Catalytic Converter Theft: Signs, Cars Targeted, Cost, Insurance

This page is about the theft, not the failing part. If your converter is still on the car and a code such as P0420 is the issue, start with the catalytic converter replacement cost guide, which holds the price ladder and the repair routes, including a short one for a stolen converter. This guide covers what that one does not: how to be sure it was theft, the first hour, insurance, who is targeted, prevention and the law.

PulsCar publishes this guide and offers a free engine-sound check; it sells no anti-theft product, and no link on this page is an affiliate link. Our check cannot detect a theft; a section near the end says where it helps and where it does not.

Every figure below names its source and, where the source printed one, its date; we read each on 4 November 2026. 🟢 Official marks a regulator, statute, bill text or state agency page; ⚪ Maker's claim marks a company's claim about its own product, not proof. The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) has a website we could not read, so NICB figures are "as reported by" the outlet named.

How to tell it was stolen: the sound, the light, the gap

If a converter is cut away, the exhaust is open before the muffler. Mercury, USAA and the South Salt Lake police all describe the noise first.

The check engine light is not a coincidence. Consumer Reports explains that "most modern cars adjust how much fuel their engines use based on data from exhaust sensors that sit before and after the catalytic converter", and with the converter gone "those sensors won't function as they should, causing your car to run less efficiently and triggering a warning light on your dashboard." Consumer Reports adds that thieves may also damage "the fuel and electrical lines that run underneath your car"; the sensor side of a repair is covered in our oxygen sensor guide, but treat any sensor or wiring talk as the shop's to confirm.

What confirms it. USAA writes that "A mechanic can confirm a stolen catalytic converter by looking for any gaps or cut-out portions in your car's exhaust line." The sign to look for is two cut pipe ends with a gap between them, on a car that was quiet yesterday; our replacement cost guide describes the same test. Look from the side with a flashlight; do not crawl under a car to look, and never under one held up only by a jack. Mercury adds the safety part first: "Make sure the area is secure before you check your vehicle." Thieves can still be near, and you do not want to confront anyone.

Stolen is not the same as failing. A converter that is still on the car but worn out does not open the exhaust; its usual sign, as our P0420 guide describes, is a code on a car that otherwise runs and sounds normal, and the replacement cost guide separates the two jobs. A rusted pipe or failed muffler can also be loud; cut pipe ends point to theft. If you cannot tell, a mechanic can confirm it (USAA).

How can you tell a stolen catalytic converter from a failing one, and what can PulsCar add? A stolen one makes the car loud at once, usually with a gap or cut pipe ends underneath; a failing one usually leaves the exhaust no louder and sets a code such as P0420. PulsCar's free sound check cannot see under the car, and a missing converter is not among the exhaust problems its homepage lists: it listens to an engine for 30 seconds and emails a report in about 10 minutes. If your car is loud and you suspect theft, do not run the engine to record it. Look from the side and call the police and your insurer. If the converter is gone, do not drive the car: have it towed to a shop. The check is for the quieter question afterwards, a new engine noise that was not there before the repair.

Can you drive it? No: have it towed

A stolen converter is not just a loud inconvenience.

If the converter is gone, do not drive the car: have it towed to a shop. The exhaust is open under the floor, the car is far louder, and an idling car can fill with exhaust fumes.

Mercury Insurance tells owners "Don't Drive the Car Until It's Fixed" and explains that "Without a catalytic converter, your car will be very loud, may fail emissions standards, and can cause engine issues." The South Salt Lake Police Department, as reported by KUTV, was softer: ask your mechanic whether driving the vehicle is safe and "If it's not okay to drive without one, be sure to drive only to the repair shop." We hold the stricter line because of what an open exhaust can do. The one documented fatal case we found is not a theft: in December 2021 a Georgia sheriff reported that a couple died of carbon monoxide poisoning in an idling vehicle whose converter had been removed, and said investigators found they had removed it themselves. The exhaust, he wrote, "entered the passenger compartment," and his conclusion was that "operating a vehicle missing its catalytic converter can be deadly." That was an idling car, and we found no measurement for a car being driven, so we will not call a short drive safe. If you smell exhaust in the cabin or feel a headache or dizziness, switch the engine off, get everyone out into fresh air and call for a tow.

The legal side. USAA says driving without a converter "could cause your car to fail state-required emissions tests" and is against the law in some states. Federal law speaks mostly to the repair: section 203(a)(3) of the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7522, makes it a prohibited act "for any person knowingly to remove or render inoperative any such device or element of design after such sale and delivery to the ultimate purchaser", and to install a part whose principal effect is to bypass one. In our reading, a theft victim did not knowingly remove anything; the rule bites on the repair. EPA's exhaust repair fact sheet, written after the 1990 amendments (the copy we read carries a garbled stamp that appears to read 1991), told shops: "the repair shop must replace the catalytic converter if the section of pipe where the original converter should have been, needs to be replaced." 🟢

Is the shop close? Still tow it; one police department advised asking the mechanic whether driving is safe, and Mercury says not to drive the car until it is fixed. A sound check changes none of this: it cannot see a missing converter or tell you the cabin is free of fumes, so do not run the engine to record it.

The first hour: what to do, in order

Mercury Insurance gives a full sequence; Consumer Reports and the South Salt Lake police (KUTV, 17 January 2022) agree on the police report and the insurer call, and USAA on the report. The source is beside each step.

