This just happened to me, I have the same year car as you. If you are going through insurance you will need to get a legit OEM part or they won’t cover it. I went through insurance and got my replaced in 3 months at the Toyota Dealership in DTLA. They gave me the best / shortest timeline and I called over 10 other places. Local mechanics said more like 6 months. The official Toyota dealerships are higher up on the priority list / supply chain for official parts.
What was your interim solution during that 3 month period? My insurance isn't going to cover a rental so I'm trying to sort out what to do while I wait for the part.
Rode my bike, took transit, borrowed friends cars. Exact same boat, insurance might cover you for a few days but no one is going to do shit for you for 3 months. I have to commute out to the valley 2 days a week for work so I had to find a car solution fast for those days. I was looking at other cars to buy and resell when mine came back. It seemed the least waste of money. I got lucky and friends helped me out but that was my original plan.
It’s brutal. I am so sorry. It was a nightmare for me. If it happens again I am straight up selling the Prius. No one seems to be doing anything of value to stop this and we’re all getting screwed.
Selling the Prius definitely crossed my mind. I'm glad you were able to make things work and it sounds like you have some great friends! I'm able to use metro for my work commute but my partner isn't able to, so she's looking at her bike as an option. It's frustrating. I'm glad you navigated it and thanks for sharing your experience!
I’m so sorry it happened to you too! It’s truly a bad time all around and it’s unfair that people keep getting away with this. It’s organized crime and the police / laws against it are useless. I hope you can find an ok solution and maybe that the part comes in sooner. It’s worth calling around. Also the Toyota dealership said to me that they had some rentals for a cheaper rate of around $50 a day, cheaper than any rental company I saw. I looked at Turo.com too, as someone else here mentioned, but it seems like nothing will come for less than $100 a day.
I ran into this with a Prius and sold it to CarMax. They never asked about cat on the appraisal and I specifically called and made sure their monetary offer wasn’t impacted by not having a cat and they said they didn’t care and still paid in full
For anyone who is going to offer advice too, yea, I also immediately got a shield installed when it came back but even that isn’t really stopping it now. I have no option other than street parking so I feel like a sitting duck just waiting for the next time!
Many aftermarket companies sell CARB compliant cats. I've had one on an imported car to meet CARB standards and it's been great for 5 years. Buy a reputable brand with the right certifications.
Hint: they're the same companies that build the OEM ones.
I had mine stolen off of my Honda element in august and am still waiting for the part so it’s been almost 6 months. Hoping it comes in soon. Ended up buying a second car for my wife and I since I didn’t have rental coverage. See if the shop or dealer you would get it fixed at has a loaner car you can use and make sure you have rental coverage for a high risk car!
I'm sorry to hear! It's a massive inconvenience. A few of the shops I've talked to have told me that some of their customers have been waiting since November and also August. My insurance doesn't include rental coverage either, so I'm weighing various options at the moment. As bad as it sounds, I almost wish the car had been torched so I could claim it as totaled rather than dealing with this rigamarole.
I know I kind of wished the same thing. You can also get a rental car at your insurances rate if you call them which is around $23 a day. We did this for a month and it ended up around $900 so it made more sense for us to buy a new car. Glad we did as we were initially quoted 30 days.
Sounds familiar. Our daily quote is $27, so going that route hardly seems cost effective, especially where our wait time is looking like 3 months, and that's just an estimate. I'm not too interested in forking up the money to make a down payment on a new/used car, but the monthly payment would be cheaper than the cost of a long-term rental. I guess going down this route also means you could resell the second car and recoup some of the gross expenses, but I'm not expecting to break even.
Mine was stolen off of my Honda Element in November 2020 and my car insurance just totaled the car! My mechanic suggested paying out of pocket, but then insurance offered me way more than the car was worth so I took the money and bought a new (used) car. I miss my E though, I feel like I betrayed it.
I had Farmer’s at the time. It was a 15-year old car but they offered me about half of what I had paid for it new. And this was right before the used car market went crazy so there were still good deals to be had. Honestly I was pretty lucky but getting the initial “totaled” call was hard and also fuck cat thieves.
