‘It’s a great big mess’: Catalytic converter thefts rampant in the Bay Area – By Michelle Robertson (SFGATE) / Nov 7 2021
In October, rushing out the door to get to an interview, I started my car, a 2003 Honda Accord, and heard a terrifying noise. It sounded like someone had replaced my engine with jet blasters.
I knew the sound immediately. Just a few weeks earlier, my former roommate’s catalytic converter was stolen a few blocks from our San Francisco apartment, and I had heard the same rumbling sound. A quick look under the Honda proved what I already knew to be true: My catalytic converter was a goner.
A Honda dealer quoted me $5,000 to replace the catalytic converter, a necessary vehicular component that controls the engine’s release of exhaust gases. In simpler terms, you need a catalytic converter to pass your annual smog check.
