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.
Yet another victim of this crime 🙁
The cat of my Auris was stolen this week. Not sure when as I do not use my car every day due to the lockdown.
As I read more and more comments I am starting to think that this will be my last Toyota. Very poor customer service. Was very happy with my previous Auris as the road tax was £0 but now have to pay £130 pa. No one told me that. When I wrote to complain I got no reply at all.
Now this … And Toyota, do NOT bother to send me one of your robotised replies !!!
Hi Simeon,
Thanks for getting in touch with us. We appreciate you don’t want one of our responses, however we are sorry you have been a victim of this crime. We can see a case with our customer relations team has been opened and our team are working on it.
Thanks.
Ranjit I completely agree with you statement. My catalytic converter was stolen two days ago (24 April 2020) and it’s the same experience. Called the police and straight away you could sense that they were not interested, indeed I received an email from the police that evening that they had closed the case without even stepping out to the scene. Where I parked has CCTV but even that didn’t tempt them to come. Just as you mentioned about toyota inadvertently funding the criminals, well that’s how I felt the police acting as well. The criminals know police won’t catch them and therefore it’s business as usual.
Similarly, Toyota never alerted me of such common problems with this type of car (probably I would not have bought it) I believe Toyota should treat this as a scandal and urgently sort this out, and not at customer’s expense. You made the mess, now you should clean it up. Just like another car brand had fuel emissions scandal and they put their hands up and owned it, TOYOTA should too on this matter. I had already convinced two of my mates to buy this prius which was nice, but now I regret it. And surely if Toyota doesn’t change it’s stance on this issue, however hard it will for me even during this covid-19 situation, I will repair my car and sell it on immediately. AND THEN TRY AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE TO DISCOURAGE ANYONE FROM DEALING WITH TOYOTA!
I would like to encourage anyone who has gone through this to write to their MPs to voice their concerns that are failing on silent hears (Toyota +police)
I don’t think they realise the emotional impact this has on us!
WHAT A SHAME!!!
FRED OKOT.
Toyota Prius 2010 owner.
Hi Fred,
Thank you for getting in touch with us. We appreciate this is an incredibly difficult situation and are so sorry to hear you have been impacted by 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.
We are doing all we can to help this situation and have engaged with Home Office, Local MPs, Met Police (OVCU) and the Assistant Chief Constable of Cheshire Police (Jenny Sims) who is also the National Lead for all vehicle crime. All of this will raise the profile of this crime with all police forces and identify issues with current legislation.
If you would like to discuss your situation further, we would recommend contacting our customer relations team as they are best placed to help. You can contact our team directly on 0344 701 6202 or email them via this link: https://www.toyota.co.uk/contact-us/email-us
Thanks.
My Catalytic converter was stolen on 27th April . I bought Toyota Auris Hybrid just 5 months ago. It’s really stressful time , I called Toyota then insurance company. I never knew it is one of the most targeted car parts for the thief. How can I continue to drive this car , as someone can steal catalytic converter again.
I wish if I knew this before. I am writing today so that people can decide which car to buy.
Agree never buy Toyota again it happened to me twice with in a year can’t wait to sale and never go back to Toyoto
I’ve had my 2010 Prius for 10 years now without complaints. The only problems have been when my kids put the ceiling light on in the back so the auxiliary battery discharged. This weekend someone nicked my Cat while I was working in my garden. A lot of people are blaming Toyota and the police. Apparently this does not happen in the U.S. because the government has changed the law, maybe our government needs to do something too. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t happen in Japan because the crime rate is very low there. It is easy to blame the police who are overstretched like all public services. Maybe the problem is government cutting their funding, maybe we need to look at the big picture. Why is there so much crime in this country and why don’t the police have resources to deal with it?
Hi Rufus,
Thanks for getting in touch with us. We are so sorry to hear you have been a victim of this crime. If you would like to discuss your situation further, we would recommend contacting our customer relations team directly as they are best placed to provide support. You can contact our team here: https://www.toyota.co.uk/contact-us/email-us
Thanks.
My Catalytic converter was stolen on 28th April . I bought Toyota Auris Hybrid 18 months ago. It’s really stressful time , I called Toyota they close this time then I claimed insurance company. I never knew it is one of the most targeted car parts for the thief. How can I continue to drive this car , as someone can steal catalytic converter again.
I wish if I knew this before. I am writing today so that people can decide which car to buy.
A Patel
Hi Anilkumar,
Thanks for getting in touch with us. We are incredibly sorry to hear you have been affected by this crime. We would recommend contacting our customer relations team directly to discuss your situation further as they are best placed to provide support at this time. You can contact our team directly here: https://www.toyota.co.uk/contact-us/email-us
Please also be aware we are currently engaging with Home Office, Local MPs, Met Police (OVCU) and the Assistant Chief Constable of Cheshire Police (Jenny Sims) who is also the National Lead for all vehicle crime. All of this will raise the profile of this crime with all police forces and identify issues with current legislation.
Thanks.
