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 All Toyota Prius Owners. I had my Prius CAT twice attempted for theft.
In the first one in broad day light with people around, they were deterred by one guy challenging them. In the second case, just one week later on the same car park the same guys came and di the job in 3 minutes. First occasion, they were masked with balaclavas. In the second occasion they just looked down all the time. Both CCTVs were ignored by the police as they said “we need to see their face to be able to make a case”.
Prius are targeted because theyh have 2 converters. So it’s buy 1 get 1 free for the thieves.
I strongly advise Toyota UK to warn all Toyota Owners about this and the owners should get the converter locked. This will deter the thieves and it is difficult to steal, with a warning on the windows.
My catalytic converter was stolen from Bristol Parkway station yesterday. The station manager said it was the 3rd that day and he was expecting more. My Toyota dealer says that they have had thefts from their forecourt. I’m currently waiting to see whether to replace privately or via Toyota. Everyone has been extremely helpful but it seems that I will be without the car for weeks, perhaps months.
Given the number of emails on this issue, 6 yesterday and 7 the previous day it doesn’t seem that increasing production from 1 to 3 a day is adequate. Toyota have 2 reputational issues to take seriously. The first is the ease of theft and finding an adequate remedy – asking the customer to pay for a part does not seem appropriate and neither does the part seem to resolve the problem given the comments. Secondly the delay in getting spare parts needs to be down to a few days.
Hi Gillian,
Thanks for getting in touch. We are extremely sorry to hear about your situation and how you have been impacted by this crime. We have emailed you regarding finding out additional information in order to help you further with this.
Regarding parts availability, 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.
Thanks for your quick reply.
Both my Toyota dealer and the car insurer repairer say parts are unavailable with delivery dates unknown.
My vehicle was new in March 2017. The cost of repair is an 8th of the current value of the vehicle. The number of thefts being reported on this site daily seem to be half of the increased daily production rate, to delivery dates must be extending on this basis.
Hi Gillian,
Thanks for getting back in touch. We have now opened a case on your behalf and will add these comments into it. In addition, we are doing all we can to increase replacement parts production with our suppliers and reduce current backlog as fast as possible.
Thanks.
I contacted you by email on the Toyota site yesterday to check what was happening as I don’t seem to have heard from you since your 30/09/19 reply.
Would you kindly contact me within 2 days.
Hi Gillian,
Thanks for getting back in touch. We will add this to your open customer relations case with us and someone will be in touch with you soon.
Thanks.
Sadly, I have now become a victim of this Catalytic converter theft. This has been painful as i cannot go about my day to day activity as i would like. With no time frame on a delivery, this has left me totally frustrated. I was completely unaware of this this negligence by Toyota in their design which is totally unacceptable. The replacement is extremely expensive and the fear of having it stolen again, leaves me no choice but to trade in for a more suitable brand.
It would help if we had a proper response from Toyota and not just an automated response. We are talking peoples livelihood here, severe loss of earnings and cost of insurance etc that is just parked up with no where to go.
The worst part of this being, the owners of these vehicles can do absolutely nothing to protect their asset which has now become the biggest liability. Toyota has sold a product that leaves a bad taste in its customers mouth
Can the Senior Press Relations Manager respond ASAP
I will be seeking legal advice on this matter and definitely will not be looking to upgrade for a new model
I have now started the following campaign to bring awareness to others
#Toyota#CatalyticConvertTheft
Hi Bernice,
Thanks for your message. We are so sorry you have been a victim of this crime and that you feel let down by our responses. We take each case of this theft incredibly seriously and we are assessing each case on an individual basis in order to best support each customer impacted.
We will email you directly to gain additional details in order to open a customer relations case on your behalf.
Thanks.
Dear Toyota,
I had the catalytic converter stolen from my 2017 Auris on at 2pm Monday 23rd September. It happened at Tesco car park which is located in Popes Drive N3 (at back of Tesco in Ballard’s Lane, Finchley). I was told by Tesco security that this was happening on a regular basis. When I reported it to the Police they said that this was very common.
