--- title: Why Your Toyota Prius Could Make You a Theft Target description: Unlike the Tesla Model S battery, the Toyota Prius battery is light and easy enough for thieves to steal in 20 minutes. authors: - name: Susie Poppick url: https://money.com/author/susie-poppick/ at_money_since: 2013 articles: 117 covers: - Shopping - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Personal Finance - Retirement - Taxes - Technology social: - https://x.com/susiepoppick former_staff: true published: '2015-05-20T15:04:52.000Z' modified: '2015-05-20T15:04:52.000Z' section: Shopping tags: - Autos - battery - California - Car Theft - cars - Prius - pubdesk - San Francisco - theft - Toyota word_count: 227 canonical: https://money.com/toyota-prius-battery-theft-tesla-model-s/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![JAPAN-AUTO-TOYOTA](https://img.money.com/2015/05/459923494.jpg) *An employee fixes a main battery of the hybrid system in Toyota Motor's Prius.* Hybrid cars are increasingly the target of theft, thanks to lightweight batteries that are easy to steal—at least for thieves who know what they're doing. \[time-related-module\] Toyota Prius drivers in San Francisco seem to be getting the worst of it, a California *ABC* affiliate [reports](http://abc7news.com/news/exclusive-car-battery-thefts-from-hybrid-cars-on-the-rise-in-san-francisco-/725532/), with several thefts across the city in recent months. Though there's a serious risk of electrocution, thieves in the area have succeeded in quickly cutting cables attached to the 200-volt batteries, then removing them within about 20 minutes. Prius batteries can go for as much as $1,000 on Craigslist, a tidy profit given the speed of the job. Unfortunately for Prius drivers, replacing a stolen battery can cost about $3,000—and once you account for the cost of other repairs, like replacing broken windows, the final bill could be as high as [$10,000](http://abc7news.com/news/exclusive-car-battery-thefts-from-hybrid-cars-on-the-rise-in-san-francisco-/725532/). Buying a used battery online might be cheaper, but then you can't be sure of just how used it is (or whether it was come by honestly). Despite the risks involved, what makes the theft relatively easy is portability: The battery in the Prius weighs only about 150 pounds. Compare that to the [Tesla Model S battery](http://www.teslarati.com/tesla-model-s-weight/), which weighs more than 1,000 pounds. If you own a Prius, there are a few steps you can take to prevent theft, including [replacing](http://arstechnica.com/cars/2015/05/toyota-prius-batteries-being-targeted-by-car-thieves/) the bolts fastening down your battery with tamper-proof ones. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/toyota-prius-battery-theft-tesla-model-s/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Shopping", "item": "https://money.com/shopping/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Vehicles", "item": "https://money.com/vehicles/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Why Your Toyota Prius Could Make You a Theft Target" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/toyota-prius-battery-theft-tesla-model-s/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/toyota-prius-battery-theft-tesla-model-s/", "name": "Why Your Toyota Prius Could Make You a Theft Target", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2015-05-20T15:04:52.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/toyota-prius-battery-theft-tesla-model-s/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/toyota-prius-battery-theft-tesla-model-s/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2015-05-20T15:04:52.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "Why Your Toyota Prius Could Make You a Theft Target", "articleSection": "Shopping", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2015/05/459923494.jpg", "width": 4928, "height": 3280, "caption": "JAPAN-AUTO-TOYOTA" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Susie Poppick", "url": "https://money.com/author/susie-poppick/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/susie-poppick/#author", "image": "https://img.money.com/2014/05/14-05-21_bio_author_poppick.jpg?quality=85&w=190&h=190&crop=1", "email": "susie_poppick@moneymail.com", "sameAs": [ "https://x.com/susiepoppick" ] } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2015-05-20T15:04:52.000Z", "description": "Unlike the Tesla Model S battery, the Toyota Prius battery is light and easy enough for thieves to steal in 20 minutes.", "abstract": "Unlike the Tesla Model S battery, the Toyota Prius battery is light and easy enough for thieves to steal in 20 minutes.", "@id": "https://money.com/toyota-prius-battery-theft-tesla-model-s/", "inLanguage": "en-US", "dateModified": "2015-05-20T15:04:52.000Z", "wordCount": 227, "keywords": [ "Autos", "battery", "California", "Car Theft", "cars", "Prius", "pubdesk", "San Francisco", "theft", "Toyota" ], "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Shopping", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopping" ] }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Vehicle", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle" ] } ] } ] } ```