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.
I have watched on YouTube, how the thieves steal the catalytic converters in two minutes in broad daylight. They have to jack up the car high to make the person cutting it out has room to work. What if, you put two Mercury tilt switch’s (20 pounds max) under your car or an electronic device that does the same. A 120 db Piezo Sounder from eBay for £11.40 and mount it under the car. The alarm would be physically painful to anyone under the vehicle and would draw immediate attention to their activity’s. The bits would need connecting into the car, that should not be that hard. Expensive car alarms have tip switches. What would it cost Toyoda to make something this simple and fit it? Could this be more cost-effective than £250 steel plate that only slows them down? I have an Auris, and I am protecting my car this way. I want everyone to notice what is happening before the cutting starts!
Hi Toyota,
I am always fond of genuine parts but after this incident following thoughts compel me to go with copy version of catalytic converter.
– Since the incident on dated 2nd December 2019, on that night I was not able to sleep as any sound heard made me to look outside window to make sure if thieves are not striking back.
– Very next day when I went to the office and I was shocked to hear as one of my colleague’s friend had similar incident like mine on same night.
– I have called my insurance company and they told me that my insurance covers that but subject to pay 350£ excess amount (also future premium increase)and wait of 4-6 months due to shortage of this part since theft incident has increased dramatically in 2019.
– In this blog, it’s mentioned that even with Catloc its not guarantee to stop the theft incidents and by looking at victim’s views some were subject to 2nd theft with Catloc installed ” It may delay theft time from 2 mins to 5 mins but cannot stop it”. This means if I am going with original part I have to live with constant fear of stealing, no place is safe either day or night, park at home or superstore parking.
– I have called at least 3 garages and got the same answer that if you want to stop become victim again go with copy version as thieves have no interest in stealing of copy version.
– Today, I took my car early morning to garage and my journey was with all the embarrassment and glaring got from school kids because of weird loud noises coming out of my car.
– While talking to mechanic in his garage, on very spot he got two telephone calls enquiring about catalytic converters as they were also subject to theft.
– It cost me 450£ that includes converter, locknuts and service charges. Mechanic showed me how easy it is to steal converter from the car. Since car comes with simple screws so its matter of 1 mins and 35 secs to take the converter out.
In summary:
If I would have to go with my insurance I would have to pay 350£ excess + 6 months wait. With original part subject to become victim again and live with fear, at the same time the whole Toyota bundle plus services charges are touching around 1600£. Copy version cost me 450£, no wait for months, no fear of stealing and it almost works like original one (at least for me copy version worth it, given the pain I went through and hassle of 6 months for getting original part and afterwards constantly living in fear of stealing again)
Sorry Toyota, I had to share my experience as I really feel for the victims who went through similar pain as I am and now confused what to do.
Suggestions: I would definitely say that quality of original Toyota Catalytic converters has no match and the elements you use are indeed environmental friendly and minimize harmful emissions. Also, I dont blame Toyota about the original design as Toyota never thought that this part would be subject to stealing at such a large scale. However, this is fact now and many many Toyota customers are suffering because of it. In current models, either recall them and give Catloc free of service or at least send letters to customers to let them know that protection is mandatory, even simple lock screws make huge difference. Also, in future models please design it in such a way that it should impossible for thieves to steal.
A Loyal Toyota Customer
Hi Sardar,
Thanks for getting in touch and for sharing this with us. We are incredibly sorry to hear you have been a victim of this crime and for the distress this may have caused. We have emailed you directly regarding opening a customer relations case on your behalf, however in case you haven’t received this we will re-send it in case you would like to discuss your situation further.
Thanks.
Yep – happened to us last night! Our Auris (which we’ve only had for 9 months) was parked outside the house and they did it in under a minute. I even interrupted them, but in the time it took to get downstairs and open the front door they were gone. Wish I’d known about this fundamental design floor before buying.
I’m advising anyone who’ll listen to avoid Toyota, and we’ll be exchanging ours as soon as possible.
Hi Matt,
Thanks for contacting us. We are so sorry you have been impacted by this crime. In order for us to support you further with this incredibly difficult situation, we would like to open a customer relations case on your behalf, and will email you directly regarding this.
Thanks.
I’m not aware of any of the models that are currently on sale having been targeted as the position of the catalytic converter is much harder to steal.
The issue is with vehicles that have the “second generation hybrid” system such as the Auris, previous Prius and the current Prius+.
I would have no issue with buying a current hybrid (I have one on order), and should probably point out that the information regarding catalytic converter theft was displayed next to the coffee machine in my local dealership in Oxford. Yes, Toyota could write to all owners warning them but how many of these cars are on their second or third owner?
Maybe Toyota could offer bigger incentives to customers to purchase a newer model?