I’ve only had the car for 1 year, had to pay out £350 excess and no longer have my car. My insurance company has told me that there is long waiting time for parts due to the high demand caused by the large number being stolen.
From what I’m seeing it appears that Toyota is not taking this issue seriously enough as older models are not being re-called and Toyota is not taking any responsibility.
Simply advising us to fit a cat lock at our expense (£250) after having all the distress and cost this has already caused with the knowledge that it does not actually stop the cat being stolen again is not really good enough. I agree that Toyota should be looking to re-call all models affected to carry out a permanent fix. This is a design issue and Toyota need to act responsibly.
Asking us to follow Police advice is fobbing us off, one Police suggestion is to park under a street light at night but this does not make sense as this crime is carried out in broad daylight in a matter of minutes.
Toyota did not flag this up as a potential problem when I bought the car although there was already a serious issue. If I had known I would not have bought the car. We are only single salary household with one car and this has had a major impact on our finances and stress levels.
This is clearly a Toyota design issue and Toyota need to take responsibility. Depending on Toyota’s response (although I don’t hold out much hope it will resolve anything) I will be selling my car as I will forever be in fear of this happening again and can only see having one as a liability.
Gary
Hi Gary,
Thanks for your comment. We are so sorry you have been a victim of this crime and we fully appreciate the stress this situation may have caused. We are taking the issue of catalytic converter theft incredibly seriously, with our customer relations team working hard to support all our customers by assessing each case on an individual basis.
With this in mind, we will email you to gain additional details in order to open a customer relations case on your behalf.
Thanks.
I agree with Gary. I called Toyota service for catloc and I’m told that it can take 4-5 weeks if not months to fix one. going to Toyota service centres just does not help. We are getting same standard answers
it doesn’t make sense to own a Toyota anymore with such poor customer relations and ambiguity
Hi there,
Thanks for your comment. We are sorry you have been impacted by this crime and that you feel let down by us. We will email you directly in order to see how we can help you further.
Thanks.
Hi Sadly I like many others have had my catalytic converter stolen from my Prius whilst parked outside my house. Contacted Toyota service who suggested I make a claim through insurance. Due to high excess I said that I would prefer to pay myself. Then discovered it could be over £1000 and a long wait. Waiting for local dealer to get back to me. Worried about spending this money and it being stolen again. Don’t know what to do.
Hi Chris,
Thanks for getting in touch. We are incredibly sorry you have been impacted by this crime. We will email you directly in order to find out additional details so that we can open a customer relations case on your behalf.
Thanks.
I understand other cars are as easy for the criminals. The issue with Toyota is that the criminal grapevine has suggested certain models of car. These people are not making up their own mind – they are bing coherced.
Have a look at the BM pattern part catalytic convertor on ebay depending on whether you need the lambda sensor or not will cost you £110 to £200.May not be the same quality as Toyota’s original part but as the chances are you will have it stolen again you will loose a lot less.
Hi Chris, this is a bit of a nightmare isn’t it. I also spent yesterday talking to dealers and insurance company trying to get a resolution but didn’t get far. What I did find is that you can purchase the cat on Ebay for under £500. This is obviously not a Toyota part but is new and the company has good feedback.
My catalyst converter was also stolen just over a week ago outside my home. Due to high excess can’t claim of insurance. I’m devasted, now I have to find close to £1000 to replace converter and censor which was also damaged. This is a heavy financial burden at this time.
I am scared it will be stolen again, after it’s finally repaired, and I get it back, so won’t be able to sleep at night. I don’t feel safe anymore going out with kids and parking the car. I can’t get rid of the car as I’m still paying for it.
I wish I had known the severity of the thefts of converters before I purchased it in January 2019, for the safety of myself and my children.
How much is it going to cost to add a safety device, which may not even stop the thieves from taking it again!🙁
Hi Juliette,
Thanks for your message. We are so sorry you have been a victim of this crime.
Theft of catalytic converters is not a new offence, but it has always been relatively rare. It has been since-mid 2019 however, this crime has risen sharply.
