ST. GEORGE —Thefts of catalytic converters have skyrocketed over the last few years across the Beehive state and the rest of the country.

But Utah is joining several states taking steps to try to deter the thefts of these emissions-control devices that are targeted for the precious metals they contain.

Thefts of the exhaust emission control devices have jumped over the past two years as prices for the precious metals they contain have seen a massive upward shift – prices that do not appear to be leveling out any time soon. And having such a pricy device stolen right out from under them can also leave car owners feeling vulnerable.

A catalytic converter is a portion of a car or truck’s exhaust system that works to reduce the output of toxic gases emitted through the vehicle’s exhaust using a number of metals that serve as a catalyst in the process, and three of those precious metals include platinum, palladium and rhodium. One of the reasons these metals are used is their ability to withstand high operating temperatures.

Without this component, the vehicle no longer will filter and reduce harmful emissions, including hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide.

One such vehicle owner reached out to St. George News after the catalytic converter in his vehicle was stolen. Gary Price also told St. George News of a recent string of converter thefts that had taken place in St. George where dozens of converters were stolen over the course of 1-2 days, he said, adding that Southern Utah has not escaped the national trend of a spike in such thefts.

Law enforcement in St. George has noticed this uptick, and officers are dealing with a higher number of converter thefts, including a a recent incident in which more than 30 converters that were removed from several recreational vehicles, as well as from numerous vehicles on one business property. The details of these incidents are limited since the investigation into the string of thefts is still open and ongoing, St. George Police Sgt. Zach Bahlmann told St. George News during an interview on Wednesday.

Bahlmann also said the extensive investigation involves other agencies outside Utah, and detectives are working several leads to identify those responsible.

He went on to explain that detectives are seeing an increase in converter theft numbers that have been on a steady rise over the past two years, and during the first few months of this year, he said, there have been 21 converters stolen during nine different incidents, not including the most recent case involving 30-plus converters.

He also said over the past two years he has been involved in dozens of cases involving catalytic thefts, and at first, officers were seeing a theft here and there. But now multiple converters are stolen within a short period – leading detectives to believe the crimes are being committed by a sophisticated group of individuals “who know what they are doing and they are good at it,” he said.

He also said these types of crimes not only require a great deal of resources on the law enforcement side, but they also affect the residents who often suffer substantial losses in the wake of the thievery.

While a motorist may not know the device has been stolen by looking at the car, they will know as soon as they start the vehicle that something is wrong when they hear a loud roaring sound that gets louder when the engine is revved, since the muffling effect the converter creates has been removed.

The devices are targeted by thieves who can get anywhere from $50 to $300 if they sell the converters to scrap yards, which then sell them to recycling facilities to reclaim the precious metals inside, including platinum, palladium and rhodium. But for the victims, the costs of replacing a stolen catalytic converter easily can exceed $1,000, and if the oxygen sensors also are cut in the process, this can increase repair costs significantly, not to mention the frustration that can result when the car is undrivable for days or weeks as the part is ordered and installed.

Once the converters are stolen, they are taken to a recycling center or shop and are then sold to a facility where the precious metals can be extracted through a smelting process that uses heat to remove the precious metals from the core.

Bruce Wilson, of Dixie Metal and Recycling Center, told St. George News that in the past, they would buy catalytic converters from the private sector, typically when an individual would bring in one converter after purchasing a replacement to make some of their money back by selling the device as scrap metal.

That changed about two years ago or so, Wilson said, after the center started seeing potential sellers bringing in more than one, or several converters, he said. And knowing that catalytic thefts were increasing nationwide, the facility decided to confine their business to wrecking yards or other legitimate facilities with whom the recycling center had a long-standing relationship.

“With everything that was going on,” Wilson said, “it really didn’t make sense to continue taking the cats from anyone other than the facilities we’ve been doing business with for years.”

Rocky Mountain Recycling is still accepting the converters from the general public, the facility’s office manager Miranda Hendrickson told St. George News, adding there are several steps to complete before any transaction is final. Such steps require customers to provide photo identification, their name and all of their current information, as well as the information on the device itself, and a statement of ownership – or information on the device’s origin. This information is maintained by the facility.

Rocky Mountain also is equipped with a security system and cameras, she said, so if there are any problems then the photos and footage can be turned over to police. The facility has implemented other measures to track the devices that are linked to the sellers as well.

Foiling catalytic converter thieves

Trucks and SUVs often are hit by thieves because it’s easy to slide under the vehicle rather than jack it up, and while thieves sometimes unbolt the catalytic converter, more often they just cut the connecting pipes using a battery-operated saw.