1. Make sure the area is safe. Mercury: "Thieves typically work fast, and you don't want to risk confronting anyone who might still be nearby." USAA: "Trying to scare off potentially dangerous thieves isn't worth your safety."
2. Leave the engine off. If the converter is gone, do not drive the car: have it towed to a shop. The exhaust is open under the floor, the car is far louder, and an idling car can fill with exhaust fumes. If you smell exhaust in the cabin or feel a headache or dizziness, switch the engine off, get everyone out into fresh air and call for a tow.
3. Photograph the underside from the side; never crawl under the car. Mercury: "a few pictures of the underside of your car where the converter was removed, plus any cut pipes or loose parts."
4. File a police report. Mercury: "Include your vehicle identification number (VIN), the location, time, and those photos you just took." Keep the report number. If the thieves may still be near, call 911 instead (AutoInsurance.com: call 911 first; Mercury: do not confront). Consumer Reports: "Statistics can help legislators pass laws that make it tougher for thieves to sell stolen parts."
5. Call the insurer and ask: do I have comprehensive, what is my deductible, are the tow and a rental covered? Mercury says to contact your insurer once you have the police report, and lists what a claim usually needs: the report, photos and a repair estimate (step 7).
6. Ask about a rental. The Texas Department of Insurance notes that after thieves damage your car, "you can use rental reimbursement insurance to rent a car". 🟢
7. Get an itemized estimate that separates the converter, any pipe sections, any sensor and the labor, and says whether the part is a manufacturer's or an aftermarket one. That is advice from our replacement cost guide, which gives the wording for the counter. Expect a wait: Consumer Reports warns of "parts delays or repair shop backups".
8. Ask about protection while the new converter is installed. The South Salt Lake police suggest asking the shop "about adding an anti-theft device" during the installation.

What replacement costs: the figures insurers and the press print

The full price ladder (universal weld-in, direct-fit aftermarket, dealer part, by vehicle) is in the catalytic converter replacement cost guide; we do not repeat it. Where converter jobs sit among the biggest code bills: most expensive check engine light codes. This page gives only the figures published about stolen-converter bills, because they differ from a repair price in one way: the thief's work is part of the bill.

The ranges overlap: most sit between about $1,500 and $3,000, and the widest, Insurance Journal's, runs from $1,000 to $3,500 and more. Consumer Reports says what the averages leave out: "Those figures don't include repairs to anything else thieves may have damaged, either, which can include the fuel and electrical lines that run underneath your car." It notes the damage "can really add up on vehicles like the Prius that have more than one converter."

Two rules bear on how the repair is done, and neither is optional.

A pipe in its place is not a repair. EPA's exhaust repair fact sheet says that "Under federal law, catalytic converters may not be removed and replaced with 'converter replacement pipes' by any person" and that when a converter has been removed, "Repair shops must install a catalytic converter when replacing the entire exhaust pipe." 🟢 That fact sheet is old, and it does not mention theft; the statute it rests on is still in force (see the section on the law). A cheap quote that skips the converter is a quote for an illegal repair, and in the states that check, a failed inspection.

In some states the replacement part itself is regulated. Our replacement cost guide, citing Maine's Department of Environmental Protection, lists the states that require a certified aftermarket converter and the price difference; we leave it there.

Last, the cost the figures leave out: Consumer Reports warns of delays, and NICB's president (Insurance Journal, 12 May 2023) listed what a victim faces: "find alternate transportation, schedule necessary repairs, and may face loss of work."

Does insurance pay? Comprehensive does, after the deductible

Comprehensive coverage is the part of a policy that typically pays for a stolen converter, after your deductible; liability-only (and collision-only) does not.

Here is how each source puts it.

The deductible decides whether to claim. USAA: "Comprehensive deductibles can range from $250 to $1,000, with $500 being the most common." Its worked example is plain: with a $500 deductible and a $3,000 bill, you pay the first $500 and the insurer the remaining $2,500. AAA's Gregory Smollen, quoted by Rhode Island's WPRI (an undated page), said most policies have a $250 to $500 deductible. Consumer Reports takes the case where it does not pay: "if you have a $1,500 deductible to keep your monthly premium low, you probably wouldn't file an insurance claim on a repair that costs $1,200." The decision is arithmetic on your own policy: bill (get the itemized estimate first) minus deductible. If the bill is below the deductible, there is nothing to claim; the police report still matters for the statistics.

You may have it without choosing it. Consumer Reports notes that "Most people who lease or make loan payments on a car are required to carry comprehensive coverage", while many owners of older, less valuable cars do not. USAA says most lenders require it. If you own an older car outright with liability only, a theft is paid by you; our cost guide's route for that case is the one to read.

Adding coverage afterwards. AAA's Smollen told WPRI a driver can add comprehensive at any point in a policy period; he did not say it covers a loss already suffered; assume it does not.

What we could not find. An official source on whether a converter claim raises your premium. Two non-official pages, AutoInsurance.com (updated 29 May 2024) and Fox Business (undated), differ in strength: AutoInsurance.com says a converter claim "won't make your premiums go up", while Fox Business says a single comprehensive claim "usually won't" raise rates and several in a short time could. Ask the insurer before you file, and ask whether it discounts an installed anti-theft device. One converter-lock maker says its product "may qualify your auto insurance policy for a discount, check with your auto insurance company for details." ⚪ That is a possibility, not a promise.