Matt,
There is nothing wrong with the current range of hybrid models as Toyota have moved the position of the catalytic converter. Unfortunately Toyota designed the hybrid system on your car around 8 – 10 years ago when this crime didn’t exist for private owners.
I hope you get it all sorted out, it might also be worth asking your local dealer to remove the hybrid badges from your car. As the Auris was sold as a petrol, diesel and hybrid the criminals would need to be clever enough to work out what engine you have!
I would like to think this is true, however yesterday I had my cat stolen when it was parked in a public carpark (in the middle of the day!) and this was a 2018 plate Auris hybrid.
It’s an epidemic! My car is parked in a concrete garage overnight, so never thought cat’ theft would apply to me. Wrong…. Went to Ikea today for a few hours. Started the car and it sounded like a tractor. Yes, the catalytic converter has been ‘removed’. £1100 to get it repaired. Car is 10 years old, so it’s about 20% of the car’s value. Might be covered by insurance, but I’ll pay the excess and a higher premium next year. I guess the ‘solution’ is to have a ‘cheap as chips’ after market cat’ fitted, sell the car and buy anything-but-a-toyota to replace it.
Just had ours stolen whilst parked in a public car park, at around 11am on a busy Saturday morning.
Does make me wonder why there can’t be some sort of “skid pan” attached covering the entire of the underside of the car.
Surely that would make attacking and then retrieving the catalytic converter significantly harder?
Hi Craig,
Thanks for getting in touch. We’re really sorry to hear you have been a victim of this crime. Our customer relations team are best placed to support you further. With that in mind, we will email you directly in order to gain additional details and open a case on your behalf.
Thanks.
I had my catalytic converter stolen from my 2011 Toyota Auris on the 5th of December 2019 from Morrison’s car park in Queensbury, while I was shopping with my little boy. I got in my car after loading it with shopping, started it up and was greeted by a sound like a pneumatic drill coming from the car.
As this crime is happening all over the country at such regular intervals, isn’t it about time it was reported in the national news? Not just the papers (there was an article about it in the Guardian in September 2019 which I unfortunately missed) but reported on the news on TV? It’s certainly news worthy. Shouldn’t we be warning the public that these crimes are happening and that anyone thinking of buying or who already has a Hybrid, is a potential victim of theft? Alternatively, as someone previously suggested, Toyota should recall all the Hybrids at risk. If I had been warned that there was a possibility that my catalytic converter could be stolen and that my particular car was a target, I wouldn’t have been so surprised when I got into the car and heard the intolerable noise it was making. I would have known what had happened and I wouldn’t have called the RAC and waited for several hours only to be told that it was a matter for my insurance company. The guy from the RAC knew what the problem was without me having to start the car for him.
So let’s get this straight; Toyota know about the risk of theft and are simply cashing in on it, the police know about it but don’t have the man power to stop it, even the RAC know about it, but can’t have anything to do with it! So why isn’t this big news? There have been over 780 comments on this blog in the last 8 months! And those are just from people who have taken the time to come go on line and comment. Imagine how many others don’t have the time, the knowhow, or just don’t want to comment on such a rotten experience. Perhaps if it was announced on the news Toyota might do more to help with the problem. Of course their sales would plummet over night, but it might make them think twice about replacing the stolen parts at a discount to all their victims. They might even provide their (not very effective) ’catloc’ free of charge.
On this site Toyota say….
“We’re doing all we can. We’ve shared police guidance with customers, and we have developed and reduced the price of a ‘Catloc’ device which can deter theft and make it more difficult… “
Well they never told me about any police guidance and I have my car serviced and MOT-ed with them every year. As for the reduced price of a Catloc, they are trying to charge me £250 for one and that’s after the £1600 they want to charge me to have the part replaced! The part that they so negligently left exposed and easy for anyone to steal!
I am now having to make a claim on my insurance through no fault of my own. Don’t even get me started on the excess and loss of no claims after more than 20 years, but what about the increase in insurance premiums! Surely now that the Toyota Hybrids have had so many insurance claims against them, the cost to insure one is going to go through the roof. Very disappointed!
Hi Nina,
Thanks for your message. We are so sorry you have been impacted by this crime and for the distress this may have caused. We are working to support customers in any way we can and as such we will email you directly in order to gain additional details and open a customer relations case on your behalf. Our team are assessing cases on an individual basis and will be able to discuss your situation in more detail to determine how best we can help you going forward.
Thanks.
Hello I have been victim of this for my Toyota Prius yesterday and is so bad that Toyota didn’t come back to us how to prevent this , not sure what I need to do now
Hi there,
Thanks for getting in touch. We are so sorry you have been a victim of this crime and for the distress this may have caused. As the next step 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.
I had my Catalytic converter stolen in March 2019 and no help from Toyota !
This is a huge design flaw and I had to pay 750pounds to replace it.
Toyota should issue recall and compensate all people effected.