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.
Dear Sirs
I bought my Prius from a dealer in Cambridge in October 2018. My dealer had not notified me about this problem and I knew nothing about it when my catalytic converter was stolen from my Prius in broad daylight from a Cambridge Park and Ride site with security cameras on 7 October. Of course, as with everybody else on this site, I am waiting for the replacement which my garage says may not be until 23 November. We have just one car and this theft has severely impacted on my ability to get to work and to visit my disabled mother.
I now have to take the train to work at a significant cost in time and money, and walk for 50 minutes each way to and from home to the station and work. This has caused significant pain in my hips and ankles, and I am now trying to negotiate working from home as much as possible. I love the Prius and this is my second one. However I am extremely concerned about how to keep it safe given the only option for me is to park in the Park and Ride car park for work, since secure car parks cost £28.50 a day in Cambridge.
My damaged car is in a local garage which until recently was a Toyota dealer (and has looked after my Prius’ for 11 years), other than this garage my nearest Toyota dealer is 30 miles away. My garage has said that none of the suggested preventative measures will work, and have also said that the catloc is an accessory that they cannot buy. I will have to pay for the replacement cat myself since I can’t afford the ongoing effect on my car insurance were I to claim.
Lowering the cost of the replacement is not the answer, this problem has been prevented by other manufacturers by fitting the cat inside the body of the car. I understand the cost of recall and or compensation can be huge, but so can the impact on your sales.
I urge you to consider some form of alleviating the inconvenience to your customers.
Jaki
Hi there,
Thanks for getting in touch. We are incredibly sorry you have been a victim of this crime. We will email you in order to open a customer relations case on your behalf. Our team are best placed to support you further with this by assessing your case on an individual basis.
Thanks.
I have just come back from an overnight trip at a Train Station in Wiltshire and the cat has been chopped out of the exhaust on my Lexus 400H. I have had no warnings of this surely there is a way to contact all owners of cars through the DVLA that are high risk. Some suggestions on your website after its happened is not good enough. I know this is the Toyota site but assume its all connected.
Hi Tim,
Thanks for your message. We are so sorry to hear you have been a victim of this crime. We have tried to ensure as many of our customers as possible are aware. We published police advice on this crime as soon as we could online, wrote to our dealer network to brief customers and wrote directly to owners of a number of our vehicles where we had details to do so.
Once again, we are sorry you have been a victim of this. We will email you directly in order to open a customer relations case on your behalf.
Thanks.
Hi – given that hybrid cars are targetted because the cats are in better condition in these cars how quickly can Toyota hybrid car owners be assured by Toyota that a robust antif-theft hardware solution for all the hybrid range will be available (and please don’t ask me to contact my local Toyota dealer!)? I have a RAV4 2018 hybrid (4th generation) which is a superb car but these thefts make me consider trading it in for somethings else – I live in the middle of nowhere and cannot afford to be without a car (and I am certain that my local Toyota dealer is not in a position to offer a loan car for the months that it seems to take to get a replacememt cat sourced and fitted……..)
Hi there,
Thanks for getting in touch. At this time we have developed Catlocs for vehicles deemed most at risk. This doesn’t include 2018 RAV4.
In addition to this, opportunist theft of catalytic converters is more likely to occur in built up areas.
Thanks.
My car doesn’t spend 24/7/365 out in the sticks however……so its those times that I am parked in towns/cities/car parks/etc that has me concerned…..
Hi there,
Thanks for getting back in touch. We are urgently looking into other technical possibilities, however would like to refrain from going into specifics at this time. In addition in the above blog post we have linked to advice from Police from West Yorkshire, London and Nottinghamshire who are advising owners of the precautions they can take.
Thanks.
Hi Lorna,
Thanks for your message. We are so sorry you have been a victim of this crime. We are working to support all customers any way we can through this difficult situation by assessing cases on an individual basis. We will email you directly in regards to opening a customer relations case on your behalf.
Thanks.
So I’ve just had my cat stolen, I think Toyota carry some responsibility here why put such an expensive part in a car unprotected in the 1st place what are Toyota doing about this?
Hi Ash,
Thanks for getting in touch. We are so sorry you have been impacted by this crime and we will email you directly in order to help you further.
Criminals are using high-grade power saws to remove the catalyst, making it in reality, easy to remove from any vehicle regardless of design.
Once again, we are sorry you have been a victim of this crime and will be in touch with you to help further.
Thanks.
“Criminals are using high-grade power saws to remove the catalyst, making it in reality, easy to remove from any vehicle regardless of design. ”
In a car park with hundreds of other vehicles, why did they just target my Gen 2 Toyota Prius?
