Catalytic Converter Theft

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

El Pablo

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Apr 5, 2007
Messages
7,958
Reaction score
8,778
Location
Yukon
According to Shoot Summ's comment, Elements and Prius cars are targets. I doubt that they are very large vehicles.
impressed someone can get under a Prius. Bet they just have one cat. Geez, I had no idea this nonsense was going on.

From some pd in NC: “Catalytic Converter Thefts: We've had 45 reported catalytic converter thefts since January. Vehicles that have had the most thefts are: Toyota Prius, SUV's of all makes, Pick up Trucks of all makes, van's (mostly Honda), passenger cars (mostly Honda), 2 U-Haul trucks.”
 

AKguy1985

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Aug 25, 2006
Messages
25,912
Reaction score
4,789
Location
Rogers County
I had the cat off my 2002 civic stolen off it while it was sitting out back of my mechanics shop. They also stole the cat off a 02 dodge ram and a Honda minivan.
 

HiredHand

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Sep 13, 2007
Messages
6,341
Reaction score
2,731
Location
Tulsa Metro
impressed someone can get under a Prius. Bet they just have one cat. Geez, I had no idea this nonsense was going on.

From some pd in NC: “Catalytic Converter Thefts: We've had 45 reported catalytic converter thefts since January. Vehicles that have had the most thefts are: Toyota Prius, SUV's of all makes, Pick up Trucks of all makes, van's (mostly Honda), passenger cars (mostly Honda), 2 U-Haul trucks.”
A lightweight low profile jack is going to raise a vehicle like a Prius in a heartbeat.
 

madokie

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Mar 14, 2008
Messages
635
Reaction score
311
Location
okc
as to laws yes here in OKC,u must show registration or title in your name,numbers on cats must be readable,,,and starting nov 1 ,, everyone selling copper at scrap yard must drive in a vehicle ,, no walk ins or bicycles,,,although a few places fudge a little on that,,i used to drive in for last 7 years(CU,steel .al ,everything) ,,till my truck broke down ,,now i bicycle in ,,they remember me well, and they know i live in a house ,and am not homeless, so i dont steal copper,,i did junk hauling,rental cleanouts,etc,, u come across everything.....and lots of stuff gets put at the curb in my neighbor hood,plenty of cu wire,,
 

teslawasframed

Night Watchman
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Apr 29, 2021
Messages
363
Reaction score
525
Location
Duncan
We caught a couple that had hit a few local dealerships. They'd black out in an adjacent parking lot, hubby hops out with jacks and a sawzall, wifey stayed in the truck with a big 'ol German Shepherd by her side, piloting a drone and keeping watch. 30 minutes would net them 5 or 6 converters, then they'd bail and hit another spot before leaving town. They'd mostly target pickups and U-Hauls.
 

Dale00

Sharpshooter
Special Hen
Joined
May 28, 2006
Messages
7,462
Reaction score
3,868
Location
Oklahoma
From MufflerTech (Sacramento, CA), the most popular vehicles with Cat thieves are below. Re Hondas, the most popular are Accords and Elements
3ADC75CC-20A7-4A23-9F97-83944A32FB5C.jpeg
 
Last edited:

Fredkrueger100

Dream Master
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Aug 16, 2012
Messages
7,867
Reaction score
6,170
Location
Shawnee, OK
I looked at my cats on my F150 and they looked welded on. Definitely not an easy steal. I chanced my wife’s on her 2008 enclave and they were difficult to do. Well the rear one was. Someone would have to be really desperate and also have good knowledge to do it.
 

SoonerP226

Sharpshooter
Special Hen
Joined
Jan 1, 2013
Messages
13,435
Reaction score
13,851
Location
Norman
I looked at my cats on my F150 and they looked welded on. Definitely not an easy steal. I chanced my wife’s on her 2008 enclave and they were difficult to do. Well the rear one was. Someone would have to be really desperate and also have good knowledge to do it.
Cats are normally welded into the system, but being welded or bolted doesn't really matter--the thieves are cutting them off.
 

SlugSlinger

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Apr 14, 2009
Messages
7,825
Reaction score
7,621
Location
Owasso
A sawzall and a good bimetal blade can cut the thin exhaust tube in about 3-5 seconds per cut. All they need is clearance for the saw and the blade.

I like the idea of the extra exhaust clamps and jb weld in the video posted early, that is a deterrent that would make the thief reconsider due to the extra time it would take to get around taking the clamps off. That being said, Milwaukee makes an 18 volt, 1/2” drive impact that generates 1400 ft lbs of torque. That impact would break the clamp bolts and it wouldn’t matter if the nuts were welded or not. But again, that’s a lot of noise and time that the thief doesn’t want to deal with.

Another idea I had is to weld rebar to the area that the thief would need to cut. Rebar is cheap and it wouldn’t take much time to weld a few small pieces to the exhaust. I don’t remember trying to cut rebar with a sawzall, but rebar is some hard material and it would likely dull the saw blade.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom