Cat Converter theft

[ColinBarber]

On 9/20/2022 at 8:37 PM, diabolik said:

I am yet to find someone having his cat cut with a shield on. I'm active on both Jazz and CT/Prius/Auris facebook groups since this cat theft mania started and this has never happened.

Most people seem to say it has prevented a theft once the shield is fitted, but does happen. One person over on TOC has had their cat stolen with the official catloc installed:

https://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/191812-catloc-are-they-worth-it/?do=findComment&comment=1584184

 

[Athens]

Hi. My new cat converter was fitted this week on my Ct200h after being stolen 2 months ago. Lexus have told me they can't do a hybrid check on the Battery because of system reset and I have to do 500 miles before they can do the check.has anyone else had this? 

[ColinBarber]

16 minutes ago, Athens said:

Lexus have told me they can't do a hybrid check on the battery because of system reset and I have to do 500 miles before they can do the check.has anyone else had this? 

Yes it is standard practice for the HHC. They need long term history to ensure there are no intermittent issues before providing a warranty and if the ECU has been reset (or Battery disconnected) then the history has been lost.

[Athens]

Great. Thank you

[Keithyrob]

My thinking, is that once the thieves have the car up, whatever is in the way will be chopped off. 

So, I think the way to stop them even starting, is to visibly inhibit access to lift the car 

Edited April 11, 2023 by Keithyrob
Typo

[Las Palmas]

3 hours ago, Keithyrob said:

My thinking, is that once the thieves have the car up, whatever is in the way will be chopped off. 

So, I think the way to stop them even starting, is to visibly inhibit access to lift the car 

Why do you think that would stop the car being lifted? If they only want the cat they do not care if damaging the car lifting it other less strong places.

[LenT]

19 hours ago, Keithyrob said:

My thinking, is that once the thieves have the car up, whatever is in the way will be chopped off. 

So, I think the way to stop them even starting, is to visibly inhibit access to lift the car 

With all due respect, I can't imagine those planks presenting much of problem to a hefty crowbar.

The general advice seems to be that that you'll make things the most difficult for Chummy by parking with the exhaust side against the kerb.  Or against a fence or wall.

It just makes it that much more difficult to get a trolley jack under the car.

Possibly not so effective if the cat is located in the centre of the chassis!

[Hillie]

1 hour ago, LenT said:

With all due respect, I can't imagine those planks presenting much of problem to a hefty crowbar.

The general advice seems to be that that you'll make things the most difficult for Chummy by parking with the exhaust side against the kerb.  Or against a fence or wall.

It just makes it that much more difficult to get a trolley jack under the car.

Possibly not so effective if the cat is located in the centre of the chassis!

Maybe there is merit in restricting access...    Maybe some air ride mods would help secure the vehicle 😉

 

Image stolen from a @Linas.Ppost June 2019 LoC. 

On 6/16/2019 at 4:10 PM, Linas.P said:

[LenT]

29 minutes ago, Hillie said:

Maybe there is merit in restricting access...    Maybe some air ride mods would help secure the vehicle 😉

Yes, that’d work, Paul.  Might not be so clever over speed bumps, mind you.

I remember when I had a Citroen DS, the chassis was so low when parked that there was no room for a trolley jack.  So it was cat-theft proofed before they’d even been invented.

[Poundy]

There are a large number of cats stolen from supermarket car parks etc. I couldn't be rrsd setting that up every time I parked up anywhere to shop, or driving around with it poking out of the window, because of the size of it 😅

Five gets you ten that my wife would drive of in the morning forgetting it was even there aargh!

Also, considering I have yet to hear of a CT200h with a genuine Lexus catloc fitted, having the cat stolen (doable but noisy and time consuming) plus the price of timber now it's not a DIY I will be recommending. 😉

[Guest]

3 hours ago, Poundy said:

There are a large number of cats stolen from supermarket car parks etc. I couldn't be rrsd setting that up every time I parked up anywhere to shop, or driving around with it poking out of the window, because of the size of it 😅

Five gets you ten that my wife would drive of in the morning forgetting it was even there aargh!

Also, considering I have yet to hear of a CT200h with a genuine Lexus catloc fitted, having the cat stolen (doable but noisy and time consuming) plus the price of timber now it's not a DIY I will be recommending. 😉

That's true about the price of wood! I do get a bit of peace of mind from having the catlock fitted, £250 investment, not expense, that and a doorbell camera watching it. I saw a woman "casing" my car when I was in a Sainsbury's car park in Ottery St Mary, I went out sharpish to make sure they knew I was nearby, I watched her step back when she saw the catlock sticker, so I really hope it's a lasting deterrent, when i got out there she got into a beaten up 55 reg white Range Rover sport, driven by tatoo covered bloke, pikey alert...   

The f*ckers stole the cat from the 80 year old lady lives opposite's (SW London near Kingston upon Thames) Honda Jazz, 8pm in the evening, they nicked the cat from my friend round the corner's 2004 Honda Civic type R, 10pm on a Sunday night, he came out and they threatened the neighbour who was filming it with a beating (3 of them, two carrying baseball bats, one cutting). I said that I would've got stuck in to them, but as he rightly said, even if you do restrain one of them, the other two know where you live, so you won't be sleeping at night. Similar story when they did one down the road also. Apparently they drive stole Golf Rs/Audi S3s and escape well before police arrive, they wear masks and have dodgy number plates, so can evade cameras, they just don't care and it seems there is little we can do about it apart from lose our insurance no claims. 😠  

One grumble I have got with my car is how hard the suspension is, being able to lower it right down would be a proper deterrent. I wonder how much an adjustable air shocks setup like that would cost? 

