Catalytic Converter Theft. Toyota Truck/SUV owners beware!

[mick]

John wrote:

Well, The bastards got mine too. My 2004 Tacoma was parked downtown Dallas in a parking lot on the 4th floor. On the first floor is a Dallas Police sub station. Show's you how bold they are. I had a labtop stolen in my office this year too. While I was in another room getting coffee. Crime affects us all. We all need to call our representatives in congress and see if we can get a bill passed to punish those that buy these converters. All of us need to something more than blog.

i live in south bay in los angeles 1991 toyota pick up truck 4x4 came out of the mall i was in there 20 mins max yea this had to be hot too as converters get red hot started it up and it sounded like a damm tank police took a report and said there is a gang operating in the area getting about 10 a day well it will cost me about 300 + im making a cage from steel around the next one and WELDING IT IN PLACE
also if you have some of that razor wire you can wrap the entire cat with that but you will have to be very careful as it will stop them but you could get a few scratches too

[CatClamp]

A reputable welding and fabrication company in Toledo, OH. has a new patented theft deterrent designed just for catalytic converters . It makes too much work for the thieves in a hurry. The CatClamp is the only security system on the market designed exclusively to fight catalytic converter theft. It was in Newsweek online in January 09, 2008. Go to Catclamp.com the CatClamp is much cheaper than repairing a vehicle after catalytic converter theft.
For those willing to spend extra, there are products such as the CatClamp, a tough-to-cut converter cage sold by Toledo, Ohio-based American Welders, Inc., starting around $225.

[grog28 Newark CA]

My was cut out night before last, right in my driveway. They were pro's-didn't make a sound or leave a trace.

[WLL]

Vehicle: 1994 Toyota Pick-up 3.0L V6
Location: My driveway (near 51st & 101 in Phoenix)
Just went to Midas to get it replaced for $215. Meinake had comprable price. If they quote you much more than that for an aftermarket cat tell them someone else will do it for $200. Trust me they'll negotiate. Don't feel bad they're making more than enough profit. It took them >20 min.
From other posts it sounds like its not uncommon for this to happen in broad daylight in public places probably people walking by. It reminds me of this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch...
Guy steals his own bike and people and cops just walk by. Its kinda funny...and depressing.

[Ric J]

Is the cat converter cover by insurance?

[PAL]

Sort of... in Georgia at least, it is subject to what's called a "betterment" deduction. That is, insurance companies aren't responsible for making our vehicles "better" than they were before the incident, so they only had to pay a pro-rated portion of the cost of that part based on the age, mileage, and expected life expectancy of that part. So my ins co only paid half of the OEM price of the part which is more than the after market price.

[John]

Got me while I slept last night. Police were utterly useless and basically said it wasn't worth their time. Going with a cheap universal fit this time and welding the bolts. I can only hope I catch them in the act the next time!

[raymond]

i just had my cat. stolen from my 96 Toyota 4runner at Emanuel medical center,Turlock,CA while i was at work. i was told by a witness who saw a guy under my suv and heard a saw noise. my suv sounded like a muscle car and barely went over 5 to 10 MPH. the description of the thief was given to the police. hope these people get caught.

[CatClamp]

The CatClamp is the original anti-theft device for SUVs and Trucks. It has a 3 year track record of NO confirmed thefts of catalytic converters when the product is installed on a vehicle.

[GatesAvenue]

A couple of days ago my cat was stolen in Ridgewood, Queens, NY. I've parked there for years and this has never happen.

[Gemcutter]

I had my cat unbolted from my 1991 Toyota truck in front of my house in nice neighborhood in Santa Barbara. I went to buy a new one from Toyota, I almost crapped my pants. 1,100.00 bucks. I found inexpensive ones online, I bought a catco unit for 180.00 bucks, it fixed it and it passed smog. Then 2 years later it failed and put me in the gross polluter status. I was told to check the temperature at the front pipe while it’s hot & revved to 2,000 rpm the back pipe should be about 300 degrees hotter than the pipe in front of the cat. It’s about 50, the cheapo cats are exactly that. How could someone get a couple hundred bucks for a scrap or your stolen cat, while you can buy a new one for in some ads 90.00? Somewhat happy ending, a few months after the scum bag gang members from L.A. got popped and there mugs made it in the paper.

[Tam]

I had my 98 SUV parked in the school parking lot @ a High school in Clayton County Georgia and some one cut my cat. converter out during school hours.

[robsz]

I just my catalytic stolen. The Toyota 4Runner was parked in my driveway. The Chandler cop told me that Toyotas are targeted because it's the easiest car to steal cats from.

[Xavier]

I live in Ahwatukee, Arizona, and I just had my cat stolen. WTF. This is crazy!!! and expensive:(

[Tbizzle]

Got mine stolen today. Talk about pissed off. I had blood shooting from my eyes.

[Mark in Tempe]

My catalytic converter ('89 Toyota PU SR5 4x4) was stolen this morning from the Home Depot parking lot. I was only inside for 30-40 minutes. Fortunately they didn't cut it off. The brackets and bolts were laying on the ground.(It would have cost a lot more to replace pipes.). An aftermarket converter at Checker Auto was $110.

Here's my plan. If it's stolen again I'll spend $220 for 2 of them. On one of them I'll use a hacksaw to cut off flanges, and take them to a welder to attach them to a straight pipe (of appropriate length, the same as the converter). I'll run straight pipe all the time. When it's time for emissions testing I'll replace it with the real converter.

I'm a big supporter of environmentalism and conservation. But, I'm not going to shell out a lot of dough just because manufactures designed their cars in such a way that valuable metals can be stolen so easily.

BTW: I don't think I'd weld the bolts. Like I said, if they cut the converter off it will cost a lot more to replace the lead-in and muffler pipes. I'd rather make it easy for them to take just the converter. Or, eliminate it completely as described above.

[PAL]

I, too, am disappointed in the fact that these converters are apparently so easy to steal from Toyota SUVs and trucks. I went to Toyota.com (About the Company, Contact Us, Email Toyota) and wrote them, including a link to this blog, to ask that they consider a re-design in future models to help prevent this type of theft. If nothing else, stamping the VIN # on them may deter some thefts. I suggest that you all do the same. If they don't know it's a problem, they won't do anything about it.

PAL
Atlanta

[Linger-Falls Church-VA]

Another victim of a 4Runner that sounds like 2 Harley next to you. I check out some places cost around 350.00 for aftermarket and installation. Dealer cost more than 1000.00. I will end up do it myself.

[Earl]

Mine was stolen on Oct 20 during the day at the New Carrollton Metro Rail Parking Garage from my Toyota 4Runner.

[Columbia MD]

I rented a penske moving truck at ABC rental and dropped it off the same day. Dropped off the key in the drop off box after I parked the truck where they told me to. The next day I get a call from the rental place and they said the catalytic converter was stolen and I was responsible. So they charged $2000.00 on my credit card. How do I go about doing this.