The Nine Most Commonly Stolen Car Parts (and How to Protect Them)
Car theft is a traumatic experience, and depressingly common. Although car theft rates are declining nationwide, more than 850,000 vehicles were still stolen in 2024. If you’ve ever woken up to find your car gone (I haven’t!), you know it’s not fun.
But thieves don’t always target the entire vehicle. It’s often easier and less risky to steal a specific part from your car or truck. Many of these parts are relatively easy to access, easy to remove and sell, and the profit can be very lucrative for a busy, organized criminal. If your car is ever parked outdoors (especially overnight), it can be targeted for a surprisingly long list of specific parts. The good news is that you can protect every part of your car with a little forethought and a few security gadgets.
Catalytic converters
Ever since catalytic converters became widely used in the 1970s, thieves have targeted them. They’re a perfect storm for thieves: affordable, relatively easy to remove, and valuable due to the mix of precious metals inside them (including palladium, platinum, and rhodium). Thieves know they can get anywhere from $250 to $800 for a catalytic converter, depending on what car it was stolen from. That’s why about 64,000 catalytic converters were stolen in 2022 alone.
How to Stop Thieves: The best thing you can do is install an anti-theft device, like Catstrap . This is a strip of steel tape that is glued along the entire length of your exhaust system, making it nearly impossible for thieves to cut the pipes to steal the converter. You can also consider etching the identification information on the converter to make it difficult to sell on the black market. The downside to this approach is that thieves may not notice the etching until they remove the converter.
Wheels
Your car’s wheels and tires are prime targets for theft. Tires can be removed from your car in a very short period of time and can be sold very easily, especially since tires – especially high-quality tires – can cost up to $1,000 a piece .
How to Stop Thieves: The best option is to install the correct model of locking lug nuts , like these . They will make it much more difficult for thieves to remove the wheels with standard tools. With a little effort and special tools, they can be defeated, but there is a chance that the thief will simply move on to another car with wheels that are easier to steal.
Batteries
A standard car battery in a gasoline-powered vehicle isn’t worth much — usually less than 20 cents a pound. But batteries are also incredibly easy to steal, so thieves sometimes scour the area to steal as many batteries as possible to make the payout worth their time. Batteries in a hybrid vehicle can be worth more, and batteries in an electric vehicle can be very, very valuable — but they’re also much harder to steal .
How to Stop Thieves: Installing a battery lock bracket is easy, cheap, and fairly effective. Since battery thieves don’t make much money off batteries, any additional barrier will likely be fairly effective in stopping them.
Rear doors
Yes, believe it or not, thieves are after your truck’s tailgate. This is especially true if you have a Toyota Tacoma , because that model’s tailgates are incredibly easy to detach — they’re literally designed to be easily removed. But any truck tailgate is a target, because they’re all relatively easy to remove, and these days your tailgate contains a ton of high-tech equipment (cameras, sensors, etc.) that can be removed for resale.
How to Stop Thieves: You can install a tailgate lock for your make and model (like this one for Tacoma owners who have a hard time).
Airbags
An estimated 50,000 airbags are stolen in the U.S. each year. They are valuable, selling for as little as $200 on the black market, making them attractive to thieves. Thieves typically target car dealerships or other locations where cars are left unattended in accessible parking lots, but cars parked on the street are also targeted.
How to Stop Thieves: The best way to stop airbag theft is to lock your car when you park it and park it in a safe place, like a garage. If that’s not possible, using a “stick” steering wheel lock can be effective, as it makes it physically difficult to access the driver’s side airbag. Of course, this won’t stop thieves from stealing the passenger side airbag, but cutting their profits in half may encourage them to move on.
License plates
Thieves steal number plates because they’re an easy way to hide a vehicle. Sometimes they’re installed on stolen cars, sometimes they’re used to avoid paying taxes, but the fact that they’re generally easy to steal and very difficult to track makes them popular targets. In fact, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) notes that number plate theft is growing rapidly — up 45% between 2019 and 2022 alone .
How to stop thieves: Replacing the rusty standard screws that hold your license plates with tamper-resistant screws will do the trick. These screws require special hardware to attach or detach them, and screw covers are included to make access even more difficult.
Side mirrors
You might think that your side mirrors are just mirrors, and who cares if they get stolen? Ah, but modern side mirrors have a lot of technology inside them, especially on luxury cars, including blind spot sensors, defrost systems, and cameras. Believe it or not, some mirrors can cost over $2,000 apiece !
How to Stop Thieves: If your side mirrors are powered, folding them while you park can make it harder for thieves to get to them. You can also look for anti-theft mirror guards (like these ) for your make and model, which add a layer of security to the mirror to deter thieves.
Third row of seats
If you have a truck or SUV with a removable third row of seats, you should know that they are increasingly being stolen . The reason third-row seats are a target is the same reason everything gets stolen: They cost thousands of dollars to replace.
How to Stop Thieves: The best way to prevent your truck’s third-row seat from being stolen is to secure it with a bike lock. The specific lock that will work depends on how your third-row seat attaches and detaches, but all you need to do is lock it in place. It takes away some convenience, but it’s a lot better than having kids riding in the cab while you drive.
Icons
People have been stealing car badges and hood ornaments for decades, often simply to collect them or as minor acts of vandalism. But these days, these emblems can actually contain a lot of expensive technology. Modern Volkswagens, for example, often embed cruise control sensors into the hood emblem. This makes these badges a lot more valuable than you might think, and thieves are certainly aware of their added value.
How to Stop Thieves: It’s very difficult to stop someone from removing an emblem, badge, or decoration from your car. If you can access the back where they’re attached, you can try using wire or zip ties to secure them more securely, but if you can access them, so can thieves. The best defense is to park your car in a safe place whenever possible.