So its not there... but is it possible it fell off? due to an improper installation of it... Im leaning towards stolen...
You would have heard it if it fell off while driving or upon start up you should have looked under the car before driving off. Edit: also there are two of them.
I drove it for all of 10 seconds before I pulled over and looked... so it would of had to have been the day before. It is possible.. I guess that when driving it around in it the day before I didn't notice, 1 it falling off, 2 it dragging because of the oxygen sensor, and 3 my engine light coming on but I think its more probable someone sawed it off... also yes they are both gone...
Umm, yeah they were stolen. Only $$$$ factory OEM cats will pass inspection, not aftermarket. Gotta' luv Cali.
my diesel truck was inspected and all they did was scan it... is there something I should know? as in will they jack my car up and look?
Sounds like some bad luck Which part of the state are you in so us locals can avoid feeding the black market for stolen cats. On a positive note (you still have a battery!!), appears there are people stealing whole battery packs now.. the fix being to remove and replace your OEM bolts with 'security bolts' : Prius Security Battery Bolts Don't hink changing out the bolts will help once they have the proper 'bit', or they could just cut them off the same way they did with your cat.
im in orange county... I think my car has a security system right? they would have to disable that first. which I thought was hard unless its operated by the 12v battery... never checked. but Im definitely trying to figure out better antitheft measures for my car now. anyone know of aftermarket systems that can be added to the factory system?
well I found the part on eBay... chose to go with eastern catalytic.... unless theres a reason not too...
I know someone that bought one from eBay, probably didn't seal that well, much louder than stock. And illegal in California
14 day... I kind of figured it would be louder... the one I'm buying isn't one piece so I doubt its going to be as quiet... but its cheap and no one will steal it. hopefully
If there's a motion sensor, it might detect the car being lifted/dropped or the sawzall's vibrations. Otherwise, factory security systems tend to only detect doors being forced open and the like. There are some cages that can be welded around the cat, although they make service quite a bit harder.
Is this a crime that's effecting all sorts of cars, or is it specifically Priuses being targeted? Bloody annoying!
All kinds, and for years now. Besides modern cars, and vehicles with a higher profile (SUVs, Trucks, etc), some of the older/larger European (Mercedes and BMW) cars get hit hard, as they had bigger cats with more metal value for recycling. Not sure why one would target a Prius unless they know they can sell the whole piece to someone in CA or NY for a song. Reminds me of people stealing airbags.