The traps: three ways a theft victim still loses money or health

Trap one: driving it to the shop "to get it looked at". The situation: the car starts and moves; it is only loud. What is real: the exhaust is open under the floor. Mercury says that without the converter the car "can cause engine issues" and may fail emissions standards; the one documented carbon monoxide poisoning we found (two deaths, Georgia, December 2021) involved an idling vehicle whose converter had been removed (the sheriff said the couple removed it themselves, so it was not a theft). The price: your health, or an engine repair added to a theft claim. The defense: have it towed, as the driving section says.

Trap two: the cheap quote that leaves out the converter. The situation: a shop offers to weld a straight pipe where the part was, for much less. What is real: EPA's fact sheet says converters may not be replaced with pipes "by any person", and that a shop must install a converter when it replaces the exhaust pipe. 🟢 The price: a repair that is not legal and that may fail a state emissions test, which USAA lists among the consequences of driving without a converter. The defense: ask for the itemized estimate described earlier, with the converter as its own line.

Trap three: believing the danger is over, or that a device makes you safe. The situation: the news said thefts fell, or you bought a shield. What is real: Consumer Reports (18 January 2026), citing NICB, put thefts in 2024 at roughly 14,000; Claims Journal (8 November 2023), citing NICB, reported 64,433 claims for 2022 (different measures; 14,000 is about a fifth). In June 2026 CARFAX estimated that thefts were rising again in 2025 and 2026, naming rising metal prices among the factors that may be contributing. USAA says its own measures "do not guarantee protection." The price: a second theft and a second bill. The defense: treat any device as a way to buy time, and keep comprehensive coverage if the car is worth it.

Which cars thieves go for, and why no list is the whole answer

Start with what the data can and cannot say. We found no public register that counts stolen converters by model. What exists is a company's list of vehicles "most frequently targeted", an insurer-database study of one family of cars, and general statements from police and insurers about height and metal content. Each is useful; none is a ranking you can apply to your driveway.

The CARFAX list, June 2026. The vehicle-history company CARFAX released a list of the vehicles most frequently targeted nationwide, reported on 11 June 2026 by Carrier Management and Used Car News, and also by CarPro: the Ford F-150, Hyundai Tucson, Ford Explorer, Ram 2500, Chevrolet Silverado, Chevrolet Traverse, Ram 3500, Ford EcoSport, Ford Expedition and Chevrolet Trax. CARFAX's editor-in-chief explained the pattern in one sentence: "There is a wide range of vehicles impacted, and most of these are pickup trucks and SUVs, which tend to sit higher off the ground, making it easier for thieves to get in and out." None of the reports we read prints how CARFAX built the list, whether by count or by rate per vehicle on the road, so the list tells you which models are in the thefts, not how likely yours is.

The older Prius study. The Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), a nonprofit that gathers and publishes insurance data on vehicle losses, studied theft claims on the 2004-09 Toyota Prius in Bulletin Vol. 38, No. 8, April 2021, summarized by IIHS on 18 November 2021. "Theft claim frequency was 58.1 claims per 1,000 insured vehicle years for 2004–09 Toyota Prius models in 2020, compared with 1.4 claims in 2016." Losses were nearly $137 per insured vehicle year in 2020, against $3 in 2016. For the 2010-15 Prius it was 1.3 in 2020; for all other 2004-09 vehicles it hardly changed. HLDI's explanation: the converter is easy to remove ("just bolts to remove, no cutting is involved"), the car is easily recognized, and it is a hybrid. One limit, stated by IIHS: the database does not say which component was reported stolen, so these are theft claims on those cars, not a count of converters.

Trucks, SUVs and street parking. Consumer Reports, in a guide updated 18 January 2026, writes that "Trucks, which are higher off the ground, are at greater risk simply because the converters are easier for thieves to access." It repeats that the Prius is "a favorite target, according to CarFax" and adds that "street-parked vehicles and trucks parked overnight in unattended lots" are also at risk. Its guide is one of the most complete public summaries we found.

A second list, at second hand. USAA, in an advice page updated 23 October 2026, lists what it attributes to Car & Driver magazine as the ten vehicles most often targeted, among them the Ford F-150, Ford Explorer, Chevrolet Traverse, Honda Accord, Toyota Prius and Honda CR-V. USAA's page gives no date or method for it, and we did not read the magazine. It overlaps CARFAX's list on three models (F-150, Explorer, Traverse) and differs on the rest: the lists move with the year, the data and the region.

What the lists have in common. Ground clearance, an exhaust that is easy to reach, and a converter worth more to a recycler. USAA's rule: "While these vehicles are the most targeted, any car that has a catalytic converter can be at risk." The Texas Department of Insurance adds that converters "don't have identifying markings" (🟢 state regulator). One exclusion is safe: a fully electric car has no catalytic converter, while a hybrid has an engine and so has one, as USAA notes.

Which cars do thieves go for, and can PulsCar tell you whether yours is at risk? The lists above name pickups and SUVs that sit high and older hybrids such as the 2004-09 Prius, but only one source gives a rate for a model (HLDI's 2004-09 Prius figure, 2020), and no list is complete. PulsCar's free sound check listens to an engine for 30 seconds and emails a report in about 10 minutes; it cannot rate theft risk, cannot see whether a converter is still on the car, and is meant for engine noises, not for security. For risk, use the lists, your parking spot and your local police's theft figures; for the money side, check that your policy has comprehensive coverage and note the deductible, because that decides who pays if it happens. No tool can say whether a thief will come; the useful question is how ready you are.

Why a part under the car is worth stealing

A catalytic converter turns the worst of an engine's exhaust gases into less harmful ones using three precious metals, platinum, palladium and rhodium. Consumer Reports, citing Waste Advantage magazine, says "a typical catalytic converter contains 3 to 7 grams of platinum, 2 to 7 grams of palladium, and 1 to 2 grams of rhodium", and adds that there are just over 28 grams in an ounce. The same guide says hybrids' converters are worth more, according to HLDI, because they stay cooler than other cars' and need a higher amount of precious metals to work properly.

What a thief is paid is a different matter, and the figures differ by source and year, so here they are side by side rather than blended.

The money a thief receives is small next to the owner's loss, and it depends on which converter it is: thieves "know their market", in the words of an HLDI executive quoted by IIHS.

The other half of the economics is time. NICB's president said in 2023 (Insurance Journal) that "a catalytic converter can be removed in just a few minutes"; USAA says an experienced thief can do it "in mere minutes using a hacksaw or battery-operated metal cutting blade"; on the 2004-09 Prius the HLDI bulletin says it takes only bolts. A payout of tens to hundreds of dollars for a few minutes' work is, on these sources, the appeal.

Metal prices move that equation. NBC News reported on 5 November 2023 that rhodium rose from approximately $3,000 an ounce in 2019 to nearly $26,000 two years later; Claims Journal, citing Kitco, said it had fallen to an average of $5,846 in 2023. Carrier Management's report on the CARFAX data says rhodium "has more than doubled in value over the past year, reaching about $11,000 per ounce in March", still below a 2021 peak that the 2026 reports put at roughly $30,000 (NBC and Kitco: about $26,000). The direction is what matters.

How many converters are stolen: the boom, the collapse and the rebound

The best public series is the theft-claims count of the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). We could not open NICB's own pages, so every NICB figure below is quoted from the outlet that reported it, with its date. Most are insurance claims, which in our reading means a theft on an uninsured car, or one never claimed, is not in them; Consumer Reports writes that roughly 14,000 "converters were stolen" in 2024. NICB's president called the figures in its May 2023 report "just a snapshot of an underreported crime".

Read the table as three stages. The boom: from 3,721 claims in 2019 to 64,433 in 2022, more than seventeen times in three years; IIHS, summarizing NICB data in 2021, put the pace at about 100 thefts a month in 2018 and more than 1,200 a month in 2020. The collapse: the 2023 nine-month average was roughly half of 2022's monthly average, and the 2024 figure Consumer Reports printed is about a fifth of the 2022 total. The question mark: nothing we could read gives NICB's 2025 total.

Two cautions. The same year appears with two totals (16,660 and 16,214 for 2020; 64,701 and 64,433 for 2022) in reports six months apart, so the counts are probably revised. And a 68 percent decrease to 14,000 implies about 44,000 for 2023, while 2,675 a month through September implies about 32,000 for a full year if the pace held. We cannot tell which basis Consumer Reports used, so we quote 14,000 and 68 percent as Consumer Reports' and rebuild no 2023 total. The shape (up sharply, then down sharply) is reliable; the precise numbers are not.

One insurer's own series. State Farm published its own converter claims by year. This is Carrier Management's report of 11 September 2024, also carried by Insurance Journal on 12 September 2024.

State Farm said the first half of 2024 was a 74 percent drop from the same period of 2023, when it received over 14,800 claims; from 45,000 claims in 2022 to 21,200 in 2023 is a fall of 53 percent. Doubling the first half of 2024 gives about 7,600 for a year, roughly a sixth of 2022 (MoneyGeek prints roughly 7,600 for 2024 as State Farm's projection, and Nexstar repeats it). The column to notice is the last: the average claim rose from $1,900 in 2019 to $2,900 in 2023 and stayed there. Fewer converters were taken, and each cost more to put right.

Why it fell. The sources give two reasons and cannot separate them. Metal prices dropped (Claims Journal: rhodium from more than $26,000 an ounce in 2021 to an average of $5,846 in 2023), and NBC News on 5 November 2023 said the trade was "squeezed from both sides", by cheaper metal and by "rising scrutiny from law enforcement and new laws". A Bucks County, Pennsylvania district attorney told NBC he had been told local thefts fell by 50 percent after a ring there was taken down.

The rebound, and how much we can say about it. In June 2026 CARFAX estimated that more than 137,000 catalytic converters were stolen in 2025, with thousands more in early 2026, and named rising metal prices among the factors that may be contributing; Carrier Management states the figure as fact, the other outlets say "estimates". Carrier Management, DealershipGuy and CarPro repeat it; none prints how CARFAX estimated it. It comes from a vehicle-history company and its method is not printed, so it does not belong on the NICB line: set beside 64,433 for 2022 it would suggest a record, and no source we read says that. What it does carry is police testimony: a corporal of the Sykesville police in Maryland said the department was "seeing a noticeable bump". A Nexstar report (undated; early 2026 by its content) named Berkeley, California, St. Paul, Minnesota and the Nashville suburbs, and MoneyGeek (updated 27 February 2026) reported that St. Paul went from 172 thefts in 2024 to 504 in 2025. That is one city.

