under quarantine, found hood popped open

Look under the car....or? Try to start the car.
If it starts and it sounds like some 17-year-old boy got a hold of the exhaust system then YOU CAN probably drive the car for a while but you're going to need to read up on catalytic converter theft.....

Battery is still "where" exactly?

 

There is no battery in the front of the car, if you see a box on the right side, it's the box that contains fuses and the jump point (if you need to jump start the car).

The battery to this car is in your trunk/hatch area

 

Do you mean as in "does it still have a catalytic converter?"

And if not, were the horn wires clipped?

 

The engine hood popped would mean the car would be unlocked and someone has gotten access to the inside of the car. You can't open the hood any other way

 

Yeah you can....
Locks are for HONEST people.

 

The batteries are somewhere else, in back. A cable runs from that box back to the 12V battery.

Some thieves first clip the wires to the car's horn to prevent any alarm system from blaring and attracting attention, before proceeding with catalytic converter theft. I don't know just where those wires are, but others here do. Popping the hood isn't the only way to reach them.

The catalytic converter is in the exhaust system underneath the car, fully visible and not hidden by any of the cover panels. If you see a bright sheet metal half-tunnel (a heat shield to protect items above), with nothing below it, that is where the converter used to be.

 

If you start the car and it's really loud, you'll know your converter's been swiped.

If it isn't really loud, you'll know it hasn't been.

 

If you have to jump start this car whenever you need to start it, there's a good reason why the hood is popped open. Maybe you didn't close it the previous time.

It's probably a good idea to get a new battery, you don't want to get stranded when you drive this out.

Catalytic converter theft is rampant in Los Angeles. It's best to park this car in a garage or find a way to protect it. It's worth a few hundred dollars to the thieves and it only takes them a minute to steal it.

 

there are a few threads here on protecting the cat, but easy or cheap aren't part of them, unfortunately. then again, if you look at the cost of a replacement...

 

LA is a hot spot, along with london for some odd reason. you could talk to your insurance company before the fact

 

Bay Area has a ton... I'm a cop in a big city and we are currently tracking and chasing several "professional" thieves that are causing a ton of really expensive fixes.... especially being CARB compliant cats

 

As long as there's a $1500 price difference between a California cat and a Nevada cat......two things are going to be true - particularly in Yotas........
1. Some people are going to split the bounty on these with a battery operated saw and a lookout.
2. States outside the California are going to keep getting good condition G2 and G3 Priuses that are auctioned out of the California.

Besides:
Prop-47

Whataya gonna do when you catch them?
Write them a ticket?
Do you get to AT LEAST confiscate their saw?

And yes.....I know....LEOs are holding up THEIR end of the log.

 

ETC(SS) you hit the nail on the head my friend.... Prop-47 is exactly the cause... and yes you're right also, cite and release