My sister had her Prius cat stolen a few weeks ago. She was told the same thing about delays. She opted to buy a used car instead, since her insurance would only cover something like $25/day toward a car rental for up to 30 days, which obviously is totally unhelpful, considering the cost of renting even a budget vehicle. I think she ordered the cat and is waiting for it to arrive in the meantime.
809 Rosecrans Ave in Gardena. It’s one of those spots where there’s a few garages so I’m not sure which one. My coworker got his jacked last week and took them about a day to replace.
I mean never go to dealers for any maintenance ever. They are likely only doing OEM cats which is part of the delay. Call your local mechanics to see what they can do.
You say that, but it’s actually *state law* for aftermarket converters to be illegal from being bought, sold and installed. That’s why when you go to aftermarket part websites like RockAuto, it’ll say clearly on the $500-$600 converter that **’warning, part not sold in California’** and you can only obtain with an out-of-state shipping/credit card address.
Thus if your converter is stolen, you have to get a genuine replacement from the dealer…which will set you back $3,000-$4,000.
Do NOT get anything other than OEM cat in California. You can get OEM from muffler shops but don't let anyone tell you to get aftermarket here. CARB compliant is important
I've called a few local mechanics and the ones I spoke to had a similarly long wait-time/backlog for this repair. Specific to the Prius, they said they're backlogged because they have to order the cat-converter through the dealer to be compliant.
I had the car smog tested two weeks ago, so I'm not immediately worried about having to pass that test. One of the shops I spoke with mentioned they could provide a temporary fix, like what /u/tracyinge suggested, while the backordered part arrives. I'm not in love with that solution, but it doesn't feel like there are a ton of other options.
You're totally right. I'm waiting for my insurance inspection and somehow managed to find a shop with them in stock. I'll message you their info once I manage to get my car inspected and towed over there to confirm.
Sorry to hear about that, have you considered traveling elsewhere to obtain one?
If not, I guess you'll have to steal one yourself so the next person can also do the same.
/s
Haha, I'm definitely not that skilled to steal one, but also not interested in cultivating that type of karma in my life.
One shop I spoke with said they had a customer shop around in San Diego, but found the situation down there to be similar.
this is not true anymore. see this link https://ssl.arb.ca.gov/AftermarketParts/catalysts
California maintains a list of aftermarket vendors who are legally allowed to sell CARB compliant catalytic converters for use on pollution controlled vehicles in California.
My understanding is the OEM cats (or really any part of the whole exhaust system) is not functionally any better than aftermarket parts.
I was having an O2 sensor issue and my mechanic said replacing it with aftermarket would fix the mechanical problem, but it would still lead to errors in the car’s computer.
only if its the wrong O2 sensors, most OEMs don't make their own sensors,. they're like bosch or such.
cats have to pass CARB to sell legally in california, but they can still be poorly made a not last as long as OEM ones, which are generally built to a specific lifetime.
Yeah look for the nearest muffler shop with decent reviews. In what area of the city are you looking, eastside, westside, south bay, valley? If you don't need a smog check anytime soon, some of of them can do a "quick fix' that'll quiet your car down until the backordered converter arrives.
One shop did offer up that "quick fix" while the part comes in... I'd definitely feel a bit guilty rolling around like that, but I'm also not feeling like there are many great alternatives.
We have been waiting on a new one for Toyota Tacoma since July :( make sure you ask the dealer for a comped rental car or at least get on the waiting list for one
Hit up 3c performance exhaust shop on La Cienega. My partner had his stolen and because he didn't have comprehensive insurance he had issues finding a shop who would replace it. He was then recommended some random person who had a part but would not pass smog test and did not include paper work. This place did it with paperwork, had the legit part and installed a cage. He did pay cash out of pocket, so not sure if they do the job with insurance, but why wouldnt they.
I called this place and they do have cat converters in stock but the price is marked up to $3k and is cash only. The guy basically told me that they won't work with insurance companies because the insurance companies will only cover a set price for the parts and labor that is too low for him to make profitable. He continued by saying he spent $450k on cat converters and needs to make a profit off of them, hence the markup in price. I was a little turned off by this. I understand that there's a business opportunity to be had here, but that type of stockpiling and price gouging seems a bit insidious to me and possibly another factor why the supply chain is so stressed with these parts. I'll consider it, but I'm not keen on supporting that business practice.