Treat 2024 as the low point of a cycle, not the end of the problem.

Where it happens: California first, but not only California

Theft is not spread evenly, and the reporting agrees on the shape if not on the digits.

The State Farm release lists its ten leading states for the first half of 2024 (California, Illinois, New York, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey, Minnesota, Colorado) with a 2023 comparison figure for each, without saying whether that is the full year or the first half. Within each line the ratio is still comparable: California's 2024 count (over 2,000) is about 37 percent of its 2023 figure (5,400), Texas's (nearly 140 against 1,450) about 10 percent, Colorado's (58 against nearly 670) about 9.

A national average hides a map, and apart from CARFAX's national estimate the 2026 rebound reports we found are local (a Maryland police department, St. Paul, Berkeley, the Nashville suburbs). A thief's market is also wherever a buyer will pay: NBC News reported that Texas had a law requiring a thumbprint and proof of purchase and yet converter thefts there "reached new heights" in 2022 (NBC, citing NICB data), and NBC wrote that its Dallas-Fort Worth affiliate attributed this to thieves "skirting laws by stealing in Texas, but selling in other states with weaker laws."

Prevention: what the sources recommend, and what is known about it

The pages we read end with a similar short list. The useful question is what evidence stands behind each item, and the honest answer is that it is mostly advice, not measurement.

The lists agree because they share a logic, which Consumer Reports states: a cable cage is "designed to discourage thieves by making the task more time-consuming, thereby increasing the thief's exposure to detection." CARFAX's police source puts it as a rule of the trade: "Thieves target easy opportunities; adding even a minor challenge can cause them to move on." Neither claim is a measurement. USAA says plainly that its measures "do not guarantee protection."

What we looked for and did not find. A published study comparing thefts on cars with a shield, a cage, an etched number or a paint mark against cars without, or an insurer or police figure on how many fitted devices were defeated. That is not a reason to skip the measures; it is a reason to treat the biggest claims, such as the "99.75% effective" in the next section, as a maker's claim.

By cost and by what each changes.

• Where the car sleeps. Named in every list above, and the cheapest measure if you already have a safe place to park. Consumer Reports lists street-parked cars and trucks left overnight in unattended lots as at higher risk and recommends a locked garage, an enclosed well-lit lot, or driveway motion lights.
• Alarm and camera. USAA, State Farm and CARFAX's police source mention one. Consumer Reports: "Alarms—both full-vehicle systems and special converter-specific ones—also can be effective deterrents." The word "can" is theirs.
• A fitted shield or cage. The only physical barrier on the list; it costs money and has to fit.
• A marked converter. It does not stop a theft; it makes the part harder to sell and easier to trace.
• Comprehensive coverage. It prevents nothing, but it decides whether the loss is yours.

Spend the most effort on pickups, SUVs and older hybrids, and use the vehicle lists to decide how much effort, not whether to bother. Local police statistics are a better alarm bell than the national line.

Shields and cages: what the makers say, what they cost, why fit matters

Two kinds of device are on sale. A shield or plate is a steel cover bolted under the vehicle. A cage is a steel-cable enclosure locked around the converter and, in CatClamp's design, anchored to the chassis. Consumer Reports describes both in one sentence: "steel plates that protect the underside of the vehicle and cages made from steel cables", and adds that they "often cost less than a new catalytic converter." The claims below are the makers' own, marked ⚪, and we did not test any device.

CatClamp (catclamp.com, read 4 November 2026) sells a cable cage. Its home page says the design "surrounds the catalytic converter with aircraft-grade wire rope that is very difficult to cut, even with power tools" and "locks the converter to the chassis of the vehicle up to seven times." ⚪ Its shop page listed the universal kits for exhaust pipes up to 3 inches at $181.00 (Standard) and $396.00 (Maxx) on 4 November 2026; the other kits were for medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks, $375.00 to $919.95. It names vehicles the universal kits are "commonly used on", including the Ford F150, Honda Accord, Honda CRV and Toyota Prius: vehicles the kit fits, not a list of thefts. ⚪

The home page makes two claims we could not confirm: that the product "has proven to be 99.75% effective for over fifteen years all around the world" (no data is printed behind the figure) and that its use "is recommended by United States Department of Justice" (justice.gov could not be read, so we could not check this either way). ⚪ It also says installing it "may qualify your auto insurance policy for a discount, check with your auto insurance company for details." ⚪

Cat Shield (catshield.com) makes plates. We could not read its site, so we read an installation guide for the 2016-2021 Prius that a Prius forum hosts as an attachment (file path dated April 2021). It says "Professional installation is highly recommended" and lists a plate, tamper-proof screws, bolts, washers and spacers; step one is removing bolts on the front floor-pan reinforcement brace. ⚪

What these documents agree on is fit. CatClamp's shop page says "Incorrect fit is the #1 reason for returns" and tells buyers to measure the exhaust pipe before and after the converter; the Prius guide opens with a note about the "most accurate and secure fit." ⚪ Consumer Reports: "Talk with a trusted mechanic to see what they recommend for your vehicle." A shield made for one vehicle and bolted to another is a bad outcome whether or not a thief arrives; ask the shop fitting the replacement converter.

