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 there,
Thanks for sharing your feedback with us.
Please be aware we are constantly monitoring this situation and are doing all we can to support our customers that have been impacted by this crime.
We have also developed and are supplying theft deterrent devices at zero profit such as CatLocs, tilt alarms, bolt caps and component etching to protect consumers from further attacks.
Thanks.
Can I just say that this information is not known at a lot of your dealerships. I have just been to Toyota Denton and they have no idea about installing the tilt sensors and are not aware of your zero profit offers, I have also rang another Toyota dealers and they’ve said the same. You really need to work hard at disseminating this information to your garages.
Hi Nadia,
We have now emailed you regarding putting you in contact with our Customer Relations team.
Thanks.
Hi Nadia,
Thanks for getting in touch.
We’re really sorry to hear that you’ve been impacted by this crime and are unhappy with your experience with us.
Would you like us to put you in touch with our Customer Relations team directly? They are best placed to discuss your situation further and provide any necessary support.
Once again, we are very sorry for any distress that has been caused.
Thanks.
Yes I would like to speak to someone about this who genuinely knows how to help, as so far the dealership garages have not been great.
Hi Nadia,
Thanks for getting back to us.
We will email you using the address associated with your account to gather further details and put you in touch with our Customer Relations team.
Thanks.
Hi Toyota UK,
Despite having spent £250 getting a catloc fitted on my Auris, I still have no confidence in the catloc being very effective as people in my area of North West London have had their catalytic converters cutout and stolen even though they had catloc fitted.
I am now in a situation where I fear taking my Auris off my driveway and going anywhere it. So basically, I have a very expensive hybrid car which I cannot use. The car is just sitting on the driveway and I have to use my wife’s car whenever I need to go out.
And what have Toyota UK done to help me out? Absolutely nothing at all other than empty words provided on this website.
Why can’t Toyota UK provide some concrete actions to help their customers experiencing this issue?
Surely, Toyota UK could have done a recall of all the cars affected since they were aware of the issue from 2016.
I have spent a lot of money buying from Toyota over the years but this issue has completely left me disappointed and demoralised with Toyota.
It’s obvious from this website that even though so many Toyota UK customers have complained about catalytic converter theft, Toyota UK are still unwilling to do any thing about it.
I no longer have any faith in Toyota UK and have decided not buy any more cars from Toyota UK.
Another lost customer for Toyota UK.
Hi there,
Thanks for getting in touch.
We appreciate the severity of this crime and the distress it has caused. Please be aware we are working hard to support all our customers who have been impacted by this and are constantly assessing the situation.
We have published police advice online, written to our dealer network and even directly to vehicle owners where details have been available in order to make sure that as many customers as possible are aware as well as engaging with the Home Office, Local MPs, the Met Police and the Assistant Constable of Cheshire Police (Jenny Sims), who is the National Lead for vehicle crime. This has been to raise the profile of the crime with all police forces and identify issues with current legislation.
As we have mentioned previously, any car containing a catalytic converter is at risk of theft as they contain precious metals. We have taken action over time to reduce the precious metal content of our catalytic converters by up to 84% and also offer CatLocs, tilt alarms, bolt caps and component etching to help protect consumers from further attacks. This being said, criminals are using high-grade power tools for theft that are difficult for any manufacturer to completely protect against.
Thanks.
I have just got my Auris Hybrid Sports tourer back after having the Cat replaced after somebody jacked my car up on one side only to get to the cat right outside my house in broad daylight. i had not heard anything about Toyota’s being the main target until it happened. no communication in the slightest from Toyota. There has still been nothing from them regarding this problem. i for one will definitely will not be purchasing another Toyota again, which is a shame as i really like the car. That being said if they manage to sort out a way of stopping this theft, i may change my mind.
Hi Brian,
Thanks for getting in touch.
We’re really sorry to hear that you have been affected by this crime. We are working hard to support all customers impacted by this and are constantly assessing the situation.
We published police advice online on the crime as soon as possible, wrote to our dealer network and even directly to customers where details were available to do so in order to ensure that as many customers as possible are aware.
We have also taken steps such as engaging with the Home Office, Local MPs, the Met Police and the Assistant Constable of Cheshire Police to raise the profile of the crime and identify current legislation issues.
As previously mentioned, any car containing a catalytic converter is at risk of theft due to the precious metals they contain, but we have taken action over time to develop CatLocs, tilt alarms, bolt caps and component etching to help protect customers from further attacks. However, criminals with high-grade power tools can be difficult to stop.
Once again, we are very sorry for any distress this has caused. Would you like us to put you in touch with our customer relations team? They are best placed to discuss your situation in more detail and offer support in any way we can.
Thanks.
We have just had our catalytic converter stolen off our 2017 Prius Plus. Broad daylight on a residential street, left for a couple of hours. Absolutely shocking that Toyota are not warning people about this. We were about to buy a RAV4 but may rethink this – are they just as prone to these thefts as Priuses?
Hi Anjie,
Thanks for getting in touch.
We’re really sorry to hear that you’ve been affected by this crime. Please be aware we are working hard to help all our customers impacted by this and are constantly assessing the situation in order to provide the best support.
As previously mentioned, we have tried to ensure that as many as possible are aware by publishing police advice on the crime online as soon as possible, writing to our dealer network and, where we had the details to do so, directly to our customers.
We have also engaged with the Home Office, Local MPs, the Met Police and the Assistant Constable of Cheshire Police to raise the profile of the crime and identify issues with current legislation.
