Ughh .... My Cat was stolen.

i would advise reading the many other tales of whoa here before proceeding.

keep in mind that you will probably get hit again

 

I have worried about cat theft lately as well because my daughter is taking the Prius up to her college apartment over the summer and has to park on the street ( University of Minnesota...Twin Cities ). She usually doesn't have a vehicle up there but she is concerned about COVID and wants to avoid public transportation for now.

This is the product I am thinking about :

Catalytic Converter Protection - GetCatSecurity

Looks interesting. Anyone have one?

 

I'm thinking that over 90-percent of all of the cat thievery in the US is happening in zip codes beginning with 90 or 91, so I'm not sure I would bother with prophylactic devices in places where CARB is an outdated device that mixes air and fuel for internal combustion engines.
If OTOH I woke up in Caly with a catless Prius I would probably make a temporary repair with a small piece of black tape and a section of pipe while shopping for a replacement. Having a fresh SMOG test means that you have a little more time to noodle things out.

Depending on one's personal situation 'replacement' might apply to cat, car, or home state, but I personally would lean away from installing a $1500 catalytic converter on a 13-year-old car that's not worth putting comp and collision on.

Maybe take a nice road trip.
Take in some sights.
Have somebody replace yer cat.....

 

Some of the best prevention is to preemptively swap it with an aftermarket. Get a complete unit (from donut to donut) for about 350 bucks. Swap it yourself in about an hour and then either store the original in the garage or sell the cats on ebay for 800-900 bucks.

 

Hmm so where do you get an aftermarket cat for 350 bucks?

 

He can't sell it because he'll need to put it back on for next year's smog test / inspection. Don't forget that aftermarket cats are illegal in his state.

 

My take: just insurance-up. Doubly so in Cali. And if it hits the insurers hard enough, maybe they'll get the cops in gear.

For OP: replace with OEM and insurance up. Yeah it's a hit. But you can drop that kind of $'s at the dentist in a blink.

 

they're defunding the cops. cat thefts are the first to go.

 

Sorry, I was off a bit . $256 and a 5 year 50k mile warranty......47 state legal..looks like this one ships as 2 pieces, slip together and install a clamp. That would instantly alert thieves that it's not OEM also.


Evan Fischer New Catalytic Converter for Toyota Prius 2004-2009 | eBay

or this one..there's many to choose from

Direct Fit Exhaust Catalytic Converter fits 2004-2009 Toyota Prius | eBay

 

I know it's just because I've been sheltering in place way too much.
But when I read the headline my first reaction was that some poor Prius Chat poster had been the victim of PET theft.

Guess I'm glad it's just tangible automotive hardware, and not a beloved Pet.

 

I do for our Prime.

Not installed yet.

Once the shelter in residence is over, it's getting installed.

 

How about a sentry gun? Non-lethal, it fires plastic balls from roll-on deodorant. Autonomous Sentry Gun Packs A Punch And A Ton Of Build Tips | Hackaday

 

A lot of London second gens are going to an early grave, with the rash of thefts they're having. The cost of OEM catalytic converter rivalling the car's value.

 

Yep...heard about that. And then I heard about it happening in LA...and THEN I heard about it happening in Minneapolis ( from my daughter ). That is what got me worried about it if she has the Prius up there and has to park of the street.

 

Bite the bullet and get comprehensive insurance with lowish deductible. Especially in Cali.

 

The London thread just popped up again:

Stolen catalytic converter in london uk | PriusChat

The thread's been reporting CAT thefts for coming up on 2 years now, apparently still business as usual for the thieves.

Maybe Toyota needs to step up: this is an "environmental factor", that's bricking their cars. No different than something like road salt, for example. If this is dropping the car values, reducing consumer confidence, creating reluctance to acquire one, you'd think they'd be interested.