A shield protects the part it covers. If a car has two converters (Consumer Reports says the Prius does), or a converter plus a diesel particulate filter, ask what the device covers. CatClamp says its design also protects diesel particulate filters. ⚪

Etching and marking: what it does, and what nobody has measured

Converters are not stamped with vehicle identification numbers, IIHS wrote in 2021. The Texas Department of Insurance says they "don't have identifying markings" and lists that among the reasons they are a theft target, and IIHS spells out the consequence: "because catalytic converters are not stamped with vehicle identification numbers, it isn't easy to identify stolen components once they have been sold as scrap." (IIHS, 18 November 2021)

Marking is the answer owners and police have improvised. Where it is offered, a police department (or, MoneyGeek adds, an insurance company) etches the vehicle identification number (VIN) into the converter; LAPD also sprays high-temperature paint. The Los Angeles Police Department's Northeast Division, ABC7 reported on 12 June 2023, bought an etching device for about $8,000 with grant money, the department said. ABC7 wrote that "Marking the catalytic converters will help investigators identify those that have been stolen once they've been found"; LAPD also used "Marked by LAPD" templates that ABC7 said are "intended to act as a high visibility deterrent." No source measures what the paint adds. AAA's Gregory Smollen, quoted by WPRI, suggested colorizing the converter with brightly colored spray paint and said local police departments may offer etching, which could deter thefts or tell a buyer the part was stolen.

Who recommends it: State Farm, USAA ("An etched part will be harder for a thief to sell"), NICB as reported by Insurance Journal, and CARFAX's police source: "If possible, engrave your VIN on the catalytic converter. If it is stolen, the VIN can help law enforcement, scrapyards, and pawn shops identify and recover the part."

What is known. Where police offer etching, it is by appointment (LAPD's Northeast Division held monthly events, per ABC7). It gives a recovered converter a name. What is not known. Whether a marked converter is stolen less often. We found no study, and the federal PART Act shows why: H.R. 5221 asks for an annual report on its grant program, including, "to the extent known, whether any catalytic converters marked under the program were stolen." 🟢 A mark helps only if the buyer looks at it, which is why the laws below concern scrap buyers. And it should not harm the part: H.R. 5221's wording is a marking "without damaging the function of such converter." Ask the police or the shop how they apply it.

If your area has a police marking event, it is worth the appointment; if not, ask the shop fitting the replacement, since a new converter is the cheapest moment to mark one.

The federal picture: one law that matters to repairs, one bill that does not yet exist as law

What is law. Two federal facts bear on a theft victim. The first is the tampering rule already quoted, section 203(a)(3) of the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7522, which is why a repair must put a converter back. The second is enforcement: NBC News (5 November 2023) reported a Justice Department bust in November 2022 of what it called a $545 million national converter crime ring, and Claims Journal (8 November 2023) reported 21 defendants arrested in a California and Oklahoma ring. Those are prosecutions of organized theft rings; the bill described next would add a federal offense for the theft itself.

What is a bill. The Preventing Auto Recycling Theft Act, the PART Act, is the federal answer proposed, and it has been proposed repeatedly. The National Automobile Dealers Association described an earlier version, H.R. 6394, in a press release of 16 May 2022 as "the first congressional bill to address the growing national problem of catalytic converter thefts." A new version, H.R. 621, was introduced in the House on 30 January 2023 and, on the bill's own face, referred to Energy and Commerce and two other committees (Claims Journal wrote on 8 November 2023 that it had not yet been assigned to a committee; the accounts differ). Two companion versions are in print: S. 2238, introduced in the Senate on 10 July 2025 by Senators Klobuchar and Moreno, and H.R. 5221, introduced in the House on 9 September 2025 by Representative Baird and others and referred to the Energy and Commerce Committee and two others. 🟢 The two texts differ in details: S. 2238, for example, says "cash or a digital asset" where H.R. 5221 says "cash or cryptocurrency", and puts the record duty on the seller too. The list below describes H.R. 5221 as introduced.

What H.R. 5221 would do, as introduced (Congress may change it):

The bill treats a catalytic converter as including a diesel oxidation catalyst and a diesel particulate filter. 🟢 Status. A June 2026 trade report (DealershipGuy, 18 June 2026) says the act, introduced in July 2025, "is still working its way through Congress". We could not check the Congress.gov action history, so the safe wording is: in the sources we could read it is a bill, not a law. Check the Congress.gov record for H.R. 5221 and S. 2238 before you rely on anything it would require.

State laws: scrap dealers, records and marking

Most of the new rules we found are state rules. The counts come from NICB as reported: Insurance Journal wrote on 12 May 2023 that "31 bills were enacted in 2022" and that 94 bills were being tracked across 39 states in 2023, with 12 passed; NBC News wrote on 5 November 2023 that 21 states had enacted laws that year and 19 more had introduced them. By 2021, IIHS wrote, "All but a handful of states require buyers to record sellers' driver's license numbers or other official identification, and many prohibit cash payments above a certain threshold." Consumer Reports (January 2026) names the Carolinas, Indiana, New York and Texas among states that require scrap dealers to ask for a vehicle title or other documentation before buying a used converter.

