Cat Security™ - Catalytic Converter Protection shield, Fits - Toyota Prius 2016-2022

The Cap City Catalytic Armor kit is incomplete. And the information is spotty and incomplete.The exhaust tunnel on the Prius Gen4 is supposed to have either 1, 2, or 3 horizontal aluminum struts. My car had zero.You need to buy Toyota Part: 57566-47030 $87 strut x2 plus 4 mounting bolts for each strut.Two mounting struts allow you to anchor and secure the front and back of the plate.The Toyota Struts are necessary and critical to the installation. Cap City fails to tell you this up front.The strut bolt sites are hidden by the plastic lateral undersurface panels that need to be removed. It is tricky, involved and extensive. That increases the complexity and skill required.The plate is then drilled directly into the struts. It is solid and durable.It is like screwing planks to a beam.Use alternate security screws and rivets to prevent easy removal.You may need to add locking washers and flat washers to the screw heads.The Prius vehicle clearance is low. 6 inch ramps may not be adequate. You may need a jack stand or overhead rack.Parts added up to :$135 for the Cap City Plate + $174 for two Toyota Struts + $15 for Toyota Bolts and Screw Hardware = $ 325 Parts. Add $150 labor => $475. TOTALManufacturer Suggestion to Improve your Product:Integrate two aluminum spanners at the top and bottom of your shield. Use square or rectangular aluminum framing welded to your current plate.Have predrilled holes that correspond to the Prius undercarriage holes.So all it would take is 8 large bolts to mount.And forget about the mounting screws.It would cost about $40 more in metal and $20 to weld the aluminum frame to the plate.And it would save the customer almost $200 to mount it and it could be done in less than 30 minutes.

I went to a muffler shop, and they charged $80 for the installation and extra stuff that was needed. It took less than an hour to do. Fit my 2021 Prius perfectly.

I ordered the part and had our family mechanic service install it. It took less than a half hour once they took my car in. They said it was easy.When I had put out feelers on this, the service department at the local Toyota dealer had been flaky. They never heard of a catalytic converter anti-theft device and kept telling me I would have to go to their body shop because it required welding (it doesn’t, but they wouldn’t believe me). I felt like they were going to end up giving me a hassle and charging me a lot of money. Glad I bought the part myself and gave some business to the locals.

The only problem is the manual... I had to look you tube to get more information how to do...

To say we were amazed at how light it is, is a major understatement. However, the installer assured us it is the right product and will protect our car from having its catalytic converter & muffler stolen. Since we only have one car at this time, it is important that it be running and not in the shop waiting for a new part. It is very nice to get in the car and start the motor with confidence that we won't hear the horrible noise associated with a missing muffler. Well worth the cost of the item and the installation!

The shield shipped quickly and arrived as described. It was fairly easy to install since I already had the cross braces in place, see the before pic, even with one of the braces banged up a bit. (My Prius identifies as a Jeep). :-)I used the supplied rivets but different security screws. The supplied one way screws would mean that I would have to drill or grind off all 8 fasteners if I ever needed to work on the exhaust. The screws I used can be removed with a specific bit. So I would only need to drill out the rivets.Overall the installation was straightforward and took about 30 to 40 minutes.Only time will tell if it was a good investment.

This is pretty expensive for a piece of metal, but it's cheaper than having your catalytic converter replaced.This is not a user-installable item (unless you're a mechanic). My local mechanic charged me $110-130 for each of the three Priuses I took in.My mechanic warned me before installing that this product covers only one of the two catalytic converters in my Prius. I called the manufacturer and they said that thieves target only one of the CC's, the one that this shield covers. However, that's explained exactly nowhere in the product description, user manual, or manufacturer website.My mechanic also said that the included fasteners were the wrong size but he had proper fasteners and used those. For what you pay, you expect to get the right fasteners in the box.

It has 2 rivets, 2 self tapping screws, and 2 flat head screws. If the owner or a shop ever needs to service the vehicle in the cat area, the screw will need to be broken or drilled out. The installation is not too hard, but make sure you have your car in jack stands to avoid injuries because the car is really low.