soon as we can. Our main catalytic converter supplier has now increased its daily production shifts from one to three, and we hope this will allow us to get customers back on the road more quickly. We are also urgently exploring new technical possibilities to deter criminals, but we would like to refrain from going in to specifics at this time for obvious reasons. We will have more information soon. Thanks.
Toyota customer relations have very kindly supplied me with a hire car – after 10 weeks with no replacement cat delivery date in sight.