[RadicalCoupe-Fuji]

Id be more concerned if I had a Hilux or something that doesnt need to be jacked up to get at the pipe.  

[joelfigueira]

Have had my cat loc installed as soon as I got the car thought it’s a lot cheaper than having to pay for a replacement CAT 

[Las Palmas]

5 hours ago, Nick0 said:

That's true about the price of wood! I do get a bit of peace of mind from having the catlock fitted, £250 investment, not expense, that and a doorbell camera watching it. I saw a woman "casing" my car when I was in a Sainsbury's car park in Ottery St Mary, I went out sharpish to make sure they knew I was nearby, I watched her step back when she saw the catlock sticker, so I really hope it's a lasting deterrent, when i got out there she got into a beaten up 55 reg white Range Rover sport, driven by tatoo covered bloke, pikey alert...   

The f*ckers stole the cat from the 80 year old lady lives opposite's (SW London near Kingston upon Thames) Honda Jazz, 8pm in the evening, they nicked the cat from my friend round the corner's 2004 Honda Civic type R, 10pm on a Sunday night, he came out and they threatened the neighbour who was filming it with a beating (3 of them, two carrying baseball bats, one cutting). I said that I would've got stuck in to them, but as he rightly said, even if you do restrain one of them, the other two know where you live, so you won't be sleeping at night. Similar story when they did one down the road also. Apparently they drive stole Golf Rs/Audi S3s and escape well before police arrive, they wear masks and have dodgy number plates, so can evade cameras, they just don't care and it seems there is little we can do about it apart from lose our insurance no claims. 😠  

One grumble I have got with my car is how hard the suspension is, being able to lower it right down would be a proper deterrent. I wonder how much an adjustable air shocks setup like that would cost? 

Seems it is a dangerous country you are living in.

Police getting caught with bad habbits, having bad things written about them and maybe being criminal themselves so not doing anything to the other criminals.

[not impressed]

Just dropped in to say that I am no longer a Lexus owner as a result of this happening to me. Mine was cut off last week and I had already planned to sell it. Between arranging an appraisal at the dealer and going to it, the cat was removed and the appraised value dropped from USD4000 to USD2000. After USD3000 in repairs that didn't resolve the issues, I decided to walk away. 

 

 

[Guest]

On 4/19/2023 at 2:18 AM, not impressed said:

Just dropped in to say that I am no longer a Lexus owner as a result of this happening to me. Mine was cut off last week and I had already planned to sell it. Between arranging an appraisal at the dealer and going to it, the cat was removed and the appraised value dropped from USD4000 to USD2000. After USD3000 in repairs that didn't resolve the issues, I decided to walk away. 

 

 

Sorry to hear this Paul. It's a sad reflection of our society and wider world that these thefts are happening. Wishing you better motoring times.

[diabolik]

On 4/18/2023 at 1:58 PM, Poundy said:

There are a large number of cats stolen from supermarket car parks etc. I couldn't be rrsd setting that up every time I parked up anywhere to shop, or driving around with it poking out of the window, because of the size of it 😅

Five gets you ten that my wife would drive of in the morning forgetting it was even there aargh!

Also, considering I have yet to hear of a CT200h with a genuine Lexus catloc fitted, having the cat stolen (doable but noisy and time consuming) plus the price of timber now it's not a DIY I will be recommending. 😉

Funny thing, if you browse the Lexus CT Facebook group, one of the members has recently reported and also showed a picture with his shield cut off.

Apparently, the genuine (more expensive) catlock seems to have a flaw compared to the low cost versions - they have a couple weak points around the screws.

Now, I doubt my £200 genuine catlow was what I thought, what I actually need. Too late now, I will be praying that it will deter the low skilled chaps attempting to get my cat.

[Las Palmas]

On 1/16/2021 at 1:14 PM, Herbie said:

The problem is that there has been no respect for the law or anything/anyone for so long now that it's just a way of life to some people. One of the cat theft videos on YouTube shows the 'lookout' stood in broad daylight, quite openly and brazenly holding a machete while his mate jacks up the car. Two minutes later, they're off and gone.

I'm 63 and of an age/upbringing where if a police officer even looks in my direction I feel guilty. You only have to watch a couple of episodes of something like Police Interceptors or Road Wars to see just how little respect remains and how people openly treat the police with contempt.

I'm afraid that the only way to be sure of not being a victim of cat theft is to buy an electric car because they don't have cats - otherwise, any car/cat is fair game to the scrotes of this world.

When reading what police is doing around the world, it is easy to understand that they have no time to solve crime as they have to cover up their own.

[mikedb]

On 4/11/2023 at 9:14 PM, Keithyrob said:

My thinking, is that once the thieves have the car up, whatever is in the way will be chopped off. 

So, I think the way to stop them even starting, is to visibly inhibit access to lift the car 

 

I tend to also park my CT facing the garage as close as I can.....a deterrent at best.......so they can't get front access to cut the alarm cable.....no idea if helps...a thief is a thief after all

(I have had the cat stolen when the car was parked on another part of the drive where they had front and side access)