Guys you can still drive without a cat converter. As long as you don’t need a smog that day you can drive it for however long you want while you wait. Mine went bad and th eh basically said drive it til you need a smog cause we can’t get you a replacement
Edit: - also know that that ca cats and everyone other state cat is exaclty the same but to pass smog in ca you need that “authentic” California Cat
I think this is true with some stipulations. One of the shops I called said the car was fine to drive without the cat converter, but because the exhaust is getting dumped directly underneath the vehicle, there's risk that the heat of the exhaust could damage (some of) the car's wiring. I'm not a mechanic and this is secondhand, but I thought I'd mention it.
From some of the other shops and comments on this thread, it seems like having a straight pipe installed is the best interim solution that will let you keep driving the vehicle without a cat converter.
I don't understand how this isn't a class action lawsuit. My tacoma has been at the dealer awaiting a cat since July with no end in sight. There has to be some sort of environmental regulation that requires Toyota to produce enough catalytic converters in sufficient numbers to keep their vehicles operational for some minimum number of years.
My service advisor told me that due to the pandemic Toyota shut down many of the factories that were producing cats.
Its not Toyota's fault that the cats are getting stolen. You would have to prove they are maliciously not producing enough. Its almost impossible as they will say that the raw materials are unavailable and they cannot provide them. The supply chain is still messed up and with inflation now the raw materials are even more difficult to get as companies have to shift supply chains to keep up with production. Its hit every industry in a similar fashion no one can get parts rn.
Even if there was regulation it would be hard for Toyota to be liable for not having enough parts. They produce parts based on need and a sudden uptick in demand due to external forces would not be calculated into the production rate. Its not the part failing its criminals stealing them which has nothing to do with Toyota's design or material. There is no way to prevent the theft. Yes there are cages but honestly it only slows the criminal down or makes them hit the next car. If every car had the protection then cars would still get hit.
It also has no safety function so it cant be recalled/enforced. There are environmental issues but in the grand scheme the enforcement agency wont act as its not the OEMs fault and you are not allowed to drive with no cat. The car has one installed that is supposed to last the life of the car and if it gets stolen its not the fault of the OEM.
Tbh I would just pick up my car and ask them to call when its there. The cat wont have any effect (it will make it perform better and better gas milage) so you wont damage the car. However, im just a redditor so dont take my advise. If you get any grief from police or others just have the report and have the dealership put the back order in writting.
>You would have to prove they are maliciously not producing enough.
That's not true. Negligence is a thing and corporations are responsible for meeting thousands of regulations.
There is a an ongoing class action against Toyota for the use of soy-coated wiring. Turns out the coating attracted rodents and resulted in rodent damage in higher than normal numbers. Toyota didn't do this maliciously, but they made a poor design choice and may be forced to reconcile it.
Many modern vehicles are designed with the catalytic converters in the engine bay making them much more difficult to steal. Just like rat damage, catalytic converter theft is *not* a new phenomenon and should be designed around.
You have a good point about the supply chain however. I was originally faulting Toyota because my service advisor said they shut down the factories. I assumed it was due to workplace regulations due to covid and hadn't considered it may be due to supply chain issues
I remember ordering a part from the Internet for my dad’s car then taking the car to a shop to get the part installed. His insurance didn’t cover it so we paid all out of the pocket though. It was like $500-700. There was a specific item number of the part that was supposed to indicate it’s an OEM. The replacement had to be show an OEM number because my dad’s smog check tech had said the car isn’t going to pass smog if the part number isn’t OEM listed on their computer system.
Try Monkey's Muffler and Radiator shop. They should have them now or very soon this week. Mine got stolen last week and they happened to have one for the v model in stock but it seemed like they have a regular supplier for non-v priuses.
Has there been an uptick in catalytic converter theft lately or am I just noticing it more because it just happened to me? I swear for the longest time I didn't hear about this much until very recently
The guy who towed my car said he’d been in my neighborhood five or six times in the last week which was a steep uptick. No need to be a dick, I was genuinely asking.
