Protect your vehicle against catalysator theft. 

Catalysator theft is a real concern for all vehicles owners. Criminals have been stealing catalysators for nearly a decade and there are is no sign of the activity slowing down. 

Having the car’s catalysator stolen results in a nasty and costly surprise for the vehicle owner. With Tramigo OBD Premium you can now protect yourself against this kind of crime.

What is catalysator theft?

Catalysators are an essential part of how your car runs. Catalysators help reduce the pollutants emissions running the car produces. The first production car with a catalysator was launched in 1975 and since 1992 catalysators have been mandatory in the EU. Catalysators are valuable due to the precious metals they contain (Platinum, Palladium and Rhodium). Catalysator theft only affects vehicles with combustion engines. Low emission combustion engine vehicles are the one with the most effective catalysators which in turn contain the highest amounts of the precious metals.

Criminal’s approach parked cars and either steal the whole car or with catalysator theft especially more commonly use tools to lift the car off the ground, sliding underneath and using power tools to cut out the catalysator and remove it entirely. A criminal working in haste also runs the risk of causing other damage as they apply a cutting tool to the bottom of your car.

An informative report by the RoadShow on catalysator theft

For the owner this is of course very bad news. What typically happens is that the owner is unaware the catalysator has been stolen during the night (sometimes catalysator theft happens in broad daylight), and only realizes its missing when he or she starts the car to leave for work in the morning for example. 

Businesses suffer from this too as taxi and rental companies face the same problem as well. Detection can be even more difficult if the catalysator was stolen from a car that has been sitting on the parking lot unused for a few days. The business may face unexpected challenges when it turns out that a car which is required in use today suddenly is out of action because of its catalysator having been stolen some days ago.

The immediate impact can clearly be observed by the driver as the car makes an unusually loud roaring noise – not the kind you hear in a high-performance sports car but just plain annoying and polluting. The noise is louder the more rpms you give the car as you speed for example. Your vehicles exhaust system is missing a piece and that creates the noise but also affects how the car drives. Your car’s handling will also suffer as acceleration and the overall handling of the car will just become irritatingly uneven. You will realize your vehicle is in trouble.

Attempted catalytic converter theft caught on camera in London

To top things off your vehicle will not pass inspection before the catalysator is replaced again. As a car owner you should always make sure you have insurance as replacing the catalysator after theft can be very expensive.

How can car owners try to stop catalysator theft?

As with any crime and theft, its very hard to stop a motivated person completely 100% of the time. Recommended ways to reduce the chances of getting your cars catalysator stolen include parking your car in well-lit and protected areas. A gated area is your safest bet here.

Commercial solutions also exist on the market. One common way to protect against catalysator theft is to install a metal plate underneath your car to prevent thieves getting direct access to your catalysator. We can imagine this actually being very effective. Other solutions include installing a strap or a cable around your catalysator, much like how a bicycle chain or lock works. All of these methods are likely to help to a degree, however they take quite a bit of effort and money, and you should always have only professionals do these types of modifications to your car.

A google search reveals recommendations like painting your catalysator in a bright color or to have your license plate number or other identification engraved onto your vehicles catalysator’s surface. This won’t help to prevent it being stolen as much as maybe help you recover it after it has been stolen. 

We are unsure how effective these are as catalysators are mostly stolen for the resale value of metals they contain; however, they may act as a deterrent if the thief sees the engraving once under your vehicle, also it should be noted that catalysators are also being stolen for resale purposes to some degree, in which case identification measures do help fight this type of crime to some degree.

Use Tramigo OBD premium to help prevent catalysator theft

Tramigo is offering a more elegant and convenient solution. The Tramigo OBD Premium2 is a GPS tracking and vehicle diagnostics device that you attach to your vehicles OBD port in seconds. The OBD 2 category device sales package also contains and extension cable that allows you to hide the device with very little effort if you prefer to install it covertly.

Get alerted in real time immediately if your car is raised to prepare it for catalysator theft.

In addition to the devices GPS and DTC diagnostics features, the Tramigo OBD premium is equipped with a very sensitive motion sensor. This sensor will detect even the slightest movement in a parked car and automatically alert the vehicle owner in real time incase a catalysator thief tries to raise your car to be able to go to work on its bottom with a power tool.

Activate the Tow Alerts functinality to get alerts from your parked car with the sensitive built-in motion sensor 

All you have to do as the owner is to have your car equipped with a Tramigo OBD Premium GPS tracking and vehicle DTC diagnostics device, and activate the alert functionality using your mobile phone. This setting is persistent, meaning it only needs to be turned on once and it will remain active and respond any time your car is parked. The same feature will alert you incase your vehicle is getting towed or someone crashes or bumps into your parked car. The sensor is very sensitive and will react to any kind of movement or lifting of the vehicle, especially in the street conditions. All alerts can be turned on and off at any time using the TramigoApp on your mobile phone.

Taxi companies and other fleet owners can also view the alerts in the report view of their TramigoCloud desktop software 

The Tramigo OBD Premium is shipped as a complete solution ready for use out of the box. The sales package contains the Tramigo OBD Premium GPS tracking and vehicle diagnostics device witha built-in in eSIM, an extension cable to allow for an (optional) concealed installation, an activation code for the software which you can download for your mobile phone from the IOS and Android stores. 

The OBD Premium is available in two optional packages 

OBD Premium 1 Year for 99€ + VAT, which includes 12 months unlimited usage.

OBD Premium 2 Years for 119€ + VAT, which includes 24 months unlimited usage.

Each additional year can be bought from Tramigo for 38€ + VAT.

For interested customers outside the EU please note:

We are currently in the process of setting up our online sales & shipping processes to support areas outside the EU. Technically Tramigo products work in almost 200 countries around the world. Interested customers from outside the EU can contact the store support ( customercare@tramigo.com) and we can give you assistance and details on how we maybe able to fulfill your order. 

A product can also be activated to work outside the EU after the sale has been completed. Additional charges may apply to adjust for the mobile data transmission rates that may affect regional data transfer rates.

Did you know that Tramigo OBD Premium is the lowest cost device to own and operate compared to its peers? That means when you add the purchase price with the monthly data fees (and what ever else other vendors might be charging). Our pricing is straight forward with no surprise charges or hidden fees. We did the research and posted a blog article about it here.