Thieves target Honda CRVs for catalytic converters

London police are warning Honda CRV owners to keep a close eye on their vehicles, because they've become a target for thieves harvesting catalytic converters.

There have been 10 thefts of converters from CRVs—primarily model years 2003-2009—in the west end of the city since the beginning of January, according to police.

"It's not known why they're specifically targeting that vehicle, but sometimes the catalytic converter is easier to access, depending on the type of vehicle," said police spokesperson, Constable Sandasha Bough.

"Some [converters] are actually hidden underneath other parts of the underside of the vehicle, and other ones are very easy to see and potentially remove."

Bough said catalytic converters contain expensive metals, such as platinum, rhodium and palladium, which thieves can sell to scrapyards for cash.

Most of the thefts have occurred in apartment building parking lots in the west end of London and were targeted during overnight hours.

Not easily done

Andy Malacaria, owner of the car repair business Auto Strada Inc., said thefts of catalytic converters were common around five to seven years ago, but then seemed to taper off. He said he's surprised that the thefts have picked up again. 

For one thing, removing a converter is not easily done. In the past, thieves would use a machine-powered saw to sever them from the vehicle, Malacaria said. 

"It wouldn't be something simple that anybody could do. You would definitely have to be willing to go underneath the vehicle and cut this off, for sure."

He said a car owner would know they were missing a catalytic converter as soon as they started the vehicle.

"You're actually eliminating the whole muffler system and everything, so it would be very loud," said Malacaria. 

Costly to replace

If someone does manage to separate your catalytic converter from your Honda CRV, it can be costly to replace.

"Original equipment converters can be into the thousands of dollars. Sometimes in the after-market we can get them for half of that, but definitely there is a difference between the original and the after-market," said Malacaria. 

Police are urging residents of apartment buildings to park their vehicles in well-lit areas, or close to roads with lots of foot traffic to scare off would-be thieves. 

Police are asking car owners who have been victimized to report the incident either online or via telephone, to help them track the total number of thefts and advance their investigation.