As catalytic converters contain precious metals, any car containing one is theoretically at risk of theft. At this time we currently produce Catlocs for vehicles deemed most at risk of this theft, and this does not currently include RAV4.
Once again, we are sorry for any distress this has caused, and we will continue to closely monitor the situation.
Thanks.
Got the Catalytic converter nicked. It’s been a very pathetic response from Toyota. They believe that this not there responsibility to inform customers about the risk and also not fixing the problem when replaced. Don’t need to buy Toyota vehicle as not guaranteed what would come out which they are hiding.
Hi Vini,
Thanks for getting in touch.
We’re really sorry to hear that you’ve been affected by this crime.
We have tried to make sure that as many customers as possible are aware through publishing police advice on the crime online as quickly as possible, writing to our dealer network and even directly to customers where details have been available to do so as well as engaging with the Home Office, Local MPs, the Met Police and the Assistant Constable of Cheshire Police to raise the crime’s profile and identify legislation issues where appropriate.
Over time, we have developed CatLocs, tilt alarms, bolt caps and component etching to help protect customers from further attacks, although criminals with high-grade power tools are difficult to stop.
We are constantly assessing the situation and working hard to support any customers impacted by this crime.
Once again, we are very sorry for any distress this has caused. Have you already spoken with our customer relations team? If not, we can always put you in touch with them directly. They are best placed to discuss your situation in more detail and offer support in any way we can.
Thanks.
I had my catalytic converter stolen last night between 10:50pm and 11:50pm from my 07 Prius, I am devastated with the whole shenanigans, My car was parked in a private carpark here in the South East, the alarm went off but by the time I got downstairs from the 8th floor, the scum had gone, it wasn’t until I went to start the car that I realised something was dreadfully wrong with the noise of it. It is so unfair as I was never ever contacted about this situation and as an old age pensioner find I am going to be out of pocket trying to protect my car. My insurance will now go up and not forgetting the £200 excess I have to pay and if Catloc is fitted there is another £250 for that, as quoted by my local Toyota dealership… Come on Toyota help us all out here.. Times are tough enough as it is without having to deal with the theft of parts from our vehicles.. I have sent you an email regarding this matter.. and hope to hear something soon.
Toyota Customer Relations should have a health warning, ‘We are hear to help our dealerships and ToyotaUK but NOT the customer’.
I know this from being referred to them on another matter and even though the Toyota dealer was 100% wrong they just backed them up.
Hi Pauline,
Thanks for getting in touch with us.
We’re really sorry to hear that you’ve been a victim of this crime. We appreciate the distress this may have caused you and please be aware we are doing all we can to help.
We can see that our customer relations team are working on your case, and someone will be in touch with you soon.
Once again, we are extremely sorry for any distress this issue many have caused.
Thanks.
Bought my Toyota Auris from a approved Toyota Dealership in Bromley. Throughout the 4 years I’ve owned it, I visited Toyota 2 sometimes 3 times a year for services, M.O.Ts etc. At no point did they mention this security risk or advise me to take preventative measures at the dealership or by post/email (which they could have easily done). They have all my details and did contact throughout the years offering information that served no purpose. Just a few days ago I received another useless leaflet. Why no email or advice given proactively by Toyota to forewarn owners. So after having to claim on my insurance for the first time in my life tarnishing my record, i got the car repaired and had the Catloc fitted…..now the car bottoms out/scrapes (over speed bumps) when our family of 5 travel together, the very same speed humps locally which never used to cause an issue. When I Looked under the car to examine, I was shocked to see the Catlock hangs about 3 inches below the exhaust system (including the bolts). And because of the type of metal they use it, the noise is so loud you almost jump out of your skin, we all now feel a sense of dread every time we travel together and see speed hump.
There are certain experiences that just put you off, and the way Toyota have handled this i’m guessing will result in anyone who goes through it never wanting to buy another Toyota, you just loose trust in the brand and inevitable share this sentiment with everyone you know.
They only silver lining at this stage would have been 1 if they fitted a Catloc which didn’t comprise the the driving experience or 2 them offering drivers of effected cars an incentive to upgrade or swap the vehicle, neither of which are options at the moment.
2014 Auris Hybrid for sale if anyone’s interested,
Hi Anthony,
Thanks for getting in touch. We’re sorry to hear that you’ve been a victim of this crime and that you are unhappy with the CatLoc you have received.
We have tried to make sure that as many customers as possible are aware through publishing police advice as soon as possible online, writing to our dealer network and to customers where details were available to do so.
If you would like to raise your concerns further, you can get in touch with our Customer Relations team, here: https://www.toyota.co.uk/help-centre/email-us
They are best placed to discuss your situation and offer any necessary support.
Once again, we are very sorry for any distress this has caused.
Thanks.
Hi Anthony I have just brought a brand new hybrid Prius + 20 plate and I had the car 3 days and thief’s stole the cat from under my car. All I did was drive it from show room with 26 miles on the clock. Why didn’t Toyota mention that I might have problems with the cat. When I phoned Toyota and said my car sounds like a tank, they knew straight away what it was and said get hold of your insurance company. Why should we pay out when I didn’t even know about it . I’m on mobility and need the car. I had to buy a camera with infrared on it to watch my car through the night.
Hi Deborah,
Thanks for getting in touch. We’re really sorry to hear you’ve been affected by this crime and for the distress this may have caused.
Have you already spoken with our customer relations team? If not, we can always put you in touch with them directly. Our team are working hard to support all our customers who have been impacted by this and as a result are assessing cases on an individual basis in order to provide the best support in any way we can.
Thanks.