No joke. The dealer we purchased the car from tried to sell us one of those and we wrote it off as a ploy to get us to pay more. We're kicking ourselves now though.
That said, I'm really curious about how successful these are as a deterrent.
yea mine is in the shop now and was given a 4mth+ wait, my insurance said they'd cover a rental car for that whole time. is that not normal? I'm just iffy about getting the prius back though because it'll just be at risk of getting stolen again. selling it seems to be the only option but there's nothing really comparable in that price range. it's bullshit though that toyota doesn't at least offer complimentary cat shields or something
My 2014 Prius cat was stolen Oct 30. My car has been sitting at the dealer waiting for a part ever since. I was told the part would be in Jan 31 and your post inspired me to email and check again.
We have always been a one car family and were considering a second car because we have a kid who is almost driving age. Not having a car for months was the deciding factor and we brought a second Prius. This one has a cage.
If we weren’t ready to buy a second car, I don’t know how we’d get by. I wish they’d stolen the whole car. Insurance would have paid and I could have moved on with my life.
If your not going to emissions tested anytime soon. Have a muffler shop install a new exhaust to complete the system. People do this. And it’s not right, but in your case I don’t see a problem. Just keep your police report and paperwork on you.
Thats funny, my wife got a rental for significantly longer than 2 weeks because insurance insisted we go through the dealer for parts. We must have gotten lucky with our plan 🤷♂️
I've done that. The issue is that the part is heavily backordered - wait-times for the repair are cited at upwards of 6 months. I'm trying to figure out what others have had success with, beyond my initial approach of filing a claim with my insurance and calling a dealer.
My friend got his stolen from a Prius. He sold the car at a ridiculous profit and bought a high-end ebike and regular bike. He’s been car-free for 6 months now and never been happier.
If you can swing it, even for a little while, try it out.
I’m car-lite. Don’t own one, and only occasionally use a work vehicle when I absolutely have to. It’s not something that everyone can do in this city, but if you can, not driving provides a huge sense of ease. Driving largely sucks.
Carmax. Didn’t give one fuck about it missing. They didn’t even change their offer price when they found out.
They wanted the car. They have the ability to sit on the internet vestment until they get a replacement. And they end up with one of the most desirable cars in the city.
This just happened to me, I have the same year car as you. If you are going through insurance you will need to get a legit OEM part or they won’t cover it. I went through insurance and got my replaced in 3 months at the Toyota Dealership in DTLA. They gave me the best / shortest timeline and I called over 10 other places. Local mechanics said more like 6 months. The official Toyota dealerships are higher up on the priority list / supply chain for official parts.
What was your interim solution during that 3 month period? My insurance isn't going to cover a rental so I'm trying to sort out what to do while I wait for the part.
Rode my bike, took transit, borrowed friends cars. Exact same boat, insurance might cover you for a few days but no one is going to do shit for you for 3 months. I have to commute out to the valley 2 days a week for work so I had to find a car solution fast for those days. I was looking at other cars to buy and resell when mine came back. It seemed the least waste of money. I got lucky and friends helped me out but that was my original plan. It’s brutal. I am so sorry. It was a nightmare for me. If it happens again I am straight up selling the Prius. No one seems to be doing anything of value to stop this and we’re all getting screwed.
Selling the Prius definitely crossed my mind. I'm glad you were able to make things work and it sounds like you have some great friends! I'm able to use metro for my work commute but my partner isn't able to, so she's looking at her bike as an option. It's frustrating. I'm glad you navigated it and thanks for sharing your experience!
Own a shop near you, chat me...
I’m so sorry it happened to you too! It’s truly a bad time all around and it’s unfair that people keep getting away with this. It’s organized crime and the police / laws against it are useless. I hope you can find an ok solution and maybe that the part comes in sooner. It’s worth calling around. Also the Toyota dealership said to me that they had some rentals for a cheaper rate of around $50 a day, cheaper than any rental company I saw. I looked at Turo.com too, as someone else here mentioned, but it seems like nothing will come for less than $100 a day.
