New plan to stop thefts of catalytic converters, the exhaust filter worth more than its weight in gold

In response to the sharp rise in thefts of catalytic converters – the exhaust filter worth more than its weight in gold – US authorities are proposing strict new identifying marks.

US Congress is considering a mandate of vehicle identifying markers on catalytic converters – the exhaust filtration system worth more than its weight in gold – following a sharp rise in rogue thefts of the device.

Car criminals are now crawling under parked cars – in driveways, shopping mall parking lots, and dealership forecourts – to cut out and steal the core exhaust component that contains precious metals.

Catalytic converters are targeted by thieves because they contain precious metals such as rhodium – worth approximately eight times more than gold per gram.

Thieves use tube-cutters and power saws to cut through exhaust pipes to remove the catalytic converters – and car owners are none the wiser until they attempt to start the car the next day.

The stolen goods are sold to unscrupulous recyclers for cash, with the precious metals then extracted and on-sold to refineries.

As reported by Automotive News, US lawmakers have introduced a bill to the House of Representatives and Senate which would require catalytic converters in new cars to be stamped with its Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) – the unique 17-digit ‘fingerprint’ which stays with a vehicle throughout its life. 

File photo.

If passed, the bill – known as the Preventing Auto Recycling Theft (PART) Act – would enable law enforcement officers to match a suspect part to the car it was stolen from.

Automotive News says the proposed legislation could also result in the establishment of a grant program which would provide funding to dealerships and service centres to stamp VINs onto the catalytic converters of existing cars. 

According to the US National Insurance Crime Bureau, there were 1298 reported catalytic converter thefts in 2018. The organisation claimed it received 14,433 reports in 2020 – a staggering increase of more than 1000 per cent in just two years.

The theft, sale, and extraction of precious metals from catalytic converters is a multi-million dollar black-market industry in the US, though authorities have recently indicted at least 36 criminals for their involvement in the unscrupulous activities.

In August 2022, a police operation in the US city of Portland, Oregon uncovered more than 44,000 catalytic converters stolen from car exhausts – with an estimated street value of $US22 million ($AU33 million).

In November 2022, US authorities busted a nationwide crime ring which allegedly made more than $US545 million ($AU814 million) from stealing, selling and extracting the precious metals from catalytic converters.

The increase in catalytic converter thefts also prompted Toyota’s US division to introduce an anti-theft device designed to stop its Prius hybrid car from being targeted in the attacks. Most hybrid vehicles have hi-tech anti-pollution devices with even more precious metals than the average car.

As reported in December, the new Toyota Prius can be purchased in the US with an optional ‘Cat Shield’, which covers the catalytic converter with an aluminium plate – although the product’s maker, MillerCat, has admitted the device is “most effective at being a visual deterrent for thieves than an actual physical deterrence.”

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