Do thieves steal catalytic converters from 2019 Prius

Hmm...I always took it as a compliment when people told me I had a head like a thief.
As long as it remains "LIKE" a thief and not you ARE a thief I'm OK with people assuming I can think like a thief. Because the other thing they say is it takes a thief to catch a thief.

I think there is a healthy American admiration for thinking like a thief. Otherwise we wouldn't have generational versions of the Movie Oceans 11, as well as several sequels. Because face it, whether it's George Clooney or Sammy Davis JR. what they are doing in that movie is thievery on a grand scale. And nobody is rooting for the authorities as they watch those films.

So for me? I'm going to personally assume I DO know what thieves think and what they plan. At least until I wake up someday and my Catalytic Converter is missing.
Damn you Danny Ocean! Why Me!

 

On the Gen 4, it looks like a stainless steel plate, bolted to those 3 cross members with 9 or 12 security bolts would deter, or at least slow down, most thieves. Of course it would add to the labour costs when replacing the cats though.

 

@ Oceans 11
Does stealing from thieves make you a thief?.....

 

Might depends on who eventually calls him a thief! What you think?

 

From our experience in the industry, the 2nd gen prius is the most heavily targeted. It has the highest PGM concentration and it is the most accessible to a thief due to the open space around the converter. The Gen 4 Prius Catalytic Converter like all prius are not as heavily loaded with PGM as the 2nd Gen, but the reason why prius catalytic converters are targeted is because they have more PGM than most vehicles because of their SULEV2 emission level and thieves know they'll get more $ for a Prius converter. Everyone has different security needs for their cars and that is we offer a Cat Shield for the 4th Gen. It's removable, uses existing factory mounts, secured using anti-tamper screws and doesn't require drilling.

 

Any picture of the CAT shield? What does PGM means?

 

platinum group metals

 

You can check it out at millercat.com/catshield. Look for the 4th generation. And pgm stands for platinum group metals.

 

Kind of a random question, but does anyone happen to know why some 4th Gen Prius have a floor pan reinforcement brace (part number 5753347030) and some don't? Was it an option or part of a package? Is there any way to know which models came with it and which didn't?

 

Is this on USA cars? I vaguely remember reading that there was a version with heavy duty suspension, with slightly higher groundclearance in ?? Africa? Middle East? Sth America?

 

Where is this brace? Thanks.

 

We’ve noticed that not all prius have the middle support brace. Trying to figure out which ones do and do not.

 

Our answer to the catalytic converter theft issue for the 4th Gen Prius. Whether you have a middle support brace or not, it was designed to work on both. Completely bolt on and uses tamperproof screws. Included a before and after install pics.

 

...tamper RESISTANT screws, but yeah.
It will slow somebody down.

The thing is...after they scout your car...post a lookout...clip your alarm wire...raise the car and get underneath with a saw, will it be enough to make them go and look for another Prius?

Don’t know.

Does this setup trap much heat between the cat and the car in local traffic?

 

I'm inclined to just make sure I've got good, reasonably low deductible insurance.

 

FYI, both our 2018 Prius Two and 2018 Prius Four Touring have the middle brace.

 

There is not going to be much of a bounty paid on G4 catalytic converters until that generation starts spitting P0420 codes or failing smog tests....and even then only in states where it's not a common practice to replace a failed cat with a $200 aftermarket unit.

So....2019 owners have some time to think about all of this before they start modifying their Priuses that may trap enough heat around the cat to.......shorten its life maybe.
Especially if you live someplace warm and are familiar with the term: 'road diet.'

YMMV

 

Can't speak for every theft, but from a majority of our customers in Northern California, many of the thefts have been early morning in their driveway and silent thefts. The 2nd Gen Prius was the most targeted out of all the Prius. Our customers will catch a thief on video raising the car and using a quiet hand saw like device to cut the cat out in just a few minutes. One common theme among most of our customers is that they only bought our device only after they became a victim more than once. Most customers never bought it before they were a victim. You can't always change where you have to park your car, and being a victim over and over is not fun. So far, we've not had one customer who said they became a victim again after they installed one of our devices.

As for the heat between the converter and car according to our thermal readings, the max temperature increases were around 10 degrees. You can find more information about our temperature readings here. FAQ and Tech Info — MILLERCAT - CARB Converters

 

Well, from our experience the thefts are happening due to the price of precious metals PGM and the high bounty prius converters pay. The prius converters contain more than normal the amount of precious metal due to them being LEV2SULEV vehicles and being hybrids. If the engine isn't always running, the converter isn't reaching operating temps, so the emissions will be high. Toyota needed to bring down the emissions during these cold starts so they just loaded the converter with PGM and it works. They probably didn't predict that the PGM to rocket to the prices they did to cause this epidemic with the Prius converter, but this is the outcome of their decision. They did do a better job since the Gen 2 of moving the converters closer to the engine and not exposing it so much in the Gen 3 and Gen 4.

That being said, from our experience thieves will most likely only target the OEM converter. If you live in a state that doesn't follow CARB standards, replacing your converter with an aftermarket could be a great deterrent. As of now, there are no CARB certified aftermarket catalytic converters for the Prius, so if you live in a state like California or New York and a few other states, if your converter gets stolen, you'll need to replace it with an OEM one. Thieves know this and thats why they will continue to keep targeting the same exact vehicle over and over knowing they'll always have an OEM converter.

 

Thanks for checking.