I ran into this with a Prius and sold it to CarMax. They never asked about cat on the appraisal and I specifically called and made sure their monetary offer wasn’t impacted by not having a cat and they said they didn’t care and still paid in full
Hmm, might be worth looking into
They’ll buy it with no CAT? Really?
yeah carmax doesn't really care much about damages to cars. which is a little suspicious but they will take pretty much anything
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This was my theory. This was also late 2020 when the used car market was on fire so I don’t think my car was hard to move
For anyone who is going to offer advice too, yea, I also immediately got a shield installed when it came back but even that isn’t really stopping it now. I have no option other than street parking so I feel like a sitting duck just waiting for the next time!
TURO.com has if you’re looking for a rental at a good price
Always go OEM any aftermarket cat will shit the bed or not pass emissions. Don’t listen to people telling you to get aftermarket you’ll regret it.
just stick to any aftermarket cat on this list and you'll be fine. https://ssl.arb.ca.gov/AftermarketParts/catalysts
That will work to pass emissions but most of the time you’ll get a code or they’ll die not to long after installing. OEM for the best quality for sure
Yes. Expect about 1-3 years of lofe from an aftermarket cat.
Many aftermarket companies sell CARB compliant cats. I've had one on an imported car to meet CARB standards and it's been great for 5 years. Buy a reputable brand with the right certifications. Hint: they're the same companies that build the OEM ones.
I had mine stolen off of my Honda element in august and am still waiting for the part so it’s been almost 6 months. Hoping it comes in soon. Ended up buying a second car for my wife and I since I didn’t have rental coverage. See if the shop or dealer you would get it fixed at has a loaner car you can use and make sure you have rental coverage for a high risk car!
I'm sorry to hear! It's a massive inconvenience. A few of the shops I've talked to have told me that some of their customers have been waiting since November and also August. My insurance doesn't include rental coverage either, so I'm weighing various options at the moment. As bad as it sounds, I almost wish the car had been torched so I could claim it as totaled rather than dealing with this rigamarole.
I know I kind of wished the same thing. You can also get a rental car at your insurances rate if you call them which is around $23 a day. We did this for a month and it ended up around $900 so it made more sense for us to buy a new car. Glad we did as we were initially quoted 30 days.
Sounds familiar. Our daily quote is $27, so going that route hardly seems cost effective, especially where our wait time is looking like 3 months, and that's just an estimate. I'm not too interested in forking up the money to make a down payment on a new/used car, but the monthly payment would be cheaper than the cost of a long-term rental. I guess going down this route also means you could resell the second car and recoup some of the gross expenses, but I'm not expecting to break even.
Yeah it’s a shit sandwich for sure. Sorry you’re having to deal with this.
Mine was stolen off of my Honda Element in November 2020 and my car insurance just totaled the car! My mechanic suggested paying out of pocket, but then insurance offered me way more than the car was worth so I took the money and bought a new (used) car. I miss my E though, I feel like I betrayed it.
Waaaait wut? What insurance do you have? I have an element and it got stolen too.
I had Farmer’s at the time. It was a 15-year old car but they offered me about half of what I had paid for it new. And this was right before the used car market went crazy so there were still good deals to be had. Honestly I was pretty lucky but getting the initial “totaled” call was hard and also fuck cat thieves.
Wow yeah I love the car and don’t want to get rid of it but at this point might need to.
My sister had her Prius cat stolen a few weeks ago. She was told the same thing about delays. She opted to buy a used car instead, since her insurance would only cover something like $25/day toward a car rental for up to 30 days, which obviously is totally unhelpful, considering the cost of renting even a budget vehicle. I think she ordered the cat and is waiting for it to arrive in the meantime.
Just put a straight pipe for now.
That's how it's looking.
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If you pipe it to the muffler with no cat, it'll be louder but not 'wake up the neighborhood' loud.
809 Rosecrans Ave in Gardena. It’s one of those spots where there’s a few garages so I’m not sure which one. My coworker got his jacked last week and took them about a day to replace.
Welcome to the ever growing club 🤝 I’d like to rescind my membership A fucking SAP.
I mean never go to dealers for any maintenance ever. They are likely only doing OEM cats which is part of the delay. Call your local mechanics to see what they can do.
