IS Cat theft or Catloc anyone?

[ColinBarber]

8 hours ago, Andrew888 said:

Last time I looked the centre section for the IS300H is just a resonator thats part of the mid pipe section?

You have the primary cat in the exhaust manifold at the bottom of the engine bay and then you have the secondary cat under the vehicle.

[Andrew888]

36 minutes ago, ColinBarber said:

You have the primary cat in the exhaust manifold at the bottom of the engine bay and then you have the secondary cat under the vehicle.

Surely thats a resonator? Primary cat you have the Oxygen sensor and then secondary O2 sensor (below pic) comes after the primary before the resonator. Normally if there is a secondary cat the secondary O2 sensor needs to be after it right?

 

[ColinBarber]

You have O2 or air/fuel ratio sensors before and after the primary cat, you have nothing after the secondary one. The item in the middle of your picture is the secondary cat which is No 1 in my picture (rear cat).

 

This is the same set up as the Prius and CT200h. It is the rear cats that are being stolen, their primary cats are even more inaccessible than on the IS300h.

[Andrew888]

1 hour ago, ColinBarber said:

You have O2 or air/fuel ratio sensors before and after the primary cat, you have nothing after the secondary one. The item in the middle of your picture is the secondary cat which is No 1 in my picture (rear cat).

 

This is the same set up as the Prius and CT200h. It is the rear cats that are being stolen, their primary cats are even more inaccessible than on the IS300h.

I've only seen images from Auris and CT's (one CT being real life) that they nick it from the downpipe take the primary and secondary in the 1 short section. Regardless. Its a terrible crime as my neighbour was threatened with weapons on his own driveway to protect his CT. As I helped him calm down as he was extremely shaken, he had his car recovered and they sawn off the downpipe spring bolts and then chopped it before the big resonator.  I've fixed probably 20 Honda Jazz's now from 2002-2007 and a Honda Civic. No Japanese cat is safe at the moment if you are unlucky enough.

 

[LenT]

I thought I would try to get a definitive answer to the question of cat security for my car - a 2015 IS250 Premier.

So I contacted the Lexus dealer from whom I had bought it.  The After Sales Manager of the Service Department confirmed that there were three units on the exhaust system, but replied that Lexus does not have a security fitment for my model.  However he added, for reassurance, that there had been no such thefts reported involving my model to date.

He didn’t confirm whether that was Lexus UK or just Lexus MK.  Or why it had apparently not attracted chummy’s interest.  Perhaps there are simply not enough of that model around?

I can’t imagine that the dealer would have turned down the opportunity to make an accessory sale if the opportunity had presented itself.  So either I remain reassured or wait to see if Catlock replies to my query.

[Bowserman]

Just bought a 2015 is. Asked for a catlok to be fitted and they only do them for ct and rx apparently 

[ColinBarber]

20 minutes ago, Bowserman said:

Just bought a 2015 is. Asked for a catlok to be fitted and they only do them for ct and rx apparently 

That's correct. Only the RX series II and series III plus the CT have cat locks available as there are the targeted vehicles. 

[PaulWhitt20]

My IS has a private plate on that looks like an 02 reg, making the car appear 19 years old. Hopefully another deterrent. 

[Mincey]

1 hour ago, PaulWhitt20 said:

My IS has a private plate on that looks like an 02 reg, making the car appear 19 years old. Hopefully another deterrent. 

Mine's on a V plate. I think we should both be worried as it is the older cars which have the more valuable cats....

[paulrnx]

Out of interest and in trying to understand why this type of theft occurs, how much does a criminal get when he/she sells the stolen cat on? Who buys these stolen cats? Also, how common is cat theft?

[ColinBarber]

37 minutes ago, paulrnx said:

Out of interest and in trying to understand why this type of theft occurs, how much does a criminal get when he/she sells the stolen cat on? Who buys these stolen cats? Also, how common is cat theft?

Last year the figure was around 25,000 cases reported to the police, 15,000 of them in and around London - with all areas of the country seeing a rise.

Figures between £50 and £200 per device are reportedly what the thieves make.

[200h]

sold to scrap metal merchants for the precious metals inside them

[Mo786]

I've been a victim of this vile theft on a previous Hybrid I used to own; a 2010 Toyota Prius Gen 3. Was an absolute headache to sort out, as I didn't want the insurance company to sort it out due to the rise in insurance premiums. Best way to protect it is either get one of those CatLocs installed or even one of those sheet metal covers that most garages bolt straight onto the front suspension mounts, which cost around £50 to £60 to get one installed. Had one installed on my old Prius and it deterred any further attempts on my old Prius before I sold it. Installed the same sheet metal cover over the Catalytic converter of my Lexus CT200H as soon as I purchased it. Bought the car home and the next day a thieving mug had decided to cut the Horn wires situated within the front grille, possibly because they set off the car alarm when attempting to jack the car up and realising they can't access the Catalytic converter due to the cover and they probably left it. A few days later I tried using my horn and found that it had stopped working. Took it to garage and they confirmed that an attempt had been made on the Catalytic converter on my Lexus. But the thieving mugs had got as far as jacking the car up and seeing the sheet metal cover protecting the Catalytic converter.

[Mr Vlad]

To counteract the horn wires being cut get an alarm fitter to install an internal siren. I used to have two of them in my cars in the 80's and 90's and believe me when they went off your ears would bleed. But it's also a good idea to have a separate external siren fitted to work with the cars alarm system. 

