2022 tacoma cat shield necessary?

Since there is a rise in catalytic converter thefts, I took a look at the underside of my new truck and noticed that there is a metal plate blocking the cat from easy access for the thieves. I’m new to the taco community, and was wondering if any other 2022 owners out there are thinking the same thing.

 

Any chance you can take a picture? Curious...

 

Assuming it's not much different than a 2020; here's the driver side rear cat. Front one is up that pipe just off of the exhaust manifold and a little tougher to get to.

 

Here is a look up at the driver side front converter

 

Every time I hear of someone "thinking" about installing a CC anti-theft shield I always ask them how many cats have they had stolen in their life? So far the answer has always been the same, ZERO.

Now I expect someone to come in and say that they had one stolen and of course that is possible buts what's next, are you going to wrap your gas tank in 1/2 steel plate so that the gas tank can not be drilled and the gas stolen?

 

I mean, if it looked clean and was easy to install..

 

why go with a cat shield when you can get full skids instead...same coverage, more utility

 

I got the Talon's Garage one (https://www.talonsgarage.com/) and think its a solid product. Cat Shield is good too. I park the truck outside my apartment and the few hundred I spent is worth a little peace of mind. It's not going to prevent anything but will make it harder to steal. I was thinking of full skids but couldn't justify that cost with as little off-roading I do, which is mostly fire roads.

 

Isn’t that just the normal heat shield? Looks the same on my 2020 and 2006.

 

Do you also go around and ask people that have home insurance how many times their house has burned down, or auto insurance how many times their car has been stolen/wrecked? I could go on and on.

The fact is its happening all over the country. With inflation and everything else going on, our financial future doesn't look so bright. Which means more of these type of thefts are likely. Its a simple and inexpensive precaution people can take.

 

That's just plain silly reasoning. The stats are pretty solid on which vehicle get bagged and as mentioned, it's becoming rampant and not just a big city thing. Prius and Tacoma are way up on the list of thefts. I learned something today while my brand new RAV was up on the lift getting wheels and tires. I went under it just for the sake of seeing how things were laid out and Cat Converter exposure. Right after buying it, I started looking for security devices for the cats. None to be found and I thought that a bit odd till I saw what's going on under mine. No cats visible anywhere. They are installed right outside the exhaust manifold and tucked way up in the tunnel. No way you could access them without some serious amount of time for a massive teardown. I'm going to guess there are a bunch of other vehicles are the same way so the take-away is there is only a select number of vehicles that can be hit, it's obviously not every single vehicle out there. Pretty much all of us here are driving one of those few vehicles that are subject to theft, then add in how easy it is to access the underside, it increases our chances even more. I'm stoked I don't need to worry about my RAV but I'm very glad I made the Cat Security purchase a couple weeks of buying the truck.

 

It's also a pain in the ass to be without your vehicle for a week or two while they get the parts in.

 

A year ago I got one of my secondary cats cut off and it was $400 to get replaced (my mechanic said it use to be about $250) so $350ish to protect both is not a bad investment
The general consensus of full skid is that it has side access to get a one of those 1 hand recipe saws in to cut the pipe and wiggle the cat out the back side. Yes, some manufactures are modifying their designs to make cat theft harder.

Gas tank drilling may be the next big wave of theft to come but high profile vehicles with easy underside access will always be targets of opportunity for scumbags

 

Yes, while I was looking in reference to the OP's question, figured I'd just snap pics of what the stock setup looks like and how accessible the stock cats are to would-be thieves. I'd like to invent a system that would drop a flashbang if the system sensed any of the exhaust system being tampered with or moved, sawed, etc. Or maybe an airbag suspension system that would automatically lower the vehicle to the ground if the same was detected, thus trapping the would-be thief under his intended victim.

 

I park in my garage at night, and don't, nor have I ever, worried about it being stolen on any of my vehicles even when I didn't park in a garage

 

Considering you are in Houston, there are one of two brands that get installed at almost every dealer now. Mine, and ADD.

If you bought your truck from Fred Haas Toyota Country it is most likely mine.

 

I have never been burglarized, should I stop locking my front door? Also the gas tank analogy is terrible. People are not going around stealing gas tanks. A shield is sub $400, new cats installed can be in the thousands not counting any damage they've done to the undercarriage with a saw blade...

 

Your cats could be stolen just like your key fob signal could be cloned and your car stolen, or your car just plain broken into. Are these things likely? No, probably not; but, they certainly can happen. There are things you can do in the meantime to mitigate that risk.

Which reminds me: it always baffles me the amount of people who leave their cars unlocked because "it's cheaper than replacing a window" and "I don't have anything valuable in there anyway." Most thieves are looking for the easy target. If they want it bad enough, they'll get it. But chances are, if it isn't easy, they'll move on and find one that is. Plus, these days they can start your car with the OBDII port. Maybe you think your car isn't that valuable, but I guarantee you'd be pissed if it was missing.

 

Same here. I don't worry about it for a second. In the RARE chance I did have mine stolen, I'd just report it to my insurance company as no big deal. Certainly not worth staying up at night worrying that someone is going to steel your cat converter which seems some do.

 

Seems to me the main theory in this thread is that if one is going to do skid plates/underbody protection anyway, why not make it more difficult to get at the cats as well? If nothing else, maybe would make someone think to pass on that particular vehicle in the same manner that having an ADT sign or visible surveillance camera is often enough to persuade potential thieves to move on to a "softer" / easier target. Lots of us don't like the idea of throwing $500 (or whatever your amount is) insurance deductibles away if it might be avoided.