Catalytic Converter Protection

[Langwilliams]

Where I live I haven't heard of cat theft as a problem in a while. A few yeas back they passed a law requiring recyclers to photocopy an file drivers licenses of people "scrapping" cats. If they don't an are caught the get huge fines.

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[BladeRanger]

Has anyone used this product to prevent your catalytic converter from being stolen?

One got stolen in my work parking lot so I went exploring for solutions.

https://www.catstrap.net/

Wow, been looking for a solution as well, this a nice solution and price as well. Yeah, there have been Catalytic breaking in my neighborhood.

 

[got3fords]

To get one out of a Ranger would be something to see. Not that it couldn’t happen but my bet is it would be the last on the lot to go after. Not easy to get at at all.

Do you think Ford did that on purpose?

 

[T Bone]

i have motion sensor cameras all around the house that alert me to activity outside, and this sits next to my nightstand.............

 

[slowmachine]

Do you think Ford did that on purpose?

That converter is purposely close to the engine to warm it up more quickly from cold start, decreasing the time to closed-loop operation, reducing emissions, and saving fuel. I first noticed this in the early 2000s in economy cars. It‘s smart, but a real pain to work on in close quarters, and probably harder to steal for the same reason.

 

[ranger4x]

I will say moving won't fix the cat theft issue. I live in a very safe/high cost of living area, and cat thefts are still pretty common. If you park your car outside you're at risk regardless of where you live as long as its a population dense area.

We've found that thieves tend to gravitate toward the nicer/safer areas of our city. Had my toy hauler stolen right out of my driveway (found my hitch lock laying on the ground), then my F250 stolen twice. Alarm, kill switch and cameras didn't stop them. Hell the second time the truck was stolen I had a friggin parkin boot on it and they cut that sucker off with bolt cutters. Not much in the way of cat thefts around here, the tweakers come in from surrounding areas and just take the whole dam vehicle. Ford didn't put the PATS system in the F250/F350 until 2008 so my 2002 F250 was stolen with just a screwdriver both times.

 

[Grooge]

Do you think Ford did that on purpose?

I think they did it not due theft, but to have the skid plate cover the cat during off road applications.

 

[D Fresh]

It's literally just news that is not real, ie, fake

I was being facetious.

I will say moving won't fix the cat theft issue. I live in a very safe/high cost of living area, and cat thefts are still pretty common. If you park your car outside you're at risk regardless of where you live as long as its a population dense area.

You're not looking far enough away then.

 

[got3fords]

That converter is purposely close to the engine to warm it up more quickly from cold start, decreasing the time to closed-loop operation, reducing emissions, and saving fuel. I first noticed this in the early 2000s in economy cars. It‘s smart, but a real pain to work on in close quarters, and probably harder to steal for the same reason.

So on purpose, but not necessarily for the theft issue.

 

[VegasP11]

I don't know what "fake news" is.

But I do know that all news reporting has some sort of bias to it. The secret is ferreting that out.

For example, Colorado is on track to have 5,000 catalytic converter thefts this year. There are roughly 1.75 million cars registered here. We have about 70,000 hail damage claims per year.

You're 14 more times likely to have to file a hail damage claim in this state than have your cat stolen. Yet the local news acts as though the Mafia is organizing some big heist.

It's OK if you want to buy what they're selling you without applying some critical thinking. Doesn't mean we all have to.

And, frankly, if you have that big of a valid concern over this, you should've probably skipped the new truck and moved.

My next door neighbor had his stolen off his truck a few years ago, so I will go let him know you said it's no big deal.

 

[veedubtuner]

So this is a motion sensor devise, what happens if an animal like a cat (pun intended lol) or raccoon or something walks under you vehicle, will they set it off?

 

[saintpauljeff]

Wife had hers stolen off her Mitsubishi Outlander Sport right at her place of business- an elementary school parking lot. $3300 later she was back on the road. Got a shield put on as well- another $400. I'm still not comfortable with her leaving the vehicle for long periods of time, but at least it shouldn't happen again while she's working.

 

[D Fresh]

My next door neighbor had his stolen off his truck a few years ago, so I will go let him know you said it's no big deal.

My next door neighbor fell off a ladder a few years ago. Rang his noggin pretty good.

 

[dondonbabyraptor]

Oh yeah, I should update this thread. A cat thief peeked under my truck the other night. FX4 skid plate was enough to deter them to find another target. A Honda Element ten houses down from me. 2 minutes and I see the thief sprint out the neighborhood with the CAT on the playback of my cameras.

https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/threads/worried-about-cat-theft-no-worries.15875/#post-320214

 

[Cmar]

Wow, is cat theft such a big issue in the US? It's unheard of here.

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