Catalytic Converter stolen

Hello, and Merry Christmas Eve!
I'm sad to report that my 2006 had its cat stolen last Monday night.


On Tuesday morning, while it was still dark outside, I tried to drive to work (in my 2011.) There was a lurch and a scraping sound, and I thought thieves must have stolen a wheel, but when I exited the car, my car was stuck on a truck wheel rim. They had jacked up my car and left the passenger side front wheel up on a bare rim, and I had just driven the car off of it. Great - just great. I got out my jack and lifted the car enough to remove the truck rim...then noticed my 2006 parked behind (we have street parking) also had been hit, and its driver side front wheel was also up on a truck rim. I couldn't lift the car high enough to get the Prius tire off the rim, so I went back inside, woke my gf up, told her what happened and that she needed to take an Uber to work.
When I returned from work, I started her car up and sure enough, they stole the cat. They must have been planning to steal mine as well but got spooked. There was a socket wrench under her car. Hey, free wrench! My girlfriend picked it up with gloves, but the police weren't interested in it as evidence.


My insurance adjuster informed me that my policy allowed for aftermarket parts, but luckily I guess, he was unable to find anything but factory Toyota parts that matched the functionality. As it's a mechanical part, they approved the repair, which cost a mind-boggling $2600. Anyway, I have one potentially useful bit of information here. I asked the mechanic at Atomic Auto here in Portland what they would recommend to prevent this from happening again (to the 2006 or the 2011 I also have) and he told me they are the exclusive Oregon dealer for this product called Cat Security. Read about it here: (whoops - can't link. New forum user.) Read about it at torque news. Do a search for catalytic converter and look for the Cat Security shield. Will update later after I'm allowed.
I mention this product because it didn't come up when we first started searching for a solution. Guess the makers need to invest in some digital marketing. I assume it's a good product since my Atomic recommends it, and they're considered the best in town.


We are picking up the 2006 today. I want one for my 2011, but have been told that it will be a few days before they have a Gen-3 type delivered. In the meantime, we have been parking my car in front of my neighbor's house as they don't have the high fence around their property like we do that encourages this kind of thing, plus we got two inexpensive vibration alarms and mounted one of them under the hood - though I'm not sure it will do us any good.


With the $500 deductible, and $300 per Cat Security shield, these thieves are costing us $1100 and a few Uber rides. I've had some rather dark thoughts about car thieves this week. I looked up 'catalytic converter' on my local news, and found an old article stating that a guy who pled guilty to stealing seven cats was sentenced to 6 months probation. Car theft is such a problem in Portland that apparently they don't bother putting these knuckleheads in jail anymore. We've had tires and wheels stolen from our old Corolla, countless windows broken, an ignition switch destroyed, and an attempted theft of a cassette/radio stereo (why?) Over a dozen stolen cars have been dumped at our corner, again, the cops tell us, because of our high fence that our landlords like.

So there it is - my Christmas tale to warm your hearts. I will add to this thread later if I have anything to say about the new Cat Security shield. Curious to see how it's attached - hopefully not with something easily removed!

Be careful out there. As the article I linked mentions, this kind of thing is on the rise. It's expensive and incredibly frustrating and inconvenient. Bad for your blood pressure to boot!

Last thing, I've perused aftermarket alarm systems on this forum but haven't drawn any conclusions. It seems people like $500-plus add-on systems like Viper, but we wanted to start with localized protection as our Priuses haven't been targeted for smash-and grab theft as yet. Hope I don't regret this decision.