In Cars, Local News / By Gerard Lye / 22 March 2022 11:01 am / 18 comments
A woman on Twitter recently took to Twitter to share her ordeal of having her Honda City’s exhaust pipe stolen. According to her post, the vehicle was parked at Glenmarie LRT station car park while her family took the train on an outing to Kuala Lumpur when the theft happened.
In a follow-up tweet, she revealed it was the middle section of the exhaust system, which is where the catalytic converter is attached to, that was taken from her car. The catalytic converter is the prize here, as the thieves will then sell it off to a scrap metal dealer for the value of the various precious metals used in its construction like platinum, rhodium and palladium.
A catalytic converter changes harmful substances found in exhaust gasses (carbon monoxide, nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide and hydrocarbons) into less harmful substances like carbon dioxide and water vapour by means of chemical reactions.
Inside a catalytic converter, you’ll find a honeycomb structure typically made of ceramic onto which precious metals like those mentioned are applied to act as a catalyst that reacts with exhaust gasses. It is these precious metals that have an intrinsic value, making them a target for thieves as in this woman’s case.
While we don’t often hear cases of catalytic converter theft here, it has become very prevalent in other countries. According to a report posted in March 2021 by the United States’ National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), there were 108 catalytic converter thefts per month on average in 2018, 282 average monthly thefts in 2019 and 1,203 average thefts per month in 2020.
So, just how valuable are these precious metals then? As of the time of writing, gold is priced at around RM269.28 (22 karat) and RM293.68 (24 karat) per gram. Meanwhile, platinum is about RM140.67 per gram, palladium is around RM347.41 per gram, and rhodium is around RM2,545 per gram – prices were taken from various sources and could differ. A catalytic converter can have around one to seven grams of each precious metal on average, depending on the model and make.
These figures are undoubtedly motivators for thieves to target catalytic converters, but there are some ways to hopefully prevent your vehicle from being a victim. These include always parking in well-lit areas when possible, installing an anti-theft device on your catalytic converter and setting up an alarm or camera system to catch the culprits.
Painting the catalytic converter and inscribing your vehicle’s identification number (VIN) on the painted surface is another suggestion, as it can alert a honest scrap dealer that it was stolen and make it easier to identify the owner. Have you ever had your vehicle’s catalytic converter stolen before, as this woman has had to endure? Share your experience with us.
Yay! We’re finally reaching First World nation levels now we have similar theft problems! Hurray!
This is just the beginning… By next year this will be a common crime that will only worsen with the lack of polis peronda in most areas…
Time to seriously consider EV’s now haha
Just switch to EV and don’t need to worry…
Honest scrap dealers!? Is there such a thing!?
It’s time to buy EV.
Yep, it’s VERY prevalent in the US. My uncle has his stolen and it was very expensive to fix .
I drive a Proton Waja and had to stop parking next to Taman Bahagia LRT station as my car battery was stolen twice.
Anyone who is paying for the catalytic converter knows its stolen product la.. No need waste money on Vin…
Mind was stolen, after changing my trasmission gearbox 1st time there is sound like plane landing when slow down,2nd time ok but there is sound like 2 parts metal rubbing together(hissing sound)when you accelerate. The workshop foreman troubleshoot again they found out the exhaust catalytic convertor honey comb like structure was taken out and replace back. This causes the hissing sound when accelerate. This cause me to pay 1k plus to replace a new one. So be very careful when you leave car over several nights at the workshop.
Mind was stolen too. Don’t leave your car overnights too many days in workshop. Makesure do some anti theft measure or marking on it. When the catalytic converter honeycomb is taken out from the exhaust system and replace back there will be a hissing sound(like 2 metai parts parts rubbing together when accelerate). 1k plus to replace a new one.
If you’re switching to EV, the more expensive batteries will be stolen. Thieves are opportunists so don’t give them an opportunity. If there is only one silver lining, removing the catalytic converter will give you a straight exhaust gas flow / reducing backpressure and in the end increasing engine power up to 10 horsepower. As Malaysia isn’t very strict on emissions ( you only need to do a Puspakom inspection when you sell your car), you will still benefit. I didn’t say we will emit less pollutants though =)
I got cheated at a tyre shop. They pretended that my original cata spoiled n suggest I changed it. Being naive since it is my 1st car I totally fell fr it …
My 2 cars’ cat converters were stolen lately. I suspect there are syndicates operating such crime. Don’t ever count on the police. Hopeless.
Go after the scrap metal dealers. Remand the boss for a week and the buying will stop.
catalytic converter theft is becoming common now… my dad’s lexus was parked next to our house n it gt stolen in d middle of d night (2 months ago)
Oh well, just remove it out and sell it ourself. Problem solved!
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