Set the Prius owner’s catalytic converter twice in 2 months

F: The catalytic converter was just stolen from my ’07 Prius for the second time in two months – and it took almost three weeks to get the part to repair it for the first time, as this happens to so many people.

Alison Hyde, Palo Alto

IN: You poor soul. Twice in two months.

F: EBay has thousands of ads for used catalytic converters. Is there a chance that the state will decrease when selling them online?

Alison Hyde

IN: No. It is legal to sell converters online. That’s not the problem. This theft occurs in older Prius cars built by 2011 due to an increase in the value of precious metals found in converters in hybrids. They are targeted because they have two power sources – an electric motor and a gas motor – so that their converters are less often used to process pollution. This means that the metals in it are less corroded, making them more valuable and, therefore, more desirable to thieves.

Although it is illegal to pay for scrap metal with cash, illegal scrap metal sellers will pay $ 200 to $ 500 for each converter. Repairs can run $ 3,000 to $ 5,000.

F: Is there a chance that Toyota will confess that they are screwed, place a call and place that $ 300 protective metal plate that should have been in the first place? How on earth did they not vote the VIN number on the most valuable and easy-to-steal part in the car?

Next time I buy a car I will ask how vulnerable this is to this because it is not fun. Did any of your readers install those plates and still stole their catalytic converter?

Alison Hyde

IN: Not in newer models. Savvy repair shops will weld a 3/8-inch-thick wire cable from the exhaust manifold to the resonator on both sides. Thieves rarely take out converts.

There’s a $ 225 product called Cat Security. It is a shield that attaches to the bottom of a Prius, which blocks access to the car. There are also cheaper, generic cable lock-type solutions to put a lock on your converter.