Stolen catalytic converter in london uk

Hi Soozie! Welcome to Prius Chat.
Sorry to hear your 2nd Gen Prius has also been attacked and robbed of it’s Catalytic Converter by what is doubtlessly the same gang of thieves from a continental crime syndicate.

I’m presuming you’ve read through all the posts in this thread and seen the videos too.
Yes, I’m as horrified as you, that we Londoners are now being “brow beaten” into accepting unbridled crime in all shape and form as the new normal.

There’s nothing worse than buying a car, which has a prime benefit of being completely anonymous, saves you lots of money on fuel bills, and WAS supposed to be something your average criminal would point at and laugh. Until recently, your average thief wouldn’t have dared to be seen breaking into a Prius......let alone boasting about it. He would have been trolled to death by his mates - who would then stand on his grave and laugh so more afterwards. That’s how insignificant the Prius has generally been to the rank and file ignoramii.

Ergo, to own one, was to be “no one” - a la Game Of Thrones! You just didn’t get noticed. I did get flagged down once or twice by pedestrians who thought I was the minicab they were waiting for....but, that was it.

Don’t get me wrong; the Prius 2nd Gen is one hell of a Gem! Indeed, it is one of the most underrated , understood and underestimated cars on our roads today - and I really liked it that way. Car jackers wouldn’t go anywhere near it, car thieves considered it worthless (it isn’t worthless - we know that), and in traffic, nobody ever really hates you for driving a Prius. Mostly.

I, like thousands of other 2nd Gen Prii owners in London, thoroughly enjoyed driving a lovely advanced piece of Japanese technology, so original so futuristic, yet allegedly so bland externally (those people are blind; they wouldn’t recognise beauty if it walked up and poked them in the eye), that it just blends into the background without calling attention to itself.

And suddenly, a Mr Big across the channel suddenly realised there’s lumps of rare and extremely expensive PLATINUM, PALLADIUM and RHODIUM in them thar ye olde Prius 2003 - 2009 models dotted all over London. And you can MINE it in under a minute without getting your hands dirty.

Why London? Well, our Metropolitan Police Force has been decimated through swingeing austerity cuts (as has our NHS - but that’s another story), and somehow, our latest Mayor of London doesn’t seem to believe Londoners deserve to be protected from criminals and the crippling effects of their actions......effectively announcing OPEN SEASON on Greater London to criminals worldwide.

And here we are! When the (as perceived by the ignoramii) HUMBLE PRIUS is being targeted by foreign criminals as a path to unbridled riches, just because it was originally fitted with a £2,000 Catalytic Converter.....you know “the end” is nigh.....whatever that end might be.

I have never known so much fear in recent times. Even though I’ve now got some form of security on my Prius (also known as “The Spaceship”), I still worry when leaving it in a car park. Will they come back for the CAT a second time around?

There’s that fear when you get in and boot the vehicle up. Will you once again be rewarded by the sound of a Lamborghini V12 sans muffler? Yep! Real fear! Anyone who has had their CAT stolen will know what I’m talking about.

And don’t get me started on the paranoia!
You’re driving home (or to work) and notice a black VW Passat / Skoda Superb keeping pace with you, mimicking every lane change you make. You begin to wonder.....are they after your Catalytic Converter? Waiting for you to park, then they’ll strike? Laugh all you want, but the fear and worry is real.

When will they migrate to boxing in Prii on the public highway, and forcibly dragging the driver out for an unwarranted brutal pummelling as a distraction, while their accomplices proceed to jack up the Prius and nick the CAT? No, I’m not being paranoid; y’see, there’s NOBODY to stop them. It could happen!

I still have nightmares of looking out of the window to see THAT masked enterprising bunch of upstanding and hard working citizens standing by my Prius outside my house, vehicle jacked up, while one of them skilfully tries to steal my replacement catalytic converter. I am afraid.

I guess we should be grateful in a way, according to the Police, these degenerates are allegedly ARMED. Fancy running out to confront them and getting a belly full of lead, or a bullet between the eyes. Or a zombie knife to the guts.

Sorry you got robbed too Soozie. Terrible state of affairs! With all the inconvenience, confusion and horror that goes with it.

Welcome to Dystopian London 2019. It’s a bit early, I expected this sorry state of affairs from 2040 onwards.

I apologise to everyone for getting carried away again .





iPhone ? Pro

 

Just curious: what's your typing words per minute speed Data? Are you a copy writer or something?

Addendum:

Did you do this on a phone??