The model of the strict kind is Minnesota's, because its statute is in print. Section 325E.21 of the 2026 Minnesota Statutes, read on the revisor's site, says in substance:

The Minnesota House notice says the main provisions began on 1 August 2023 and the database rule on 1 August 2024.

California signed two bills in late September 2022 (Ratchet+Wrench, 27 September): SB 1087, which, per Ratchet+Wrench, lets converters be bought only from a dealer, automotive specialist or the vehicle owner, with violation fees of $1,000 to $5,000, and AB 1740, which requires recyclers to record the vehicle's make, model and year and bars buying from anyone but the owner or a licensed commercial business. The author's fact sheet for SB 1087 was written before passage, so the signed bills are the final word.

Connecticut's Public Act 22-43, effective 1 July 2022 (Ratchet+Wrench, 19 May 2022), bars motor vehicle recyclers from taking a detached converter, and requires scrap metal processors and junk dealers to keep written records with the seller's license and photograph and report weekly to state police; a seller may sell one converter a day, paid by mailed check. Illinois's HB 4589, effective 1 January 2025 (WCIA), requires dealers to record the VIN of the source car, any markers on the converter, and a title copy or invoice.

The pattern is four tools: know who sells, tie the converter to a vehicle, slow the payment, raise the penalty.

Do the laws work? Read the timing before the headline

The temptation is to credit the laws for the fall after 2022. The sources allow neither that nor the opposite.

• The same years had a metal-price fall (rhodium, above), and NBC wrote that the trade was squeezed from both sides. No source separates the two.
• A strict law did not prevent a bad year. Texas had its thumbprint rule and still saw thefts reach new heights in 2022, NBC reported (see the geography section).
• A strict law did not prevent a rebound. MoneyGeek (27 February 2026) quotes a St. Paul deputy police chief, "These crimes can be cyclical, depending upon the economy... The laws are only as good as what people will follow and what we have the capacity to investigate," and reports thefts there nearly tripled in 2025 under a Minnesota law fully in force. One article, one city; we cannot verify the quotation beyond MoneyGeek's text.

The honest summary: laws change the price of selling a stolen converter, and metal prices change the reward; when the reward rises faster than the risk, thefts rise. For you, the laws do not stop the first minute. They affect whether the part can be sold and the thief found, and your police report, photos and a VIN mark are what let them work for your car.

Three typical situations

These are composite scenarios, not individual customers. They are built only from facts already on this page and contain no invented names, amounts or dates.

Scenario 1: the pickup that roars at start-up. Suppose a pickup starts with a roar and a check engine light, and there is a gap under the truck. The owner switches it off, photographs the underside from the side, files a report with the VIN and photos, and calls the insurer. With comprehensive coverage and a $500 deductible, a $3,000 bill would leave the owner paying $500 and the insurer $2,500, USAA's own example. Lesson: every step produced a document the claim needed.

Scenario 2: the older car with liability only. Suppose an owner insured for liability only finds the converter gone. Mercury says liability does not pay for the theft. The owner still files the police report and gets an itemized estimate, because EPA's rule means the converter cannot be left out. The repair cost is theirs. Lesson: the saving is in the part chosen, not in skipping it.

Scenario 3: the hybrid in a car park. Suppose a hybrid owner reads the June 2026 CARFAX report and wants to act first: park where the car is least reachable, ask a mechanic which shield is made for that model, ask the police about marking, and confirm comprehensive coverage and the deductible. Lesson: for a high-risk car the useful moment is before the loss.

Where a free sound check fits, and where it does not

This is our side of the page, so check it against the homepage. PulsCar's sound check asks you to film the engine running for 30 seconds; the homepage says two independent AI engines return a free health report in 10 minutes, on the terms "No payment, no card, no subscription." The report carries an Engine Health Score, a built-in AI second opinion and system-by-system status, and says "inconclusive" when a clip cannot support a verdict. ⚪

It does not belong in the first hour of a theft. The homepage lists exhaust patterns such as manifold-gasket leaks, cracked catalytic converters, heat-shield rattles and muffler damage ⚪; a converter that is gone is not one of them, and a roar you can already hear needs no diagnosis. Running the engine to record it is the thing not to do. The check also cannot say whether a car is safe to drive or whether fumes are reaching the cabin. If the noise comes with brakes that feel wrong, a steering or wheel noise, a red warning light, or exhaust fumes in the cabin, inspect first and do not record. A flashing check engine light is a different problem: pull over safely, switch the engine off and have it towed; the only exception, a flashing light alone on a car that starts and runs normally, is a shop within 2-3 miles, reached gently, under 40 mph with light throttle. A car whose converter is gone is never that case: tow it.

Should you record the engine after a catalytic converter theft, and what does PulsCar's free check add? Not before the repair. If the converter is gone, do not drive the car: have it towed to a shop. The exhaust is open under the floor, the car is far louder, and an idling car can fill with exhaust fumes. Do not run the engine for a recording either. Afterwards the check has a narrow use. If the new converter is on and the car makes a noise it did not make before, such as a rattle or a tick, 30 seconds of the engine running, filmed on your phone, gets a free second opinion by email in about 10 minutes. It reads no codes, cannot look at the exhaust system itself and cannot judge cabin fumes, and the report may come back inconclusive, in which case record again or ask the shop to look.

