This type of crime is on the rise across the whole country and involves offenders getting under your car, often using a car jack, to remove the converter from the exhaust on certain vehicles. A catalytic converter is a device that is incorporated in the exhaust system of a vehicle, containing a catalyst for converting pollutant gases into less harmful ones.
Vehicle makes that are targeted include Honda, Toyota, Lexus, and Mini. The offenders are after the currently high value metals in the catalytic converter, these are rhodium, platinum and palladium. If you have one of these vehicle makes, please consider the preventative measures below.
To help protect your vehicle from cat converter thieves consider doing the following –
– Park in a locked garage or densely populated area
– Park close to walls and fences, with your exhaust being closest to the barrier, this will make it more difficult for the thieves and may make your vehicle less attractive to them.
– Avoid mounting your car on a kerb to park as this gives the thieves easy access.
– If your catalytic converter is bolted on, ask your local garage to weld the bolts to make it more difficult to move.
– Consider a cage clamp which locks around the catalytic converter
– Speak to your car dealership about a tilt sensor which activates the car alarm if someone tries to jack up your vehicle.
– Consider installing CCTV to cover the area your car is parked and Dash Cameras inside your car that are motion sensor triggered to record. |