 

Hi Mendel, no, I’m not a copy writer.
However, I am presently writing a science fiction trilogy (The Haa’ven Trilogy), and I’ve just about finished the first book.
I can’t even touch type.
I actually work in IT Support, but I’d drop it all for a career in writing in a heartbeat.

Yes, I do type this on an iPhone 6s Plus or sometimes an iPad mini 4 - with one finger


iPhone ? Pro

 

Hi my CC was stolen yesterday, so unfortunately I am in the same boat. Can some non-genuine equivalent be fitted? Like this one on ebay "Fits TOYOTA PRIUS 1.5 NHW20 Catalytic Converter Exhaust BM91617H 09/2003-12/200
COMPLETE WITH FITTING KIT ! OE Number: 1741021490" - sorry couldn't post link

What are the risks? Is it legal to fit non genuine CC?

 

Hi LuckyLemon335, welcome to Prius Chat.

Sorry to hear your Prius got ripped off as well .

I think I’d hold back from buying a replacement Prius Catalytic Converter from eBay (though it does depend what AUTO PARTS business is selling them I guess).

I’d try and get one from a reputable car parts reseller (Europarts?) as they’re more than likely to sell CATs with the correct emissions standards;

So, in answer to your question, no, you can buy non Toyota CATs and they’ll work just fine.

I suspect the OEM Prius CAT (2003 design) has its internal rare metal matrixes made of PURE Platinum, Palladium and Rhodium.

Lately, the same tech can be made by coating (plating?) a ceramic matrix in the relevant metals for the same functionality - hence the massive drop in prices of replacement CATs for Prii, and also why the ORIGINAL OEM CATs are so expensive (pure rare metal matrix cores), and are highly prized by those Parasitic Highway Robbers who steal them with unbridled impunity!

You might get conned on eBay, hence my reservations. Hope you can get your Prius fixed cheaply.

Good luck!


iPhone ? Pro

 

stolen from yesterday - broad daylight - residential area - may the thieves be guided to a better path..


Has anybody got experience with aftermarket BM branded catalytic converters?

 

i purchased this one too - i am not willing to pay too much for this repair as i rarely use the car and it's not worth much either - will just have to suck it and see


searching for a sensor too....that was given the snip!

 

Mine was stolen on January 11 from Tesco Edmonton. I have mentioned it elsewhere before I realised this thread existed. It was caught on Tesco CCTV with car registration and perpetrators . My insurance company LV have had the cat replaced but I have £300 excess. They suggested that as the criminals car reg matched the dvl records they might be able to recoup the £300 from the associated insurance. There is also the MIB service which provides cash to victims of crime. I am not sure if this applies but I have been told to suggest it to my insurance company from the video there were 2 people both wearing hoodies with track suit bottoms. Both were black and not Eastern European. The speed of the removal of the cat was amazing at about 2 minutes . There is a car wash area close to where I parked and they saw the whole thing and went to tell security who of course did nothing. So now I need a cat strap or similar. I am out of the country now until march but hopefully my ring door and ip camera might deter it happening again while parked in my drive. For the record my Prius is a very late (December) 2008 model with 140k miles. Glad it wasn't a write off

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Sorry to hear your Prius got ripped off too!

Is it possible to get a copy of that video? It would be nice to have it on YouTube. Do you have the registration of the vehicle involved in stealing your CAT?
Black guys in hoodies? That’s a new development that’s equally abhorrent - the thieving parasites just keep evolving new strategies!

We need videos of these events and the perpetrators - they need to be caught!


iPhone ? Pro

 

Can you guys gather all these videos and make up a website to show how incompetent the local authorities are? Or is that illegal in England?

 

It’s not illegal yet.
And yes, that’s a brilliant idea.
I guess in a few years time, as the UK sinks deeper into the morass of encroaching Dystopia, it won’t only be illegal, but the punishment will be similar to what the Soviet dissidents of yesteryear used to suffer - a one way trip to a Gulag.

Except this Gulag will be run by corporations, and you’ll get to work daily 12 hour shifts in their factories 7 days a week - for 2 square meals and a hard cot in a sterile cell. A one year sentence would be horrific.

(Hey! That would make a good Black Mirror Netflix episode!)

That’ll teach you not to grumble at the entitled (totally disconnected from reality) establishment who run the country.

Do I sound darkly sarcastic and distinctly paranoid? I am. The UK is really slipping down the toilet pan! London has already fallen; most of the citizens barely understand this right now.....but they will eventually. When it’s too late.

I feel it’s past the point of no return.




iPhone ? Pro

 

OK then... How’s about taking some of that time you’ve been spending complaining here and use it to make that website?

