Hey all! My name is Brent. I've been lurking around here for a couple years and have a lot of you to thank for decisions I've made regarding my Prius. So thank you. I had the MillerCat stainless steel shield installed today on my Gen 3, and I also have the Cat Defender back plate that I'll be getting installed soon. I feel a weight of relief going through this process after hearing horror stories here and on Facebook of... well, you know. I have been thinking of stickering the back hatch lower window with something that says, "CAT SHIELD PROTECTED." And I might even include "STAINLESS STEEL" or "304 STAINLESS STEEL". I work at a screen printing shop and have access to sign vinyl, so I can easily make whatever I feel goes the nicest with my car and not have to use the stickers that came with the shields. My question is this: Is there any reason I should or shouldn't apply a sticker? On one hand, I'd love to let any potential thief know not to bother, but on the other hand I'd also be practically broadcasting to any potential thief who has met up with one of these before a set of expectations for lifting my cat. I know that the shield is more of a deterrent than a sure defense, so do you think a sticker would enhance the deterrent or serve as an invitation? Or, at worst, be seen as an arrogant challenge? I know I'm likely overthinking this, and my gut says to just forget the sticker (I'm one of those guys who went as far to remove the dealer sticker from the car for want of a clean look), but I'd love to hear some thoughts. Thanks in advance!
I was wondering the same thing but ultimately I think it's a bad idea to advertise the fact that you have a cat shield in place. It might make the thief think twice, but then again they might grab other tools if they know in advance what they're dealing with.
I am neutral about this. Not because the thief would come back with special tools, but because I doubt they spend any time at all reading stickers on the car. A primary goal of any burglar is to get in and out quickly. The longer you hang out on a job, the more opportunity there is for things to go bad. Sometimes you put in the work to do a job, but something comes up and you get nothing. That's just how it is. The smart thing is to go try somewhere else, not hang out and %$#! with it. Also, do the crooks in your neighborhood work by day or night? At night they won't see it.
A better deterrent would be painting the cat assembly, preheater and the resonator with high temperature header paint. I also placed little yellow "catalytic converter engraved' stickers on the bottom corners of the rear windows.
I have the exact same question. My gut also tells me it reads more of a challenge and indication of what they should prepare for vs. serving as a deterrent to walk away. But I’m still divided. Part of me also wants to advertise it so other Prius owners take notice and hopefully take steps to protect their vehicles as wel.
when a deer is feeding on your landscape plants, you give something tastier to your neighbors as a gift
I prefer painting the exhaust system with orange VHT header paint and placing small yellow discrete "catalytic converter engraved" stickers on the lower corner of the windows.