What this page cannot tell you

• NICB's own numbers. We could not read its website, so every NICB figure is as reported by Claims Journal, Insurance Journal, NBC News, Consumer Reports, IIHS or USAA, and we found no NICB total for 2023 as a whole or for 2025.
• How many were stolen in 2025. CARFAX's estimate of more than 137,000 comes from a vehicle-history company; its method is not printed in any report we read, so we do not know what it counts, and we did not put it on NICB's line.
• Whether devices and etching work. No independent study found; maker claims (⚪) were not tested.
• Whether a claim raises your premium. No official source found; ask your insurer.
• The PART Act's status and every state's law. We read the bill texts as introduced and one state statute (Minnesota) in full; the rest come from press and a legislator's fact sheet, and statutes change after 4 November 2026.
• Today's replacement prices. This page carries claim figures, not a repair price list; the replacement cost guide holds prices.

Your action plan: now, this week, before prices or thefts rise again

If it has just happened. Switch the engine off and keep clear of anyone nearby. If the converter is gone, do not drive the car: have it towed to a shop. The exhaust is open under the floor, the car is far louder, and an idling car can fill with exhaust fumes. If you smell exhaust in the cabin or feel a headache or dizziness, switch the engine off, get everyone out into fresh air and call for a tow. Photograph the underside from the side. File a police report with the VIN, location, time and photos, and keep the number. Call the insurer. Comprehensive coverage is the part of a policy that typically pays for a stolen converter, after your deductible; liability-only (and collision-only) does not. Ask about rental reimbursement. Get an itemized estimate with the converter as its own line.

This week. Compare the estimate with the deductible before you claim. Ask the shop about a shield made for your exact model and about marking the converter on the lift. The replacement cost guide has the price ladder and the state rules on certified parts; for the codes, see P0420, P0421 and P0430.

Before it happens. Check your policy for comprehensive coverage and the deductible. Park where the car is hardest to reach, add light and a sensitive alarm, ask your local police about a marking event, and watch your own area's theft numbers: the 2026 rebound reports we found are local police accounts (a Maryland town, St. Paul) alongside CARFAX's national 2025 estimate, and CARFAX names rising metal prices, rhodium's included, among the factors that may be contributing. Buying a used car? The used car inspection checklist and the check engine light guide cover what a loud exhaust or a recent converter job can mean.

Sources and documents

Each page below was read on 4 November 2026. Marks: 🟢 official text; ⚪ a company's own claim. Where a page carried no date, we say so.

1. 🟢 Clean Air Act section 203, prohibited acts (tampering): 42 U.S.C. 7522
2. 🟢 EPA, exhaust system repair guidelines fact sheet (the copy we read carries a garbled stamp that appears to read 1991; written after the 1990 amendments): exhsysrepair.pdf
3. 🟢 Minnesota Statutes 2026, section 325E.21, scrap metal dealers: revisor.mn.gov; also read, the House news summary New Laws
4. 🟢 Bills: H.R. 5221, 119th Congress, as introduced 9 September 2025; S. 2238, introduced 10 July 2025; H.R. 621, 118th Congress, introduced 30 January 2023
5. 🟢 Texas Department of Insurance, Auto theft and insurance, last updated 29 August 2025
6. California SB 1087 (Gonzalez) author's fact sheet, dated 15 February 2022, written before passage
7. Highway Loss Data Institute, Bulletin Vol. 38, No. 8, April 2021, and IIHS, 18 November 2021
8. Consumer Reports, guide, updated 18 January 2026
9. NICB figures as reported: Insurance Journal, 12 May 2023; Claims Journal, 8 November 2023; NBC News, 5 November 2023
10. State Farm claims data as reported: Carrier Management, 11 September 2024; Insurance Journal, 12 September 2024; Autobody News, 26 September 2024
11. CARFAX 2026 data as reported: Carrier Management, 11 June 2026; Used Car News, 11 June 2026; CarPro; DealershipGuy, 18 June 2026
12. Insurers' advice pages: USAA, updated 23 October 2026; Mercury Insurance, posted 13 November 2025; non-official pages on premiums: AutoInsurance.com, updated 29 May 2024, and Fox Business (undated)
13. Local reports: KUTV on the South Salt Lake Police, 17 January 2022; WCTV, 17 December 2021; ABC7 Los Angeles, 12 June 2023; WPRI (undated); WCIA
14. State law reports: Ratchet+Wrench, Connecticut, 19 May 2022 and California, 27 September 2022; NADA, press release, 16 May 2022
15. 2026 rebound reports: Nexstar via NewsNation (undated, early 2026); MoneyGeek, updated 27 February 2026
16. ⚪ Makers: CatClamp home page and shop page, a Cat Shield installation guide for the 2016-2021 Prius, hosted by a forum
17. PulsCar homepage (sound check terms)
18. What we could not read, and so did not quote: NICB's own pages, congress.gov and GovTrack, NCSL, State Farm's site, justice.gov, Michigan's insurance regulator, and the Cat Security and Cat Shield sites

Prices verified: 4 November 2026 (claim and device prices as printed by the sources named; no repair price list) · Technical documents verified: 4 November 2026 · Reviewed quarterly

Saw a theft sign, a law or a figure that differs from this page? Email [email protected] with the state, the date and the source.