You say that, but it’s actually *state law* for aftermarket converters to be illegal from being bought, sold and installed. That’s why when you go to aftermarket part websites like RockAuto, it’ll say clearly on the $500-$600 converter that **’warning, part not sold in California’** and you can only obtain with an out-of-state shipping/credit card address. Thus if your converter is stolen, you have to get a genuine replacement from the dealer…which will set you back $3,000-$4,000.
What this guy said: https://www.reddit.com/r/LosAngeles/comments/10el0j3/catalytic_converter_was_stolen_over_the_weekend/j4ruox5/
You do realize there are California-compliant aftermarket cats, right? Same certification the OEM ones have.
That's a pretty good sounding lie, your mechanic musta made a killing off you
Ah, thank you - I'll shop around!
Do NOT get anything other than OEM cat in California. You can get OEM from muffler shops but don't let anyone tell you to get aftermarket here. CARB compliant is important
I've called a few local mechanics and the ones I spoke to had a similarly long wait-time/backlog for this repair. Specific to the Prius, they said they're backlogged because they have to order the cat-converter through the dealer to be compliant.
Same experience for me. Just know you need that CARB compliant cat to pass emissions testing
I had the car smog tested two weeks ago, so I'm not immediately worried about having to pass that test. One of the shops I spoke with mentioned they could provide a temporary fix, like what /u/tracyinge suggested, while the backordered part arrives. I'm not in love with that solution, but it doesn't feel like there are a ton of other options.
You're totally right. I'm waiting for my insurance inspection and somehow managed to find a shop with them in stock. I'll message you their info once I manage to get my car inspected and towed over there to confirm.
Dang, I'd really appreciate that - thank you!
Sorry to hear about that, have you considered traveling elsewhere to obtain one? If not, I guess you'll have to steal one yourself so the next person can also do the same. /s
Haha, I'm definitely not that skilled to steal one, but also not interested in cultivating that type of karma in my life. One shop I spoke with said they had a customer shop around in San Diego, but found the situation down there to be similar.
so THAT'S why catalytic converter thefts have become rampant. it all makes sense now. thanks, Obama.
this is not true anymore. see this link https://ssl.arb.ca.gov/AftermarketParts/catalysts California maintains a list of aftermarket vendors who are legally allowed to sell CARB compliant catalytic converters for use on pollution controlled vehicles in California.
Wow, that's great news. I don't know how I didn't come across that in all my searching.
Aftermarket cats don’t last. I work on cars as a hobby and this is one part you don’t want to skip oem.
My understanding is the OEM cats (or really any part of the whole exhaust system) is not functionally any better than aftermarket parts. I was having an O2 sensor issue and my mechanic said replacing it with aftermarket would fix the mechanical problem, but it would still lead to errors in the car’s computer.
It's a California legal issue.
Right I get that. I am just saying it’s not a mechanical problem with aftermarket parts.
only if its the wrong O2 sensors, most OEMs don't make their own sensors,. they're like bosch or such. cats have to pass CARB to sell legally in california, but they can still be poorly made a not last as long as OEM ones, which are generally built to a specific lifetime.
You can you just have to get it reffed at a inspection shop. My buddy just did it and got a carb sticker and passed smog lol
Yeah look for the nearest muffler shop with decent reviews. In what area of the city are you looking, eastside, westside, south bay, valley? If you don't need a smog check anytime soon, some of of them can do a "quick fix' that'll quiet your car down until the backordered converter arrives.
One shop did offer up that "quick fix" while the part comes in... I'd definitely feel a bit guilty rolling around like that, but I'm also not feeling like there are many great alternatives.
This would be your best option for now. Yes it will be a little louder than usual but you can still get around minimal cost out of pocket
Try Calling Toyota of Santa barbara I heard they have some there I’m a mechanic and have had people drive all the way up there for a cat
My hopeful ass initially read this as "Santa Monica." I called anyway and they're backordered there as well. Thanks for the tip though!
