Catalytic converter theft

How California is finally making progress on rampant catalytic converter theft

By Amy Graff

For about two years, San Francisco auto mechanic John Rodriguez saw at least one customer a day with a stolen catalytic converter. Some customers at his body shop, Precision Auto Repair, were replacing their fourth or fifth catalytic converter, as theft of the emissions device in California and across the country was rampant.

“Now, I haven’t had to replace one in the last 30 days,” Rodriguez, a co-owner in the 61-year-old family business, told SFGATE in October. “It’s a good thing.”

New data on catalytic converter thefts shows just how good it is. Theft spiked during the heart of the pandemic, according to claims data released last month by State Farm, the largest auto insurer in California. In 2021, there were 32,000 claims for stolen catalytic converters nationwide; in 2022, there were 45,000. In the first six months of this year, however, there have been just 14,500, compared to 23,000 in the same period last year. In California specifically, there have been 5,400 claims from January to June of this year, State Farm said. KTLA reported, citing State Farm, that there were 11,900 in California in 2022 and 9,200 in 2021, putting 2023 on pace to be better than last year. 

Catalytic converters, often called cats, control a vehicle’s emissions and are installed between a vehicle’s engine and muffler. They contain precious metals — specifically, rhodium, palladium and platinum — that convert toxic gases in a vehicle’s exhaust system into less harmful substances before they shoot out the tailpipe. It’s those metals that thieves are after because they can be extracted from the converters and sold. A thief can squeeze under a car, saw off the cat, and sell it to a scrapyard for anywhere from a couple hundred to several thousand dollars. 

In 2021 and 2022, the values of the metals skyrocketed, fueling the black market for catalytic converters. The high reward for thefts also fueled a part shortage that led to monthslong delays for car owners seeking replacement catalytic converters. But this year, the price started coming down, and quite dramatically so. Coupled with other factors like stepped-up law enforcement and a pile of new laws aimed at curbing theft, more cats are staying in more cars.

“There’s a nationwide downward trend at the moment. It’s almost across the board in almost all the states,” said Tamar Tokat, a Los Angeles County deputy district attorney who helped pass a bill aimed at curbing catalytic converter theft. “We’re not out of the woods yet. We still have a huge problem nationwide, and California still leads the nation in those thefts, but the downward trend is incredibly encouraging.”

Rhodium is a little-known and relatively scarce metal. While a catalytic converter may only contain a gram or two of it, that tiny amount is worth thousands of dollars. Rhodium was trading nearly as high as $30,000 per ounce in 2021, but in recent months the price has fallen to less than $5,000 an ounce, according to Kitco, an online precious metals dealer.  

Palladium and platinum have also seen declines in value, though not nearly as steep as rhodium’s. In March 2022, the price per ounce of palladium hit an all-time high of $3,380, Jim Wyckoff, a Kitco senior market analyst, told SFGATE. In recent days it has traded just above $1,000. Platinum traded as high as $1,348 in February 2021 and is now trading for around $900 an ounce, Wyckoff said.

A main reason for the drop in values, Wyckoff said, is worries about a global economic slowdown reducing demand for products such as cars that are equipped with catalytic converters made with these metals. “Slowing global economic growth means less consumer and commercial demand for raw commodities, including the metals,” he said.

Legislators are getting involved

While metal prices dropping is certainly making catalytic converters less appealing to thieves, it’s not a long-term fix to the problem, as their value can easily rebound. Tokat, with the LA County DA’s Office, pointed to several new laws, some that are already in effect and another that goes into effect next year, that have the potential to more permanently stomp out theft.

As a legislative advocate for the LA County DA’s Office, Tokat worked on Senate Bill 55, which requires that dealers of both new and used cars etch the vehicle identification number onto the catalytic converter before a car is sold. Stolen catalytic converters have been difficult to trace, Tokat said, but if each one is branded with a specific VIN, they should be easier to locate and identify. That law will go into effect in January 2024.

The new law will add to two others that already went into effect in January 2023. SB 1087 allows the sales of used catalytic converters from only certain specified sellers, including licensed auto dismantlers and repair dealers and anyone who can prove they own the cat. AB 1740 requires businesses such as recyclers buying used catalytic converters to document the purchase by recording the year, make, model and VIN of the car that the converter was removed from. 

Kathryn Winters, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Police Department, said the department doesn’t track catalytic converter theft in the city but presumes the laws will have an impact.

“Anecdotally, I would say state laws that make selling the converters harder would disincentivize their theft and ultimately lead to a downturn on incidents of occurrence,” Winters wrote in an email to SFGATE.