Hi there,
Thanks for getting back in touch. We cannot comment for other manufacturers and questions on patterns of offending should be addressed to the police. We believe some of our products have been targeted, especially in some specific areas of the country, due to the large number of those vehicles on the road.
Thanks.
Hi,
I’ve contacted my local Toyota dealer (Ireland) to get a Cat Loc for my 2013 Prius. They said Toyota have not released any Cat Loc’s for it, only a tilt sensor.
Can you advise it there is a Cat Loc available please?
Thanks
Hi Graham,
Thanks for your message. We would recommend contacting Toyota Ireland for further help with your query.
Thanks.
Like everyone else here, my Gen 2 Prius’s catalytic converter was stolen from the car park at my work 😢 on the 25th of September.
Got the car back on the road after a significant cost hit but was worried about it happening again – saw the catlock but it didn’t seem robust enough so I imported a catclamp from the US instead. All this additional cost to protect something that should have been engineered with security in mind from the start.
I don’t think Toyota is going to do anything about this (why should they, when there’s money 💰 to be made). Their response of working on something to protect our vehicles for many months now is getting quite old now with no solution in sight. Their top engineers can probably provide multiple solutions in days if they were assigned to this task.
I think they are just waiting for this crime wave to die down and everyone forgetting about it.
Oh, almost forgot to mention – I took my car in for a service to Steven Eagell Toyota (Romford) dealership in June 2019 and did they inform me about this? I guess you know the answer to that question. They were more interested in replacing a brake caliper that my car did not require.
Do you expect to get any sort of reimbursement from Toyota about this? Please let me know if the comments below.
Hi there,
Thanks for your message. We are so sorry you have been a victim of this crime. We are working to support all our customers who have been impacted by this situation and with this in mind we would like to open a customer relations case on your behalf. Our team will be best placed to talk through your experience and answer any questions you may have. We will email you directly regarding this.
Thanks.
I agree with you. Every word nothing is going oto be done. I have a 2017 Auris and it is crazy to believe that Toyota manufacture oarts in the car like this. No to mention that this story was alreadya big hit in in 2013. So 6 years down the line and nothing happens. So saaaaad
Hi, I too have had my catalytic convertor stolen from my gen2 Prius during a brazen daylight robbery. I can not believe that Toyota have designed a convertor that sits in such a location on the vehicle where it easily removed. Especially considering it contains precious metals such as Platinum, rhodium, palladium. Where was the designers rational behind this. Your vehicles have deadlocks, mobilizers, alarms to deter theft, yet you place a high value easily removable box on an easily accessible location on the car. I am a member of the Toyota club and you have my details on file for recalls and am registered with a dealer etc. Why was I not notified of this high security issue on the car. We are not talking about a £50 car radio, but rather a very high value and functioning component of the car. I now face the issue/risk of having it replaced with a non “reputable” catalytic convertor and run the risk of an after market piece of junk which may damage my car. This may well depend on my insurer’s insistence of using their repairer and having to attempt to explain the nature of the part. An issue with which Toyota no doubt will be aware. I am absolutely flabbergasted and fuming at the handling of this situation. Toyota have sat on this information and only recently put up this post when they know that this security issue exists for a long time. Its not acceptable.
Hi Joe,
Thanks for your message. We are so sorry you have been a victim of this crime. Our customer relations team will be best placed to advise you further with this situation and we have therefore emailed you regarding this.
We are sorry you are disappointed and we will do all we can to support you through this.
Thanks.
please can someone contact me regarding the same issues as all these poor people on here?
There is nothing high grade about a reciprical saw. Anyone can get their hands on one. They are cheap. The exhaust tailpipe is soft and easily cut. The convertor sits attached to the exhaust pipe and affords no protection from being directly cut out. Its like a knife cutting through butter. A simple aerated plate over the bottom space below the CAT secured from inside the vehicle would have enough of a deterient to stop the “grand prix” opportunist thief. In my case 10 mins would have been enough for these guys to be caught by the police. It took them 2 minutes if that after lifting my car with a pneumatic jack.
I had the catalytic converter stolen from my car today. Can Toyota please advise what I can do? I have a 2015 Auris Hybrid. Is this just going to keep happening, essentially making the car worthless and costing me £1000 each time because of a design flaw!
Hi Victoria,
Thanks for getting in touch with us. We are so sorry you have been a victim of this crime. We will email you directly in order to help you further by opening a customer relations case on your behalf.
Thanks.