We are working hard to support all our customer who have been impacted by this situation and will email you directly to gain additional information in order to open a customer relations case on your behalf.
Thanks.
I also had the misfortune of my catalytic converter being stolen last Wednesday day after I purchased another hybrid car for the family. Called Toyota dealership and was quoted £1500 and no ETA on parts being delivered. Checked local garages and no original parts available so would effect my warranty on my Auris Hybrid 67 plate. After many phone calls I received a courtesy car from my insurance company today and was told they have a Toyota car been waiting for three months for the same part.
This has been a failure from Toyota to not address the issue when it started. Why have they not recalled cars and ensured they are secure to deter any potential thives. I was advised to potentially give more security to pay for Catlock. This should not be for customers to pay and no peace of mind given that the catalytic converter will be safe. This just makes me feel to sell both Toyota’s I have.
Six years no claims discount has been affected,insurance premium increased ,many Uber trips to take my three children back and forth to school. £350 access charge for no fault of my own except Toyota lack of taking into account of the problem. I have now a small replacement Corsa that will be invoiced to my insurer and it seems everyone including Toyota are making money except Toyota Hybrid car owners.
Honda needs to be praised as they address the issue early buy hiding the catalytic converter from 2015 to make it very hard to remove. Honda in 2008 placed trays under there most vunrable cars to stop the theft.
What is being done to compensate customer’s affected and assuring them to not always be looking out the window for their catalytic converter to be removed buy thieves.
Please ensure Marvin Cooke Managing Director of UK manufacturing sees my blog.
Hi there,
Thanks for getting in touch. We are extremely sorry you have been a victim of this type of crime. Our customer relations team are working to support all our customers impacted by this, by assessing each case on an individual basis.
Please also be aware we have moved to ensure that the cost to customers of replacement catalytic converters supplied and fitted through our approved service centres is as low as possible, and that TGB doesn’t profit from this.
We will email you directly to gain additional details in order to open a customer relations case on your behalf.
Thanks.
I must say that I agree with much of what Mohsin has said, but am certainly glad to hear that Toyota isn’t seeking to profit from sales of the Catloc (makes me wonder if they’re being sold at cost or at a loss..? As £250 is a suspiciously round number).
It’s good to hear that you will support customers who have been affected already by this crime, but what about the rest of us who feel like sitting ducks, likely to be targeted at any moment? Those who don’t have a handy £250 sitting around for a Catloc device we had no idea we would need, do we have to wait for the worst to happen before getting any additional support from Toyota? Would it not be reasonable for example to equip dealerships with an etching kit and manage the situation like a recall to get vulnerable models marked? Otherwise, as Mohsin points out, it makes Toyota ownership feel suddenly like a liability and will surely impact the market value of these cars.
Hi Chas,
Thanks for getting in touch. We are taking each case of this theft incredibly seriously. We will email you directly in order for us to put you in touch with our customer relations team who will be able to discuss your queries further.
Thanks.
Reading the many entries I still don’t think Toyota realise how simple this theft is. My Auris was parked at my golf club on Saturday afternoon, it was busy and people walked by the thieves who took just 3 or 4 minutes from start to finish. There is CCTV footage and the matter was reported to police but I suspect nothing will be done as no one seems to care, it is looked upon as a minor vehicle theft. Toyota are making good noises around increased production etc but again nothing serious or positive for their customers or dealers who have no information of any value. I have no clue how long I’ll be without my car as nobody seems to know. My concern is what about when I get it back, apparently the lock only slows the thieves down by 1 minute so not effective. I can’t park my car anywhere in public as this will happen again as the multiple theft owners on this site will attest to. The resale value of the car has now plummeted as ‘who would want to buy it’ and I am sure my next insurance premium will rocket. I know I won’t get an answer from Toyota as they have no clue how to resolve it and are just sitting on their hands hoping it will die down. I have been delighted with my Toyota and my wife has with hers and they would have been my first option to replace them but not now.