Well said Fred police only interested in giving crime number . I had a Toyota fitted Catlok and it was stolen in 3 mins all cought on my Cctv I like Toyota cars but will not be buying another till they install proper factory protection
Dear Toyota Staff
Catalytic Converter of my prius was stolen last week . Both my wife and I are NHS keyworkers and continue to work through Covid19 crisis. My prius is now out of action and we are forced to manage with my wife’s car but we work at two different hospitals. This is unnecessary inconvenience.
I am a loyal Toyota customer. I always get my Prius serviced with Toyota at Jemca Edgware Road.
I am deeply disappointed that Toyota did not inform me about the risk of “Catalytic converter theft” during my visits to the service centre nor provided solution. This is irresponsible behaviour on part of Toyota. This clearly a manufacturing weakness and Toyota should take responsibility to fix it on newer models and recall the older models to fix it. If not at least offer a solution to those who regularly come to you for servicing.
I request that you bear the expenses for replacement of catalytic converter for my prius.
Thank you
Rajesh
06/05/2020
Hi Rajesh,
Thanks for getting in touch with us. We are so sorry you have been impacted by this crime, particularly at such a difficult time. We will email you directly in order to gain additional details and put you in touch with our customer relations team. They are best placed to discuss your situation further and provide support in any way we can.
Thanks.
Like you rightly mentioned, “And what about the implications for health workers in the current crisis??” My wife drove her Toyota prius to work at Northwick park hospital two weeks ago. Parked in one of hospital’s car
parks and when she finished work I got a call from her that she could not drive the car back home because it was making terrifying noises. I drove my car, unfortunately another Toyota, to the hospital to find out what the problem was. There someone looked at the car and said that the Catalytic Converter had been stolen.
I drove my wife back home, called the Toyota dealer in Aylesbury where the car was purchased but was greeted with a recorded message that they are closed due to COVID 19. I will email Toyota soon to see how this is going to be dealt with.
I don’t think I will be buying Toyota again in the future, there are other companies that are now producing Hybrid cars.
Hi Kola,
Thanks for your message. We are incredibly sorry to hear about this. We are working to support all our customers who have been impacted by this crime. We will email you directly in order to gain additional details in case you haven’t already contacted our customer relations team and would like us to open a case on your behalf.
Thanks.
Hi Alan, what model/year was your vehicle? Just interested to know if the catloc is less effective on older models than later ones (I have a 2015 Auris Hybrid with Toyota Catloc fitted as my cat was stolen in January). Thanks
This problem has been around for years … TOYOTA has known and promised to solve the problem for years.
TOYOTA has never taken this issue seriously.
Stop buying cars from them ….. they are not serious .. they had time to solve this problem for at least 6 years …… they still promise us ……. DON’T BUY TOYOTA anymore.
Absolutely gutted for my catalytic converter of Toyota Auris Hybrid car got stolen on 3rd of May in North West London, checked the Toyota dealer where the car was bought but it was closed due to COVID. As a key worker sharing home and work in two different places , I was left with no choice but to have it fixed in a hefty price. Always been driving Toyota cars and love them but if I knew these car models in particular was prone to theft of exhaust parts I’d probably have bought other cars ! Toyota needs to do something to keep the cars secure, more joblessness due to current situation will mean more thefts ☹️
After 3 years of worry free economical motoring I had my catalytic converter stolen from my Auris on 13th May outside my workplace. Being a healthcare worker I need my car fixed . The nearest dealer Jemca was closed. I’m waiting for my insurers to source the part and fix it. Luckily they have provided me with a hire car for 1 week. Reading this thread I don’t think I am going to have my car back in this time. I fully understand every Toyota owner’s frustration. We will pay the insurance excess , increased premium and never feel secure leaving the car. Changing the car would be too costly.
Toyota have no incentive to intervene. They stand to make money from the replacement parts and the newer models do not have this vulnerability so no lost sales. Replacing with a new specially designed cheaper “Gen 2” catalytic converter with less precious metal and reprogramming the engine management chip to handle it would be better than a catloc. Additionally colouring it bright yellow would let the thieves know it is not worth stealing anymore. Maybe when Toyota get back to work they might work on this as a longterm solution for us.
Good luck with your repairs everyone and stay safe.
Hi Bikash,
Thanks for getting in touch. We are so sorry you have been a victim of this crime. We are doing all we can to support our customers who have been impacted by this crime.
We have developed and are supplying theft deterrent devices at zero profit such as CatLocs, bolt caps and component etching to protect consumers from further attacks. We are also working with insurers to minimise the impact on consumers.
Please also be aware, we are engaging with Home Office, Local MPs, Met Police (OVCU) and the Assistant Chief Constable of Cheshire Police (Jenny Sims) who is also the National Lead for all vehicle crime. All of this will raise the profile of this crime with all police forces and identify issues with current legislation.
If you would like to discuss your situation further with our customer relations team, you can contact them directly via this link: https://www.toyota.co.uk/contact-us/email-us
Thanks.