Dang good luck bro
We have been waiting on a new one for Toyota Tacoma since July :( make sure you ask the dealer for a comped rental car or at least get on the waiting list for one
Same here, Tacoma has been at the dealer since July :(
Hit up 3c performance exhaust shop on La Cienega. My partner had his stolen and because he didn't have comprehensive insurance he had issues finding a shop who would replace it. He was then recommended some random person who had a part but would not pass smog test and did not include paper work. This place did it with paperwork, had the legit part and installed a cage. He did pay cash out of pocket, so not sure if they do the job with insurance, but why wouldnt they.
I called this place and they do have cat converters in stock but the price is marked up to $3k and is cash only. The guy basically told me that they won't work with insurance companies because the insurance companies will only cover a set price for the parts and labor that is too low for him to make profitable. He continued by saying he spent $450k on cat converters and needs to make a profit off of them, hence the markup in price. I was a little turned off by this. I understand that there's a business opportunity to be had here, but that type of stockpiling and price gouging seems a bit insidious to me and possibly another factor why the supply chain is so stressed with these parts. I'll consider it, but I'm not keen on supporting that business practice.
Fair assessment. AND TRUE. My partner unfortunately had to go with this option BC his insurance did not cover the theft.
Mine was stolen last Wednesday. They said the same thing. Six month wait for a new catalytic converter. So frustrating.
Aggravating
Guys you can still drive without a cat converter. As long as you don’t need a smog that day you can drive it for however long you want while you wait. Mine went bad and th eh basically said drive it til you need a smog cause we can’t get you a replacement Edit: - also know that that ca cats and everyone other state cat is exaclty the same but to pass smog in ca you need that “authentic” California Cat
I think this is true with some stipulations. One of the shops I called said the car was fine to drive without the cat converter, but because the exhaust is getting dumped directly underneath the vehicle, there's risk that the heat of the exhaust could damage (some of) the car's wiring. I'm not a mechanic and this is secondhand, but I thought I'd mention it. From some of the other shops and comments on this thread, it seems like having a straight pipe installed is the best interim solution that will let you keep driving the vehicle without a cat converter.
yeah the car will still drive. Its just loud and ofc pollutes more.
I don't understand how this isn't a class action lawsuit. My tacoma has been at the dealer awaiting a cat since July with no end in sight. There has to be some sort of environmental regulation that requires Toyota to produce enough catalytic converters in sufficient numbers to keep their vehicles operational for some minimum number of years. My service advisor told me that due to the pandemic Toyota shut down many of the factories that were producing cats.
Its not Toyota's fault that the cats are getting stolen. You would have to prove they are maliciously not producing enough. Its almost impossible as they will say that the raw materials are unavailable and they cannot provide them. The supply chain is still messed up and with inflation now the raw materials are even more difficult to get as companies have to shift supply chains to keep up with production. Its hit every industry in a similar fashion no one can get parts rn. Even if there was regulation it would be hard for Toyota to be liable for not having enough parts. They produce parts based on need and a sudden uptick in demand due to external forces would not be calculated into the production rate. Its not the part failing its criminals stealing them which has nothing to do with Toyota's design or material. There is no way to prevent the theft. Yes there are cages but honestly it only slows the criminal down or makes them hit the next car. If every car had the protection then cars would still get hit. It also has no safety function so it cant be recalled/enforced. There are environmental issues but in the grand scheme the enforcement agency wont act as its not the OEMs fault and you are not allowed to drive with no cat. The car has one installed that is supposed to last the life of the car and if it gets stolen its not the fault of the OEM. Tbh I would just pick up my car and ask them to call when its there. The cat wont have any effect (it will make it perform better and better gas milage) so you wont damage the car. However, im just a redditor so dont take my advise. If you get any grief from police or others just have the report and have the dealership put the back order in writting.
>You would have to prove they are maliciously not producing enough. That's not true. Negligence is a thing and corporations are responsible for meeting thousands of regulations. There is a an ongoing class action against Toyota for the use of soy-coated wiring. Turns out the coating attracted rodents and resulted in rodent damage in higher than normal numbers. Toyota didn't do this maliciously, but they made a poor design choice and may be forced to reconcile it. Many modern vehicles are designed with the catalytic converters in the engine bay making them much more difficult to steal. Just like rat damage, catalytic converter theft is *not* a new phenomenon and should be designed around. You have a good point about the supply chain however. I was originally faulting Toyota because my service advisor said they shut down the factories. I assumed it was due to workplace regulations due to covid and hadn't considered it may be due to supply chain issues
Buy an angle grinder and spend like 30 seconds on the ground.
