I Just upgraded myself from 2007 Prius which has bad history of Cat stolen, and after getting Touring 4 2016 one first thing I called shop to get shield, and very first guy told me that I don't need to worry about it, as bad guys dont' come after them for this model, while other shop qouted me $350. What is the truth ? I"m Northern California. THanks much to all for info. Looks like Miller Shield is OK , quote popular, not sure if their rear tamper-proof screws will do good job, it's still screws and bad guys can find those sockets ?? Mario
Gen 4 has 2 cats. Only one is accessible, and relatively small compared with the Gen 3/2. I've yet to hear of a Gen 4 cat stolen.
I put the Cap City Muffler shield on our 2019 Prime: Piece of mind if nothing else. And if you buy the CCM shield, it's local.
Do you have comprehensive insurance (covers theft and vandalism), and what deductible (the amount you would need to pay when making a claim)?
Probably more than the $160 shield and whatever the install cost is. But I haven't shopped for insurance in awhile.
Yeah I can't begin to comprehend the pros-and-cons. I just renew yearly, same policy every time, try not to think about it. Our compreshensive deductible is $300 (CDN).
In America, our insurance companies are regulated by the same politicians that insurance companies make political contributions to - so effectively......they're unregulated. We're also a little "different" than Canada in things like....urban crowd control, property crime enforcement, and tort reform, natural disaster response and occurrence rates, drink driving enforcement, and basic driver's education. What this means to the 'every driver' down here is that claims effect rates. Ever notice that insurance companies no longer ask about your driving record, or the number of accidents that you've had? That's because they don't have to. So... You CAN be the policy holder that has your insurance company on speed dial, and calls them up for everything more expensive than wiper blade replacements....BUT.....the insurance company IS going to continue to perform their primary function, which is to maintain their fiduciary responsibility to their INVESTORS. The purpose of insurance is 'supposed' to be to indemnify you against an unaffordable loss......which is 'them-speak' for protecting the policy holder against damage, loss, or injury that they cannot afford. If you confuse this with making your driving life a cost-free, loss-free experience then soon you may find yourself with insurance RATES that you cannot afford - at least down here in the...."land of the free." Put another way..... HOW many times do you expect that they will continue to put $2000 cats on $6000 cars? ACTUAL mileage, of course, WILL vary.
Yeah, guess I figure if THEY start screaming, the politicians will sit up and pay attention: But yeah, appreciate I'm in the Great Socialist North.
Well I’ll agree that the gen 4 cats are less likely to be stolen because they’re hard to access, the concern I have is that the common thief may be thinking “Prius” not certain generations thereof. Therefore your car could still be damaged even if the cat was not actually stolen by a clueless thief. This isn’t enough for me to get security cover, even tho we live in downtown Seattle where cat thefts are not uncommon from cars left parked outside overnight (and our building’s security scared away a guy who was underneath a car “doing something” at 3 am), because I park in a secure garage. But I have to admit it crossed my mind leaving my Prius at an offsite airport parking garage for a few days recently, even though it was in theory secured.
A Toyota dealership in my area got hit. All recent year pickups and hybrids got their cats cut out in their parking lot at about 3AM! Cat thieves are not ignoring newer gen models. If you have an intact cat you are a possible target.
Perhaps....but only in places where property crime is tolerated. ...otherwise??? The cat thieves themselves may be a target in places where 9mm and 10mm (and other) items are not....'misplaced.' I would never EVER advocate the taking of a human life over a $200 cat, but the person under the Prius with the Sawz-All may not want to bet their life on that after a few well-aimed warning shots - a method that I have employed to help trespassers find "urgent business elsewhere....." It IS possible to be...'wise as a serpent AND as a dove." SO. Since the Prius is generally driven by people who bound by urbanity or other constraints NOT to employ percussive counter-battery - you DO have other options. Glitter Bomb. Bio-warfare (yellow bomb) Electric Shock therapy. (Solar powered fence charger, etc...) Electronic warfare. (Cameras, sirens, lights....) Be creative!
My mechanic here insane diego says they've not had to replace a single cat stolen from gen 4. They only do Prius'. A busy shop.
I suspect they are not desirable. I had to replace my cat and my mechanic called his junkyard guy was able to only get 100 bucks for the old one. So id assume the junkyard probably gets 200ish for it.