[Maxz]

On 4/5/2021 at 12:29 PM, Mo786 said:

I've been a victim of this vile theft on a previous Hybrid I used to own; a 2010 Toyota Prius Gen 3. Was an absolute headache to sort out, as I didn't want the insurance company to sort it out due to the rise in insurance premiums. Best way to protect it is either get one of those CatLocs installed or even one of those sheet metal covers that most garages bolt straight onto the front suspension mounts, which cost around £50 to £60 to get one installed. Had one installed on my old Prius and it deterred any further attempts on my old Prius before I sold it. Installed the same sheet metal cover over the Catalytic converter of my Lexus CT200H as soon as I purchased it. Bought the car home and the next day a thieving mug had decided to cut the Horn wires situated within the front grille, possibly because they set off the car alarm when attempting to jack the car up and realising they can't access the Catalytic converter due to the cover and they probably left it. A few days later I tried using my horn and found that it had stopped working. Took it to garage and they confirmed that an attempt had been made on the Catalytic converter on my Lexus. But the thieving mugs had got as far as jacking the car up and seeing the sheet metal cover protecting the Catalytic converter.

Mo, thanks for the valuable info on the horn, guess I need to do some follow up work beyond cat marking and the window stickers, as originally had some reassurance that the tilt alarm would make the IS less of a target. I was also under the impression the IS only had the one cat connected safely in the engine bay to the manifold. Other members seem to be suggesting what I thought were mufflers at the rear ( as there are no oxygen sensors on them) are also cats. Either way some tw@t might still have a go for them anyway.

Will have a look tomorrow if the horn and/or it’s wires can also be obscured/protected without impacting operation of the horn itself. In fact looks like there might be two of them - high and low pitched.

 

[Maxz]

Again the IS design comes up trumps, both cables for the horns run behind the metal brackets holding the horns in place and inside the radiator bulkhead. The horns also sit high up so trying to cut cables behind brackets and through the grille would be a long fiddly job. Also cutting one would likely short the circuit and in turn set off the alarm or other horn in the process. In the end the corrosion on the rad/aircon hoseclips was of more concern. Guess the water and salt splash from the road gets to these. Worth protecting and/or monitoring for replacement before they fail and leak coolant out the system (most likely way off when the vehicle is lot older/longer mileage though).

 

[matt8]

2 hours ago, Maxz said:

Worth protecting and/or monitoring for replacement before they fail and leak coolant out the system (most likely way off when the vehicle is lot older/longer mileage though).

Thanks Maxz, very useful insight.

Any chance of some pictures to help us identify where these clips are, and recommendations for maintenance please?

Cheers

[Maxz]

On 4/7/2021 at 8:08 PM, matt8 said:

Thanks Maxz, very useful insight.

Any chance of some pictures to help us identify where these clips are, and recommendations for maintenance please?

Cheers

Hi Matt, 

Best way to see them without having to remove anything is through the lower grille on the LH and RH side as below. Otherwise unclip the cool air intake duct seal/panel and look down towards the bottom of the rad on either side. I treated mine with Kurust (or Rustins), then painted with Hammerite. Best to mask up and not get either substance on the rubber hose itself. Probably overkill, but ran my last car to 15years/110k+ miles and had pipe clips like these snap in half upon removal due to corrosion. Luckily seems these are the only two exposed to the elements as at the front end.

 

[matt8]

5 minutes ago, Maxz said:

Hi Matt, 

Best way to see them without having to remove anything is through the lower grille on the LH and RH side as below. Otherwise unclip the cool air intake duct seal/panel and look down towards the bottom of the rad on either side. I treated mine with Kurust (or Rustins), then painted with Hammerite. Best to mask up and not get either substance on the rubber hose itself. Probably overkill, but ran my last car to 15years/110k+ miles and had pipe clips like these snap in half upon removal due to corrosion. Luckily seems these are the only two exposed to the elements as at the front end.

 

Thanks very much, Max!

[Dylanlewis2000]

Reading and following this thread with interest. Is it the case that because the CT and the Prius are somewhat related, they use the same kind of engine setup they are targeted equally. What's the difference with the 4th Gen RX and what about the NX? Are these also targeted? 

[byrnew2007]

Hi all, any reports regarding any cats been robbed on the is300h ?? I'm nervous now after reading about the secondary cat on them the UE6 part as it is very open to be cut off.

 

Thanks.

[ColinBarber]

11 hours ago, byrnew2007 said:

Hi all, any reports regarding any cats been robbed on the is300h ?? I'm nervous now after reading about the secondary cat on them the UE6 part as it is very open to be cut off.

 

Thanks.

I don't recall anyone reporting it here. Cannot say it has never happened but definitely rare.

[byrnew2007]

On 4/16/2022 at 11:42 AM, ColinBarber said:

I don't recall anyone reporting it here. Cannot say it has never happened but definitely rare.

Thanks Colin

[byrnew2007]

Just now, byrnew2007 said:

Thanks Colin

I wonder if its because there isn't enough presious metals in the secondary Cat , its strange the fact they take the pruis and ct200h when there also in the middle of the cars and easy to get at. 

[ColinBarber]

1 hour ago, byrnew2007 said:

I wonder if its because there isn't enough presious metals in the secondary Cat , its strange the fact they take the pruis and ct200h when there also in the middle of the cars and easy to get at. 

It's something that the manufacturers state; newer vehicles use less precious metals than older ones. That combined with a lot more Prius and CT200h around where they know exactly where to jack them up and cut etc.