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Exceptionally cheap catalytiv converter theft deterrant...

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by Georgina Rudkus, Jun 22, 2020.

  1. Georgina Rudkus

    Georgina Rudkus Senior Member

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    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHVrX6JEV40

    Painted my front exhaust with orange VHT paint off of Amazon.



    I will place a couple of stickers on the side windows saying "CATALYTIC CONVERTER ENGRAVED."

    If they do steal it, let them go wild trying to find the engravings.

    vht painted side view.JPG view from front.JPG
     
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  2. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    If they select their "fence" carefully, as I suspect many do, then they won't need to worry about engravings at all.
     
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    are they stealing gen 3?
     
  4. Rmay635703

    Rmay635703 Senior Member

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    In select US locations they are supposedly blindly stealing from any more modern car.

    in Wisconsin it wouldn’t work since everyone runs straight pipes
     
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  5. Georgina Rudkus

    Georgina Rudkus Senior Member

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    It might deter a thief when the cat is painted orange and easily identifiable. The police report will notice the orange color and make it easier to note where it came from. The jagged edge of the sawed ends can be matched as evidence.

    There are so many unidentifiable units out there that the thief might pass the painted one by.

    They've been engraving and painting them for a while.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncQuibru0wQ

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIUxaTEwkHw

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg1zo81p7LU
     
  6. Georgina Rudkus

    Georgina Rudkus Senior Member

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  7. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    "Generation 3 Prius’s are part of the unfortunate group of cars that are targeted by thieves for the catalytic converters. The difference between these and the earlier gen 1 and gen 2 cars is the cat assembly is cooled by engine coolant and a missing or stolen cat means you cannot operate the vehicle safely without it. "

    Is the coolant intended to cool the cat? Or is the cat intended to more quickly bring the coolant up to operating temperature during warmup, as was advertised here when Gen3 was introduced?

    Of course, if a fluid line gets cut, we don't want to be pumping most of the engine coolant onto the ground, where it can't cool the engine.
     
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  8. Georgina Rudkus

    Georgina Rudkus Senior Member

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    The heat exchanger heats the coolant on startup to get the engine up to operating temperature as quickly as possible to allow earlier switching to EV mode. That is also true with the Prius c and all Generation 4 Prius models.

    I have attached photos of both the Prius c and Gen 4 exhaust systems showing the coolant pre-heater. Prius c exhaust.jpg Prius Gen 4 exhaust.jpg
     
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  9. Georgina Rudkus

    Georgina Rudkus Senior Member

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    These are the stickers that I paced on the rear side windows to deter theft. catalytic converter engraved sticker.JPG
     
  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    it replaced the gen 2 thermos. also reduces emmisions
     
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  11. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    So they cops stop you because yours is painted orange and probably stolen?
    If a thief wants it bad enough, the thief will get it. All you can do is make it hard and harder
    for them to get it. Unless you rig it in such a way that is will zap and kill them if they try to
    steal it. But then you have another problem to worry about. :)
    Hopefully the cover will make them look somewhere else.
     
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  12. Georgina Rudkus

    Georgina Rudkus Senior Member

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    Good call!

    The key is not to kill the thief but to make him go elsewhere for easy pickings.
     
    #12 Georgina Rudkus, Jun 26, 2020
    Last edited: Jun 26, 2020
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  13. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    kill the thief

    if this was the goal, maybe it wouldn't take very long before the thieving ended.....or at least the gene pool would improve bit by bit..
     
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  14. Georgina Rudkus

    Georgina Rudkus Senior Member

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    Then, you will become the liable criminal.

    Katko v. Briney - Wikipedia
     
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  15. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    I'd vastly prefer to make them want to find another career, especially a legal one.

    Simply making them move on to other targets, does not benefit the community, it just creates a defensive arms race.
     
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  16. Georgina Rudkus

    Georgina Rudkus Senior Member

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    It's going to get worse when the $600 a week unemployment subsidy, tax and rent payment deferrals including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ends after July.
     
  17. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    Everyone should decide what and how THEY deal with the problem.
    I have NO compassion for the thief. They certainly don't have any when they take from others.

    Whether they go somewhere else, find a community productive job, or get eliminated.
    This is why I stated: "But then you have another problem to worry about. "
     
  18. JarrettOriginal

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    Wow...

    Property more valuable than life. Great position.

    +5mpg for posting
     
  19. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    Wow, criminal more important than victim.
     
  20. Johnny Cakes

    Johnny Cakes Senior Member

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    Maybe we should steer this thread toward something less controversial....how about religion?
     
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