Hi Phil,
Thanks for getting in touch. We are incredibly sorry you have been impacted by this criminal offence. We are urgently looking into other technical possibilities to deter criminals but we would like to refrain from going in to specifics at this time.
We are keen to help you further and would like to open a customer relations case on your behalf. We have emailed you directly regarding this.
Thanks.
A tilt sensor would activate the car alarm?
Hopefully one will soon e offered!
I THINK ON WAY Toyota COULD HELP IS BY OFFERING HIGHLY SUBSIDISED FRONT & REAR CAMERAS TO ALL CUSTOMERS
Hi Mike,
Thanks for getting in touch. We are currently looking into other technical possibilities, however would like to refrain from mentioning specifics at this time.
Thanks.
Same things happening a lot now a days. But my question is if we can’t stop them stealing that we actually police should find out the buyers of those stolen catalytic converters. This is a question mark on our police and our public as well. Everyone knows this happening and they don’t care if someone is doing that and walk away.
Why have Toyota omitted to fit superior Thatcham Cat 1 on some of their models? The motion detecting trigger would surely deter a lot thievery attempts as the cars need to jacked up to get to the catalytic converters. I think Toyota has a duty to retrofit Cat 1 to all models affected like the Auris.
On Friday I noticed my catalytic converter was stolen from my Toyota auris In very well lighting street no far from my door There wasn’t any alarm sounds.They cat the wires I reported that to the police.On Monday I have to contact my insurance company about the problem My insurance is comprehensive
Is the insurance company do replace this by contacting you or I would have to do that my self? Very frustrating about it because this can happen again and there is nothing being done to stop it
I really need the car, reading all the comments that can take longer to replace it
Very disappointed
Hi there,
Thanks for getting in touch. We are really sorry you have been targeted by thieves in this current crime wave. We are working to support all our customers who have been impacted by this and have emailed you regarding opening a customer relations case on your behalf.
Thanks.
I had the catalytic converter stolen from Auris on the 19th September I initially called the AA after the theft to get relayed home but they would not come out as theft is not covered 😡eventually I got through to my insurance company and they had the vehicle recovered to my local Toyota dealer where the vehicle now sits outside Parked next to another Auris which also has had the catalytic converter stolen and has been waiting since early August !! The dealer is suggesting 3 months but it is a waiting game.
It is concerning reading everyone’s posts on hear on how they have been affected and also the lack of support to Toyota customers who risk parking and leaving there car anyway in the UK and the catalytic converter being cut off again.
I work and park in London so the chances off this happing again is high so I have even asked my insurance company if they would write the vehicle off but they won’t because of the value. So i am pretty much stuck with the burden and worry now.
Hi Jon,
Thanks for getting in touch. We are so sorry you have been targeted in this crime epidemic. We are working to support all our customers impacted by this and have emailed you in order to gain additional details so we can open a customer relations case on your behalf.
Thanks.
Had my cat convertor stolen from hospital car park whilst at work in day light by 2 cctv cameras , stranded for 5 hours waiting for recovery home. Toyota auris hybrid. Why is this continuing to happen? I have to commute 1. 5 hours to work place. I do not live near near any public transport. Unable to get to work now. Not happy, been informed that parts are not available until November at earliest. What can Toyota do to assist me?
Hi there,
Thanks for getting in touch. We are so sorry you have been impacted by this crime. Toyota vehicles are not the only ones being targeted and questions about the motivations and tactics of criminals should be addressed to the police, but we understand that the rise in the price of such parts and the materials they contain and opportunist profit may be the chief reason for the rise in this crime of late.
In order for us to help you further, we will email you directly in order to gain additional details and open a customer relations case on your behalf.
Thanks.
Toyota response was a waste of time, can’t have tilt alarm fitted to auris. I have read that the cat lock just gets cut off the same. So that’s a waste of money . Toyota you have to take some responsibility as the manufacturer of these precious convertors and fit in a way that can be so easily stolen your design is your responsibility, it certainly isn’t mine !! Already looking for a different brand of car