CAT Theft for 2022 Prius AWD LE?

There are cat thefts on Gen4 Prius cars. It's much less than other cars. But, the cats do get stolen.
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2016-2022 Toyota Prius (Gen 4)


Good Luck!

 

didn't toyota make it more difficult to access as well?

being in crimeifornia, i would proceed with caution

 

The dealership is telling the truth, for once. The risk is not zero, however. Only you can decide if you want to worry. Thieves tend to target older vehicles that were popular and still on the road. I wouldn't worry unless I parked outside in SF.

 

Also broken windows

 

Check - there have been heaps of threads on this. There are 2 CATs.

Gen 4 - almost impossible to get to one - need to remove either the BODY or the ENGINE, and the other one is tiny and difficult to get to to - not worth the effort of thieves.

In 6 years of reading every thread on Gen 4 - there has only been one "possible" case - none by members - that "possible" one was an unconfirmed 3rd hand report - which could well have been an earlier model.

 

I can confirm that our 4th gen Prius, at the university, got sawed out. Lots of CATs go missing in the student/faculty parking lots everyday. These thieves are looking for easy money and targeting cars without alarms and CAT shields.

I would recommend a motion/tremor switch alarm and cheap CAT shield. The motion switch will active as soon as they jack-up the car; once they see the CAT shield - they would likely look for an easier target. They don't want people staring at them because your car is honking and lights are flashing.
I also wouldn't leave this car at the airport long-term parking lot. Leave it in your garage and take an Uber or super-shuttle.

Hope this helps...

 

New car dealers are getting hit hard especially Tundra dealers. So easy on that truck no jack needed and 2 cats.
It’s like a shopping mall for cat theft. Most dealers are so cheap they don’t even have a guard on duty. They probably do now.

 

I had this happen to my 2005. I haven't looked yet at one for this one yet. I see several on the market, but installation will be the hassle. I'm hoping the dealer can do that during an oil change.

 

Stealing one on a 2005 is simple. And, to a thief, worthwhile.

Very different story with Gen 4.

 

I'm told that before I started at the hybrid shop/dealership where I work part time, someone came in at night and stole every single Gen 2 cat that was on the lot or in back waiting for repair. Since then, no Gen 2 with an OEM cat and without a shield is left outside at night. Even if we have to push it, it comes inside. Gen 3 and Gen 4 have never been hit so we don't bother with shields.

 

It's interesting to see the extremes on this topic!

To OP, I did the same research when I got my Gen 4. The Cat placement was redesigned / placed to make it difficult to steal. Rest easy comrade.

 

Any muffler shop can do the work; call them for estimates. The 3nd gen Prius shield is a bit more involved. The 4th gen shield can be installed for $50 labor cost. If you don't already have a motion/tremor switch on your alarm system; I would get that taken care of first.

Hope this helps...

 

I have to say that is is incorrect.
I bought a cat-shield online for my Gen2 2010 Prius and I took the kit with me to 4 muffler shops and 3 repair shops in our town, and none of them had the correct pop-rivet gun to shoot the 4 large pop-rivets that come with the kit.
I called the Toyota dealer in San Jose, and asked them to install it. They said they couldn't do it either. They were very skeptical that they could install some off-brand cat-shield that was bought on-line. Who knows what the quality was and they didn't want to get dinged in case it was "defective".
When I asked what the cost of their "factory" cat-shields were, they quoted $450 for the parts and labor. I told them I'd be there the next day to install one of their "factory cat-shields". I figured the "lost" cost of the shield I bought on-line plus the cost of a new "factory cat-shield" would still be less than the cost (and time) of having the cat stolen (it is now my daughter's car, and she parks in a sketchy area at night).
I took the cat-shield I bought on-line with me and when I got to the dealer's service bay, I asked to see what the "factory cat-shield" looked like - it was IDENTICAL to the cat-shield I bought on-line. It was same brand, same package, same markings on the shield, neither one was labeled "Toyota" and both had the same over-sized pop-rivets.
The dealer looked at mine (still in the package), looked at his, looked at mine, and then said "Well, we can install yours for $150".
So... Not all cat-shields can be installed by all muffler / car repair shops

 

Sorry for your inconvenience; but I stand by what I typed and obviously those shops you stopped by - didn't want to do the work! Even the dealership told you NO - until you showed them they wanted to install the same shield. Your words.....

I said: Any muffler shop can do the work; call them for estimates. So you don't waste your time stopping by 7 different shops. A busy shop doesn't want to deal with someone that shows up out of the blue with something in their trunk they want to install - especially when they have higher profit margin jobs already lined up.
I said: The 3nd gen Prius shield is a bit more involved. The 4th gen shield can be installed for $50 labor cost. Nowhere did I mention a 2nd gen and I didn't say the 3 gen shields could be installed for $50.

 

The question related to Gen 4 - not an old Gen 2.

 

If you’ll crawl under a strangers car in the middle of the night to cut off a cat, you’ll probably steal anything.