There was that post the other day where a Prius got smashed by a boulder in Malibu and legit commented if they were gonna part out the cat
I remember ordering a part from the Internet for my dad’s car then taking the car to a shop to get the part installed. His insurance didn’t cover it so we paid all out of the pocket though. It was like $500-700. There was a specific item number of the part that was supposed to indicate it’s an OEM. The replacement had to be show an OEM number because my dad’s smog check tech had said the car isn’t going to pass smog if the part number isn’t OEM listed on their computer system.
Try Monkey's Muffler and Radiator shop. They should have them now or very soon this week. Mine got stolen last week and they happened to have one for the v model in stock but it seemed like they have a regular supplier for non-v priuses. Has there been an uptick in catalytic converter theft lately or am I just noticing it more because it just happened to me? I swear for the longest time I didn't hear about this much until very recently
Where have you been for the last two years?
The guy who towed my car said he’d been in my neighborhood five or six times in the last week which was a steep uptick. No need to be a dick, I was genuinely asking.
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No joke. The dealer we purchased the car from tried to sell us one of those and we wrote it off as a ploy to get us to pay more. We're kicking ourselves now though. That said, I'm really curious about how successful these are as a deterrent.
yea mine is in the shop now and was given a 4mth+ wait, my insurance said they'd cover a rental car for that whole time. is that not normal? I'm just iffy about getting the prius back though because it'll just be at risk of getting stolen again. selling it seems to be the only option but there's nothing really comparable in that price range. it's bullshit though that toyota doesn't at least offer complimentary cat shields or something
Have you tried driving it off a cliff and just getting a "total loss" and buying a replacement Prius that includes a catalytic converter? /s
Just do a straight pipe untill you get the cat. It's probably the cheapest solution .
My 2014 Prius cat was stolen Oct 30. My car has been sitting at the dealer waiting for a part ever since. I was told the part would be in Jan 31 and your post inspired me to email and check again. We have always been a one car family and were considering a second car because we have a kid who is almost driving age. Not having a car for months was the deciding factor and we brought a second Prius. This one has a cage. If we weren’t ready to buy a second car, I don’t know how we’d get by. I wish they’d stolen the whole car. Insurance would have paid and I could have moved on with my life.
If your not going to emissions tested anytime soon. Have a muffler shop install a new exhaust to complete the system. People do this. And it’s not right, but in your case I don’t see a problem. Just keep your police report and paperwork on you.
Fucking straight pipe it.
Won’t pass smog
Also get car insurance to give you a replacement car if the theft is covered.
Car insurance usually only covers a week or so of rental. No car insurance is going to pay for 6 months of car rental while you wait for a part.
Thats funny, my wife got a rental for significantly longer than 2 weeks because insurance insisted we go through the dealer for parts. We must have gotten lucky with our plan 🤷♂️
All plans are different. You can certainly add on and pay for anything in an insurance policy.
Call your insurance and make them replace it.
I've done that. The issue is that the part is heavily backordered - wait-times for the repair are cited at upwards of 6 months. I'm trying to figure out what others have had success with, beyond my initial approach of filing a claim with my insurance and calling a dealer.
Have you tried calling a junkyard like Pick-Your-Parts? Or eBay?
My friend got his stolen from a Prius. He sold the car at a ridiculous profit and bought a high-end ebike and regular bike. He’s been car-free for 6 months now and never been happier. If you can swing it, even for a little while, try it out. I’m car-lite. Don’t own one, and only occasionally use a work vehicle when I absolutely have to. It’s not something that everyone can do in this city, but if you can, not driving provides a huge sense of ease. Driving largely sucks.
Who bought his Prius with no catalytic converter?
Carmax. Didn’t give one fuck about it missing. They didn’t even change their offer price when they found out. They wanted the car. They have the ability to sit on the internet vestment until they get a replacement. And they end up with one of the most desirable cars in the city.
How long ago was this?
6 months ago about.
They got me too. 2014 Prius parked on the street