The rate of catalytic converter theft is on the rise across the country, and the Porsche Cayenne is one of many vehicles liable to be targeted by thieves.
Stealing catalytic converters has become a source of income for some. Don’t worry, though! There are a few methods you can use to better protect your catalytic converter—like purchasing a theft-prevention device or marking the converter with your VIN.
Here, we’ll go over how to lower your risk of theft, how to proceed if your converter gets stolen, and what kind of car insurance
will cover the repair costs. Is it easy to steal the catalytic converter from a Porsche Cayenne?
We wish it weren’t so, but yes, it’s pretty easy to steal a Cayenne’s catalytic converter (aka cat or cat con). Most recent Cayenne models have four catalytic converters—two in the exhaust system and two in the engine manifold.
Virtually all SUVs are at risk of having their catalytic converters stolen, no matter the make or model year. The cats in the exhaust system of the Porsche Cayenne are the most vulnerable to theft since they are relatively easy to get to beneath the vehicle.
The fact that the Cayenne has pretty good ground clearance
doesn’t help, either. A bandit could probably remove the cat without having to jack the vehicle up first. This is why other SUVs are targeted, too, like the Range Rover Sport
and Audi Q7
. Top Porsche Cayenne years that catalytic converter thieves target
Pretty much every Cayenne manufactured in 2002 up to the present would be a viable target for an enterprising cat-con thief.
Part of the reason for this is the Cayenne’s continued use of a dual exhaust system. This means that there are two catalytic converters underneath the car as opposed to one.
Also at heightened risk are hybrid Cayenne models, since they use cats with a higher concentration of precious metals.
Why are Porsche Cayenne catalytic converters stolen?
To the layman, a catalytic converter might seem like nothing more than a weird-looking, dirty piece of pipe. But the reality is that it contains valuable rare metals.
These metals—platinum, palladium, and rhodium—are used in catalytic converters because they create a strong barrier that is capable of filtering out harmful elements from your Cayenne’s exhaust fumes. Recently, these metals have exploded even further in value, to the extent that stealing even the trace amounts found in cat cons has become a lucrative (if illegitimate) business.
Let’s take a look at what the metals in your Cayenne’s catalytic converter are worth, as of March 2022:
Platinum: $1,128 per ounce
Palladium: $2,938 per ounce
Rhodium: $20,000 per ounce
Naturally, there is much less than an ounce of these metals in your catalytic converter, but this is somewhat counterbalanced by how easy it is to steal them. The Cayenne’s 7- to 9-inch ground clearance makes it a simple matter for a thieving brigand to slide under your car, slice through the pipes holding your exhaust system in place, and disappear into the night with your cat con under their arm.
Porsche catalytic converter replacement cost
Besides the questionable ethics, there is another factor that makes a stolen catalytic converter a serious problem: RepairPal currently puts the average cost to replace a Porsche Cayenne cat between $3,378 and $3,481.
You can save a little money by using an aftermarket replacement part, but this is going to be an expensive repair no matter how you slice it.
How to prevent catalytic converter theft from a Porsche Cayenne
If things keep going at the current rate, catalytic converter theft will continue to be a problem well into the future. To compensate, let’s go over a few methods you can use to better protect one of your car’s more expensive parts:
Park in a secure area
The simplest way to protect your vehicle is also one of the most effective ways—parking in a brightly-lit area or a parking garage. This should deter all but the most audacious thieves.
If you’re parking at home, you could install some motion-activated lights above the driveway or simply park beneath the safe glow of a streetlight. Thieves tend to prefer going unnoticed, so make your vehicle as plainly visible as possible.
Buy a theft-prevention device
If you don’t mind parting with a little cash, you could purchase an anti-theft device to better protect your catalytic converter. We would be remiss if we didn’t mention the Catstrap™.
A Catstrap
is a bright orange band that covers your exhaust pipes. It’s filled with sliding steel cables that are almost impossible to saw through, meaning that nobody will be detaching your cat con from the rest of your car anytime soon. It requires no tools to install and can be easily attached in less than half an hour.
If you like the sound of that, check out some of Catstrap’s other theft-prevention devices, like the motion-activated alarm
that screams like an air raid siren if it detects movement under your vehicle. Ouch! 
4.7/5 rating on the App Store | Trusted by 5+ million customers and 7 million cars4.7/5 app rating | Trusted by 5M+ drivers Etch your VIN on the catalytic converter
This method is a little more indirect. But engraving your vehicle identification number (VIN) on your catalytic converter makes it much harder to sell since it can be traced back to a specific car.
The National Insurance Crime Bureau regularly hosts catalytic converter etching events. If there isn’t an event near you anytime soon, you can always bring your Cayenne to a local muffler shop to get marked.
Invest in comprehensive insurance
Having good insurance won’t do anything to actively prevent your catalytic converter from being stolen, but what it will do is shield you from having to pay intimidating repair costs.
You can only file a claim for a stolen part if you have comprehensive insurance
, though. If you don’t have it, you’re on your own when it comes to paying for a replacement. It might not seem like it, but adding full-coverage insurance
to your policy is one of the best ways to protect yourself against catalytic converter theft. What to do if your Porsche Cayenne’s catalytic converter is stolen
In the unfortunate event that your catalytic converter gets stolen, your first course of action should be to call the police. Depending on where the theft occurred, they might be able to find some security footage to help identify the culprit.
Otherwise, the officers on the scene will proceed to file a police report. You’ll need a copy of that report for the next step: contacting your insurance company. If you have comprehensive coverage, you will be able to file a claim for the theft.
From there, your insurance company should schedule an appointment with a mechanic while also covering the cost of a replacement catalytic converter. You’ll have to pay your deductible before your insurance kicks in, but it will be much less than the actual repair cost.
If you don’t have comprehensive coverage, you’ll have to replace the cat and pay for it out of your own pocket.
Can you drive a Porsche Cayenne without a catalytic converter?
You can but you shouldn’t drive a Porsche Cayenne without a catalytic converter (at least for very long).
For one thing, driving without a catalytic converter will affect your car’s performance—rough acceleration, loud engine noise, and pungent exhaust smells are all possible. Furthermore, missing even one catalytic converter is a surefire way to fail an emissions test, which is a real problem if you live somewhere where emissions testing is part of the vehicle registration
process. To top it all off, your vehicle will be constantly spewing harmful emissions into the atmosphere without a cat con to filter out the most toxic elements. So frankly, you need to have working catalytic converters for the Earth’s sake, as well as your own.
“Because I have a luxury car, I was more interested in finding better coverage than the exact price. Jerry
helped me upgrade my policy, and when my record is cleared next year, I will be using Jerry again to choose an even cheaper plan!” —Paige W.
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