Catalytic Converter Theft

@bisco without clicking on the link, I thought you meant the cat shield in the pic above was a new brand you hadn't seen yet, So in my true priuschat style I had to go look for it on the innerwebs,
Anyways, I found it here
https://www.caramoregrille.com/products/brand-new-catalytic-converter-protection-shield-fits-2010-2015-toyota-prius-l4-1.8l

 

Protection options. Toyota now offers a stainless steel protective cover and I was quoted at my dealer at $204. I checked with Miller cat and they have a similar shield or cover that is listed at $190. The Toyota dealer quoted labor for installation at $368. I checked with the neighborhood auto repair business who has installed these and they indicated it would be between 69 and $139 labor. Does anyone have an opinion as to the difference between the Toyota part and the Miller Part? Or any other opinion Sandez. I have a 2020 Prius prime and we’re going out of town in a few weeks to a location that has the risk for theft. So I would like to move ahead and install a protective device or cover.

 

Any links? I've got a suspicion it's just a dealership selling a third party solution, but wouldn't mind to be proved wrong.

 

Nearly identical covers are selling for $70 on ebay, so how about you buy one of those and mail me the $134 dollars you didn't have to give to the stealership?

 

Doubtful they are stainless steel though. Compare apples to apples.

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Lol... It's better than Stainless... It's Aluminum. I'd hate to know the weight & shipping price on stainless steal one. Great way to get bad gas mileage. You're gonna pay $130 more for that luxury? Here's the link to the $70 one, but price just went up by $8: https://www.ebay.com/itm/185496700890

 

There is no advantage to stainless steel. It cuts as easy as aluminum. The advantage is only in the mind of the individual who buys stainless steel. I agree with the camper on its disadvantages. The slot in the bends of the Miller Cat units increases its vulnerbility.

I'm satisfied with aluminum.

 

Sorry folks, but stainless nor aluminum will stop someone that is determined enough to cut your cat in the first place.

To put things in perspective, that is like boxing up a present. Yes, the box might make it harder to get to, but the same tools required to open the present can be used to open the box.

I offer an alternative solution. Spot weld a bunch of nails and needles around, or maybe even wrap some barbed wire around. Just inconveniences like these in the middle of the night where it is hard to see makes it a painful process for the would-be thief. Thorns are not the only organism that evolved with spikes for protection from predators. Take notes.

 

Yeah that's obvious... But if the drug addiction of the thief isn't too extreme (studies have shown this is far and away the #1 motivation for cat theft) then they won't take the noise risk of a slower theft and move on to easy pickings. As in if catalytic converters were apples and you put a car shield on, you'd be the apple high at the top that's harder to reach than the low hanging fruit. And $70 and less than an hour's work makes it worth it.

 

Just editorial.

 

Not an endorsement, but a friend installed one of these and has been happy with it so far. I'm going to go the same route just for the peace-of-mind. Since the converters can be stolen so quickly, I've been concerned about taking my car anywhere and leaving it to go inside of a restaurant or business. With one of these, I'll be better protected. https://www.getcatsecurity.com/c-prius-3

 

They are proven to slow a thief down enough for them/make them want to choose a faster thefts, but they also won't prevent a theft if someone is determined and lots of noises won't bring any attention to them. Also the prices in your link are way too high... Back when these shields were first being sold they were more than double the price they're asking, but because they're so cheap to make now many sellers are offering them for 1/2 the price of what your link is asking for them. And because it's just a minor deterrent the quality vs. price issue is not a meaningful debate. Try to find one that's in the $60 price range...

 

Certainly agree with that -- is there a preferred model nowadays? If I were going to do this, I'd be most worried about the reports of rattles/noise.

 

The answer to prevent rattling would be to make two sets of opposing radial bends on the plate over the edge of a 2x4 as I did with mine. The rear center dip at the back of the center needs to provide at least a half ince or 1 cm under the catylytic converter.

 

Yea, I installed a cat shield for a nervous nellie once and at certain RPM when accelerating around a corner the shield would rattle for a tenth of a second. She made me ride around with her in her car during covid and every time it happened she would take her foot off the gas like the car was broken. I kept explaining that if she kept accelerating the noise immediately goes away, but she was too scared and was convinced I broke her car and made me take the cat shield off before she paid me for the other work, but not for the cat shield. :-(

That's when I learned a crow bar on each rivet holding the shield pops it off real quick... So I'd recommend upgrading to as heavy duty of a rivet as you can get. Currently I'm using largest rivets from Harbor Freight that require drilling 1/4" holes into the frame. You need a good drill and some muscle to get those holes drilled out.

 

Did you use some cutting oil on the drill bits? Goes a lot faster with the oil than without, and it will keep the friction and heat down too, so you won't lose temper on the bits and dull them.

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The welded steel bars around the cut zones keeps sounding better. Hey maybe with steel tubing over the bars, that spin when you try to cut through them.

 

I'll try that on the shield I'm putting on today... However gravity is not going to keep that oil where it needs to go unless I turn the car upside down.

 

That could help, but might also be a sure-fire recipe for creating rattles.

 

I'm thinking an ear piercing tilt alarm is probably the best solution...