A co-worker of mine who parks on the same block I do recently had the catalytic converter stolen (in broad daylight) from his Honda Element - it's a seemingly quiet upscale neighborhood, so all of us were surprised by this. Just wondering in general how worried I should be about the same theft occurring to my Prius C - has anyone heard of catalytic converter theft happening to a C, or does the low clearance have the inadvertent advantage of offering some protection against this? Thanks for any input...
I might be wrong but I don't think the C has a catalytic converter because we don't need to have a smog check every two years.
I'm pretty sure that the C-type has a cat. I'm also pretty sure that if somebody stole the cat off of a Honda Element in a given neighborhood, then you should be even safer than you were before. After all.... How many catalytic convertor thefts will happen in any given neighborhood?? Besides.....in California hybrids aren't required to undergo smog checks, so there is really no incentive to replace a defective cat with a stolen one, now is there? Anybody who is worried enough about actual pollution (instead of just trying to pass a VET) will probably pony up the dough for a new cat. So. Short answer.....no. Don't worry about it. Life is too short to lie awake at night staring at the ceiling, wondering if somebody is wrenching something off of your car. Buy insurance.
ALL Prius models have a catalytic converter. The thieves generally target the bigger vehicles with higher under the car clearance with easy access. Larger converters bring higher prices at scrap yards. In a lot of states the scrap yards photograph the seller and pay them with a check to deter theft.
Cat theft is not unknown in the UK for the scrap market value. It is quite amazing "bearing in mind I live a good distance from any real population" my neighbor had his cat stolen off his Mitsubishi pickup just before Christmas. The thieves used a rotary cutter to remove it. The police said a number of thefts had been reported from farm vehicles in a ten mile radius. John (Britprius)
I'm not aware that it is possible to pass modern passenger car emission requirements without a catalytic converter.
All production cars are fitted with catalytic converters even if they do not require testing in some countries or some states. John (Britprius)
