Toyota, Subaru, Honda owners beware: Car part theft 'epidemic' is targeting your catalytic converter
If you drive a Toyota Prius, Subaru Forester or Honda Element, auto experts are advising you keep an extra eye on this one specific car part that’s seen a 1,215% increase in thefts since 2019.
"It's an epidemic," Joe’s Expert Auto owner Joe Betancourt told FOX Business’ Grady Trimble on Thursday. "We will finish three [vehicles], and five will show up. It's just scary right now."
According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, more than 52,000 catalytic converters were stolen in 2021, soaring 1,215% from 2019. The car part’s primary function is to convert environmentally harmful gasses from the engine to less harmful gasses.
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Lower-emission cars like Toyota Priuses, Subaru Foresters and Honda Elements are primarily targeted due to higher concentrations of valuable metals inside converters.
Ravenswood resident Alex Cheser noticed his Prius was a lot louder after relatives stayed with him one recent weekend. He let them park in his garage. He parked on the street. After they left, as he was pulling back into the garage, he heard the problem.
"My Prius went from being very quiet to sounding like a motorcycle," Cheser said.
The next day, Cheser filed a police report. He’s far from alone.
TIPS ON HOW TO PREVENT CATALYTIC CONVERTER THEFTS
The NICB says these metals sell for thousands of dollars an ounce; a thief could get $50 to $250 for a converter at a recycling center.
For vehicle models that have dual catalytic converters, like a Jeep Liberty, crooks can earn double the pay while owners are left with a $4,000 repair, the Chicago auto expert explained.
"There are [sic] three precious metals in them, and one of them, rhodium, it's almost at $14,000 an ounce," Betancourt said. "There is usually anywhere from 3 to 7 grams’ load in these vehicles, so do the math."
ExperTec Automotive technician Armando Garcia etches a catalytic converter with the cars license plate number in Huntington Beach on Saturday, November 13, 2021. The free public service, sponsored by local police departments, aimed to deter thefts. C (Mindy Schauer/Digital First Media/Orange County Register via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The Chicago Police Department’s 14th District, which serves the Logan Square and Wicker Park area, has proposed car owners paint their catalytic converters a bright color, to more easily identify and retrieve the stolen part.
"I don't see how it's going to stop anyone," Betancourt argued, "but that's just me. I may be wrong."
People who reside in the district — bounded roughly by Division Street on the south, Belmont Avenue on the north, the Chicago River on the east and Central Park Avenue on the west — can take part.
On Sept. 11, district residents can go to Moos Elementary School, 1711 N. California Ave., starting at 10 a.m., where officers will spray paint the converters using neon pink paint, and will also mark them with "Chicago Police 014." The idea is to deter theft by making converters harder to resell.
A catalytic converter theft deterrent event was held on Saturday, Aug. 20 in Niles, Illinois. (Niles Police Department)
A CPD spokesperson said the 14th District Community Policing office met with residents to discuss the problem, and the idea for painting and marking the converters came from a resident who saw other police departments doing something similar.
The National Insurance Crime Bureau found 52,206 reported incidents of catalytic converter theft in 2021, up 1,215% since 2019 and 203% since 2020.
A spokesperson for the insurance bureau said many owners don’t bother to report catalytic converter thefts, since they can’t afford the $1,500 to $5,000 replacement cost and don’t have comprehensive coverage, which would pay for the loss.
To deter thieves, the NICB advises vehicle owners to install an anti-theft device — essentially a cage mounted around the converter — and park in well-lit areas when possible.
Betancourt is a "big advocate" of installing catalytic converter shields that use safety screws to slow down crooks’ theft time.
"It mainly slows them down," the auto expert pointed out. "They've got three minutes to do a car, they don't want to spend 15 to 20 minutes."
After his experience, Cheser said he's considering a cage, but he hopes to see state or federal legislation to regulate or ban the resale of catalytic converters.
"It seems like it’s only increasing," Cheser said. "It can hit people in a really terrible time where they need reliable transportation and then have to pivot to public transit, which at times isn’t reliable."
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The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.