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.
Guys just to alert people, Toyota have been responding to comments here offering to open “customer relations case” with you via email, but they dont do anything!
Toyota stopped responding to my emails in the customer relations case so they are totally useless.
fake customer support.
Hi Jason,
Thanks for getting back in touch. We are so sorry you have been a victim of this crime and that you feel this way about your experience with our team. We would appreciate the opportunity to make this right and help you further in any way we can. We will email you directly regarding this.
Thanks.
Hi
It happen with my car over the weekend as well. After reading all posts here, it seems that there are lots of victims and I feel that toyato should replace this free of charge. This was not my fault and I have lodge police complaint as well for this. Now this will affect my insurance and will have to pay excess on the insurance as well so i will be out of the pocket due to a mechanical error made by Toyato that is easy for any thief to steal Catalytic Converter. I am expecting that Toyato will reply to my comment
Hi Krunal,
Thanks for contacting us. We are so sorry you have been impacted by this situation. We are working to support all our customers who have been impacted by this situation by assessing each case on an individual basis in order to provide the best support in any way we can. With this in mind, we will email you directly in order to gain additional details and open a customer relations case on your behalf.
Thanks.
Hi Andrew,
Thanks for getting in touch. We are so sorry to hear you have been impacted by this crime. So that we can help you further, we will email you directly in order to open a customer relations case with our team.
Thanks.
Same here. The neighbours who weren’t awake yet at 8 this morning, sure had their rough awakening as I started my 2008 Pruis II. After unwrapping a lot of red tape with the insurance company and police it is now at the dealer, who insists on installing the original part(s)…
Toyota, can we please have a decent recall for the (remaining) customers?
Hi Roger,
Thanks for getting in touch with us. We are incredibly sorry you have been impacted by this situation. We will email you directly in order to gain additional details and open a customer relations case on your behalf. Our team will be able to discuss your case in more detail and see how best we can help you going forward.
Thanks.
Same here, had it stolen this afternoon and just found out. So annoying why isn’t there a recall to fit Catlocks? The length of this blog and numbers affected is eye watering. Can you drive the car to get it fixed? Are Toyota covering the costs at all? I hope they aren’t making a margin on this crime. What do customer service says?
Hi Mark,
Thanks for getting in touch. We are so sorry you have been a victim of this crime. We are working to help all our customers who have been impacted by this and are assessing each case on an individual basis to provide the best support in any way we can. In order to help you further, we will email you directly to gain additional details and open a case on your behalf.
Thanks.
Yesterday I had my cat stolen too, this was in a public car park in the middle of the day! I have a 2018 Auris hybrid. I had no idea this was an issue and that this model was being targeted along with the Prius! Had I known I would not have bought one. Now I have to fork out right before Christmas, plus I’ve been told that due to so many incidents I could be waiting a while for a replacement part. This is just unacceptable!
Hi there,
Thanks for your message. We are so sorry you have been a victim of this crime and for the distress this may have caused. Our customer relations team are able to track parts and we would like to open a case with them on your behalf so that we can help you further. We will email you directly regarding this.
Thanks.
The most disappointing is that Toyota does not want to agree to cover CATLOCK and is forcing consumers to pay shuffle out £250 own money what is another crime price. Simply exploiting the situation! Disappointing from Toyota
same here aswell well, had ours stolen on the 3rd of December and had to report it to the police but now we have to claim on our insurance and get a caploc fitted with Toyota saying they will charge us £250 to put it on! shouldn’t toyota really think about recalling this cars and install the caploc for free!
Dear All, I’m another victim too. The event took place between Friday Nov 29th and Tuesday Dec 3rd. I don’t use very often my car, and then suddenly the engine did that terrible noise… I contacted the insurance and they will charge £350 in excess, our policy cost will increase for next year too. It seems that the insurer’s workshop managed to do the whole job within 10 days, so I’m expecting to get the Auris back soon… hopefully I won’t get an original catalytic converter, I’ll have to buy a catloc from Toyota at £250 or a CatClamp ( if suitable), I’ll try to buy a Nextbase 522 dashcam from Halfords at £120 plus a rear-add-on cam for £40, in addition Halfords can fit the dashcam for £50; that’s already £210, and we know that the baddies don’t care about cameras. I want from TGB a good solution, for example electric-charge of the entire exhaust ( these are hybrid cars ) so the thieves will get an electric shock every time they touch the components…. you were able to design a system to move 1.5 tons along 30 miles using electric power, you can help us to electrocute these guys please ). I’m also thinking about installing an ultra loud alarm, so as soon as they lift the car it will produce a constant extremely loud noise, something that could trigger other cars alarms, businesses alarms and all that … help please!
Could u suggest some alarm.my car converter also stolen .
I’ve just had my catalytic converter cut from my Lexus CT200h yesterday in broad daylight.
This is absolutely ridiculous, I don’t see how a catlock will deter these thieves.
I’m now £1600 out of pocket, which is going to kwik-fit, I rang the local Lexus garage and spoke to the service department, and they told me that they would not be able to fix the car for at least 4 -6 weeks because they couldn’t get the part in,
I could not be without my car and had to go via kwik fit, it was the nearest garage from where the theft happened.
if I inform the insurance company my premiums will rise and loose out my no claims, and excess and they wont even cover 100% cost to get the part replaced.
Toyota needs to do something to help us.
Hi Michael,
Thanks for getting in touch with us. We are incredibly sorry you have been a victim of this crime. We would like to help you further by putting you in touch with our customer relations team. They are best placed to provide you further support in any way we can based on your specific circumstances. We will email you directly to discuss this further.
Thanks.
Me too 2007 Prius 2nd time in 6 months. Was looking at getting a 4 year old Auris too but thinking again. Toyota you are failing us.
Hi Sue,
Thanks for your message. We are really sorry to hear you have been a victim of this crime for a second time. Our customer relations team are working to support all our customers who have been impacted by this and are assessing cases on an individual basis to provide the best support in any way we can. We will email you directly to discuss your situation further in order to open a customer relations case on your behalf.
Thanks.
Hi there,
Thanks for contacting us. We are so sorry you have been impacted by this crime. We would like to help you further by putting you in touch with our customer relations team and will email you directly regarding this.
Thanks.
Hi Manuel,
Thanks for your message. We are so sorry you have been impacted by this crime. We are urgently exploring new technical possibilities to deter criminals however we don’t have any specifics to confirm at this time. We would like to see how we can help you further with your situation by putting you in touch with our customer relations team and we will email you directly regarding this.
Thanks