Bahlmann said these are “crimes of opportunity,” so removing the lure of a speedy “grab and go”  will cause these burglars to move on to easier prey.

Motorists should be sure to park in the garage, whenever possible, he said, or in well-lit areas that are also well-traveled, since thieves prefer to work under the cover of darkness with no one else around.

He also recommended using a high-temperature fluorescent orange paint, such as those sprayed on barbecue grills, on the catalytic converter and then inscribing the vehicle identification number in the painted surface. This will make it traceable and also make any reputable scrap metal dealer suspicious and decline to buy it.

Price said after his vehicle was hit by thieves, he decided to invest in a protective device that uses aircraft-grade cabling that is routed through and around the converter and then mounted to the chassis or other durable attachment points wherever possible. The cabling is very difficult to cut through, he said, and takes specialized tools. 

Moreover, he said, even if they can cut through the material, it still takes a great deal of time to sever multiple cables at various points, which makes the target less attractive for thieves – “who want to get in and out very quickly,” he said.

Investing in a cable-mounting configuration or device is much cheaper than replacing a catalytic converter, Price added, and is an investment in keeping the vehicle secure.

Some muffler shops can weld such a device to a vehicle. St. George Muffler, uses aircraft-grade cabling or high-strength steel that is wrapped around the converter and then welded to several attachment points on the chassis of the vehicle. The stainless steel cabling is so tough it is virtually impossible to cut through with a Sawzall, for example, owner Jim Allen said.

Allen went on to say the shop is seeing a definite spike in the number of catalytic converter thefts from the calls they are getting from customers who need to have the devices replaced. He added that the thefts are taking place in front of the customer’s homes, businesses and while their vehicles are being stored, and so on.

He even had a call from a customer who said the converter was stolen from his vehicle parked at a fast-food restaurant on River Road.

He also said that many customers request the stainless steel cabling assembly to be welded around the new device when they bring their car in to have the replacement part installed, which is keeping his son, David Sullivan, the primary installer of the devices very busy.

Allen further explains the aircraft-grade cabling in the video shown at the top of this report.

Another option is to have the converter covered by a stainless steel covering that is welded to the chassis, which completely covers the device and would be very difficult to cut through. It would be virtually impossible to remove the device from underneath a parked vehicle, Mike Mueller with Red Rock Automotive on Sunset Boulevard told St. George News, adding that such a service is available at the shop on Sunset Boulevard.

Utah is one of a dozen states to pass legislation to stem the tide of catalytic converter theft by implementing additional penalties for catalytic converter theft and mandating  more regulation of the device that is also designed to reduce the number of illegal sales.

Catalytic converters and noble metals 

Catalytic converters are only as good as the metals they contain; these are known as “noble metals” and are some of the finest materials on the planet.

Platinum, palladium and rhodium are three of the six Platinum Group of Metals, or PGEs, which also include osmium, iridium and ruthenium. They are used because of their efficiency; it takes a smaller amount to provide catalytic activation than lower metals. Since they do not react to oxygen easily, they act as an effective catalyst and are resistant to corrosion and oxidation and are also more thermally resistant than other metals, making them effective even at lower temperatures.

The amount of expensive metals used in the catalytic manufacturing process is kept at a minimum by plating the surface of a honeycomb structure using platinum and palladium, which are good catalysts to reduce harmful emissions. Rhodium far exceeds both metals because it does not produce as much ammonia, an element that is naturally converted into nitric oxide.

Though platinum is commonly associated with fine jewelry, more than half of all platinum in the U.S. is used in the manufacturing of catalytic converters.

Palladium is used as catalytic converters because it converts up to 90% of harmful gases from auto exhaust into less harmful substances, including carbon dioxide, nitrogen and water.

Rhodium is silver-white in color, making it highly reflective and strongly resistant to corrosion. It is considered the rarest and most valuable precious metal in the world — far more so than gold or platinum. In fact, the current price of rhodium is more than $20,250 per ounce, compared with gold, which is $1,930 per ounce, according to Metalary. 

Rhodium is used primarily (90% of the time) to manufacture catalytic converters  because it oxidizes all gases, including carbon monoxide, nitric oxide, hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide.

The U.S. gets most of its rhodium from South Africa, but other sources include the Norilsk Complex in Russia, which is also the largest global producer of palladium and the second largest producer of platinum, behind South Africa. The uncertainty surrounding the events in the Ukraine has only served to drive prices further upwards, according to Precious Metals Investing News. 

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