 

Amen.
Sadly, I can be added to the list of victims as of this morning. Parked in residential car park in Enfield EN3. Not sure when it was taken as I haven't driven in a couple of days.

Due to risk of reoccurrence, my mechanic agreed it's worth considering a cheap ebay aftermarket version. I can't really afford oem at the moment to be honest.

The sensor was snipped too so looking for cheap solution on that front too.

If anyone gets an aftermarket cat or sensor installed please share your thoughts and experiences.

I understand the benefits of going with oem or eurocarparts as @DataDaedalus has mentioned but can anyone shed light on the risks of the cheap ebay offerings (under £120) and how likely they are?

I'm wondering if thieves will notice a cheap aftermarket cat and not bother taking it.

 

Hi MDMU, sorry to hear about your catalytic converter also being nicked.
I can appreciate how angry and upset you must be, especially with the inconvenience this incident brings, and the unwanted costs of repairs, plus the possibility of a repeat attack by copy cat thieves.

I noted my attachments no longer load in an earlier post. Curiously, I am unable to edit the post.

You can probably get a replacement non OEM CAT for as little as £150. I read on the website of one of the manufacturers (Klarius) that their design incorporates a ceramic matrix inside the CAT, which is coated in Platinum, Palladium and Rhodium, dramatically bringing down the costs of Prius CAT costs. The OEM CATs have matrixes of pure Platinum, Palladium and Rhodium - hence their approximately £2000 replacement cost.

I’ve had my newly installed CAT secured with a custom built protection system, compliments of a member on here. Not taking any chances.

However, 2 days ago, the CATSTRAP Protection System I ordered from the US finally arrived. I ordered it before “The Governor” showed off his construction skills and kindly agreed to install a similar system for me (costs are classified - but it wasn’t cheap).

I actually ordered 2 x CATSTRAP Protection Systems. One with the alarm and one without.
I haven’t even opened the box they arrived in yet.

They’re up for sale if anybody wants them, though I would recommend they use thicker exhaust straps (from Halfords or Europarts) to reinforce the straps supplied.

I’ll see if I can resend the attachments from the security work done on my CAT.

Good luck, hope your Prius will get sorted soon.

 

I guess this shows one big plus for a BEV, no catalytic converter.

 

This is the replacement CAT fitted to my 2008 Prius. It’s the Klarius brand. So far, it seems to be working fine, and I haven’t noticed any adverse effects on my MPG that isn’t already attributable to the exceptionally cold weather in London this year. Enhanced structural integrity work - was compliments of “The Governor”.


iPhone 6s +

 

Completed theft protection work on my replacement Klarius Catalytic Converter, showing the actual cat matrix pods and the level of protection to the pipes between them.

Reposted due to previous images not showing.


iPhone 6s +

 

Hi
I purchased a cheap Ebay cat, it was just over £110 and included the gaskets and replacement bolts and springs for both manifold end and rear silencer end.
The o2 sensor I replaced was £50 made by Bosch also purchased on eBay.
The exhaust is working fine and has been fitted since mid December and the car as been used every day since, no warning lights and sounds as quiet as the original.
My only advice would be to not use an aftermarket gasket on the manifold end, get an original from Toyota. The manifold downpipe gasket is just over £27.
If you were to use a cheap copy you could end up getting exhaust fumes coming through the blowers in the car. I compared the original to the gasket the supplied and the dimensions were roughly the same but the fit wasn’t as snug.

As DataDaedalus said we have added extra security to our new Cats for piece of mind. Although the exhausts are not original and the scum bags might not want them I’m sure given the opportunity they would cut them off anyway and hide it amongst the others they have taken. I can’t see them being that honest to the people they sell them to in bulk. Prevention is certainly the key in this case.

 

i just watched this video below... here's a few thoughts of mine:

1 - he makes it look easy to cut the pipe

2 - he doesn't use a manifold on the connector points - just the nuts with the springs.

3 - my fitting kit didn't come with the springs - where can i source these cheaply? I also can't see those black rubber holders anywhere in this "fitting kit"

any advice and guidance will be much appreciated

 

Hi
I think the black holders you speak of are just exhaust rubber mounts. They sell them at halfords or eBay. If you need to compare the size it’s the same size of the ones holding up your rear silencer.

The nuts and springs You can get them either from Toyota or good quality ones from eBay. Just be aware they vary in size from the ones used to fit the rear silencer.
Also don’t forget the gaskets.
This is the downpipe one from the manifold. Just over £27 from Toyota.