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Anyone get their catalytic converter stolen?

28K views 30 replies 23 participants last post by  ramblerdan 
#1 ·
I bought my E about 1 1/2 years ago when there was a rash of stolen catalytic converters happening due to the price of the precious metals inside. So to be safe I had mine tap welded on the ends of the threads for $10 bucks "just in case". Not sure how much the E's cat & O2 sensor costs to replace, but I really don't want to find out first hand. The mechanic doing the spot weld said that the Toyota's cat & O2 cost about $700 to replace.
 
#3 ·
The punks that steal them use a battery powered saw to cut the pipes. Sorry to say but welding is not going to prevent theft. However, this will slow down the tech if it ever needs to be replaced.
 
#5 ·
That's how they do it in this area. Just cut them off.

Dom
 
#9 ·
Yikes!

Holy Mohly! $2,200 is a lot of lettuce to lose thanks to some jerks!

Yes, I agree that a simple tap weld won't stop anyone who really wants to get the goods. Just trying to slow them down if they slide under there with a set of wrenches. Easier for them to hide wrenches in their pants / jacket than a sawz all. :)

As for the avatar, no it's not an Element. However, it would be fun to try!
 
#12 ·
Stolen Catalytic Converter in Dallas, TX

My wife's 2010 E was parked at her office, just out of view of the Securty Cam. Happened July 2011, Friday afternoon - they used a portable saw and hacked off the converter and messed up the senor etc. Dilemma - muffler shop wanted $325 to repair. Honda Dealer wanted $2000 (out of pocket $500 deductible). Per Honda - if you get an aftermarket converter, it negates your factory emission warranty, the only way to keep it is to replace it with original Honda converter, so for an extra $175 (deductible minus muffler shop quote) - we went through Honda and our insurance. About 2 weeks after our event, the Dallas Morning News ran an article on catalytic converter theft - the E was one of the targets due to height. Another target is the 2000 Toyota 4Runner as it has 2 converters. The thieves salvage the converter to metal yards for $50-100. While it was a hassle and took Honda 3 days to get the parts, I have to admit it was a blast driving the E without a muffler system, especially under bridges!
 
#17 ·
Heads up for anyone in the Los Angeles area- mine was stolen from the Metro Goldline Heritage Square parking lot in Cypress Park on Friday January 17, 2014 sometime between 9am and 1pm.
Thanks for posting the info so the rest of us can watch out. Somebody else mentioned theirs was hacked off in Ontario (Calif.) a few weeks ago too. Lost the thread. Looks like a cat-clamp is starting to look like a better purchase.

I wish the catalytic converters came with a VIN stamp, but that may not do anything anyway. I'll leave that thought to others to figure out.

I have one of those deadly-loud personal alarms (pin-pull type). Maybe I'll do something sneaky so the alarm goes off on anybody that gets to mine before I can afford a cat-clamp.
 
#18 ·
#19 ·
I called Geico and asked if there was any policy discount for Cat theft prevention and they only offered to add any such device to my policy (raises rate), so that I can get a new one if anything happens to the car or device. Right...

For those that are not aware, auto-insurance often offers to repair cracked windshields for FREE, because it's so much cheaper for them, than you filing a claim to get the entire thing replaced. They also give a discount for anti-theft devices like lojack or alarms.

I was just hoping they would offer something like either one of those for a cat-lock, or cost of muffler shop to weld some protector on.

Oh-well, I at least tried.
 
#21 ·
Please post general info so others in your area know where/when to watch out.

General Area or City
Time of theft?
Home/Work/Other?
Sawed Off vs. Uninstalled?
Anything suspicious?

And PLEASE tell local law enforcement. Some thieves come back in a few weeks when you repair, and steal the new one too. If you don't tell the cops, you can't blame them for not being able to prevent it.
 
#26 ·
They got me too...

Mine was stolen last night in front of my house. My parents heard a sawing noise around 2:30 am but didn't think much of it. They said it looked like the bandit had his emergency lights on. I live in Long Beach California and stuff like this doesn't happen around my neighborhood. Hoping to get it replaced and covered by my insurance.
 
#28 ·
Mine's been stolen twice in Atlanta

I've had my catalytic converter stolen TWICE within a year from the parking deck at my office in Buckhead, in broad daylight. Both times they sawed out a huge chunk of my exhaust system, both times the cost to replace was $2200, although I only paid my $250 deductible. A friend with an Element had his stolen from the parking deck across the street, also in broad daylight. The silver lining is that I easily passed my emissions with the new equipment.
 
#29 ·
Mine got it in late 2012 on Detroit's east side. They just slid under the car and cut it out with a sawzall. Also, they cut through the upstream O2 sensor, so I got to replace both sensors and the cat. I wound up going aftermarket, and still spent $600 to do it. The best quote I got for doing OEM-spec replacement was $1,400, and I wasn't about to spend that kind of money (my insurance deductible was 1,000, so no point in filing a claim).

Happily, they missed the $2,000 road bike inside the car!
 
#30 ·
Yep my wife got hers cut off yesterday between 1-5pm while at work in a busy parking lot. I never knew the element was that easy to cut off till I saw it first hand and all the news reports online. Wish I knew about this earlier, I would have purchased a lock for it. Looks like I will be going aftermarket for about $195 plus $80 for the downstream sensor. They left the upstream one, I guess they were being nice. lol

Any thoughts about a cat lock? I have seen the catclamp, catstrap and catlock. For the price the carlock seems to be ok for $129. Might also weld on some metal bars under there as well. What has anyone done?
 
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