After returning from a month-long trip, an Ontario woman was shocked to find the catalytic converter in her vehicle had been stolen while it was parked in a fenced lot at Toronto Pearson International Airport.
When Etobicoke resident Jennifer Servos Jones and her family travelled to Grenada to visit with relatives for a month, they decided their SUV might be safer parked in a fenced Park N' Fly lot near the airport.
But when they returned home and picked up their vehicle, they were shocked at how loud their Mitsubishi SUV was when it started up.
Jennifer Servos Jones alongside her family.
“When I started it, it sounded more like a motorcycle than a family car. It was extremely loud,” Servos Jones told CTV News Toronto Thursday.
Her 2020 Mitsubishi SUV's catalytic converter had been stolen.
Thieves are stealing catalytic converters from vehicles parked in driveways, dealerships and now they appear to be stealing them from from parking lots near airports.
Criminals cut off the converters which are designed to help reduce pollution from vehicle's exhaust systems because they contain precious metals like platinum, rhodium and palladium thieves sell on the black market.
Upon learning of the incident, Park’n Fly told Servos Jones they would pay for the month of parking and agreed to pay her insurance deductible.
Frank DeCesare, Vice President, Marketing & Sales with Park’N Fly told CTV News in a statement, “We take the security of our customers’ vehicles seriously. Our parking lots are fenced-in compounds that are only accessible via gated entry. All lots are patrolled and accessed by our staff on a 24/7 basis, to move vehicles between our safe and secure off lots.”
“Park’N Fly transported Jennifer and her family safely home, and at no time was Jennifer going to be out of pocket for any incidentals associated with the incident,” they said.
Servos Jones said the cost to replace the catalytic converter for her vehicle was going to be $8,000 and there was a three month delay to get the parts.
When Servos Jones contacted CTV News Toronto, she was concerned when her rental coverage ran out, she would be responsible for the cost of a rental as her coverage only allowed for a rental for about two weeks, but her SUV might not be ready for three months.
“I'm in a rental but my coverage for that will be running out in a couple of weeks and after that I’m on the hook until I get my car back,” she said.
Kelsey Hawke, an insurance expert at RatesDotCa, an insurance comparison website said that parts delays and a lack of rental cars mean other drivers are also in the same situation.
"These are the longest claims delays we have seen in the industry so this is occurring pretty regularly where people find they didn't have adequate rental coverage," Hawke said.
CTV News Toronto reached out to Mitsubishi Motors Canada on Servos Jones behalf and Michelle Lee-Gracey, Senior Manager, Communications Strategy with Mitsubishi said they were able to source a catalytic converter from a recent cancelled job.
“We have advised the customer that they should be receiving the part tomorrow. It is unfortunate we are having this industry-wide issue. We will continue to work with any impacted customers to receive parts as soon as possible and reach satisfying solutions,” they said.
Servos Jones was relieved to know she will get her SUV back tomorrow and will not have to worry about being out of pocket for a rental car.
“I’m so pleased that they were able to fast track the parts. It will be a relief to get our vehicle back,” she said.
Fourteen of the 15 boxes recovered from former U.S. President Donald Trump's Florida estate early this year contained classified documents, many of them top secret, mixed in with miscellaneous newspapers, magazines and personal correspondence, according to an FBI affidavit released Friday.
A group affiliated with the Freedom Convoy had a deal fall through to purchase a historic Ottawa church because they failed to make multiple payments to the owner, according to court documents obtained by CTV News.
NATO's secretary-general is commending Canada on its investments in northern defence systems, but also says it’s important Canada deliver on its promises to spend two per cent of its GDP on defence to meet its commitments to the alliance.
Australian police have seized an estimated $140 million in drugs hidden inside a vintage Bentley that was shipped from Canada.
Hundreds of BC Ferries passengers were stranded on the water for hours Thursday night and several trips were cancelled Friday after a major police incident aboard a ship.
A Statistics Canada report showed Canadians’ average weekly earnings increased 3.5 per cent in June 2022 compared with the same month last year. But wages are still less than half of the inflation rate which stands at 7.6 per cent.
A Bell Media executive is taking a leave from his job amid the fallout from the ousting of Lisa LaFlamme as anchor of the company's flagship newscast.
The Montreal Alouettes say fullback Christophe Normand has been suspended pending the outcome of a luring investigation.
A Canadian climber fell to his death in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington state earlier this week, officials said Thursday.
The Montreal Alouettes say fullback Christophe Normand has been suspended pending the outcome of a luring investigation.
Amid criticism that Montreal is defunding its police service, Mayor Valerie Plante came out Friday in defence of her administration's use of public funds, which she says are exemplary.
As school begins for most Quebec students, some school boards and service centres in the Montreal area are still ironing out details for school bus transportation.
Costco stores are known for their large portions and oversized shopping carts, and soon the big box retailer’s stake in south London will also get up-sized.
After a morning of legal wrangling, a Strathroy woman entered guilty pleas in connection with a drunk driving crash that killed an eight-year-old girl.
A 17-year-old driver has been charged following an investigation into a fatal crash north of Goderich, Ont. last month.
This week marks six months since Russia invaded Ukraine, forcing millions of Ukrainians to flee their country. Almost immediately, communities around the world answered the call to take in those who were forced out, and Waterloo region was no expectation.
A cyclist has been sent to hospital with life threatening injuries after a crash just outside of Stratford.
A process that usually takes weeks has turned into a months-long wait for international students looking to attend post-secondary institutions for school.
A former administrator at St. Charles College has been charged with criminal negligence for not acting on complaints from students.
Greater Sudbury Police say a 56-year-old teacher charged in June with sexual assault is in more legal trouble.
After 46 years of caring for animals, Sheena McKeegan, owner of Nor-Ont Veterinarian Hospital in Sudbury, has retired.
A group affiliated with the Freedom Convoy failed to make $100,000 in payments as part of the conditional sale of a former Ottawa church, new court documents show.
Fatal collision on highway 401 in South Dundas township.
The owner of an Ottawa-based auction house has been charged with fraud and possessing stolen property after allegedly stealing items from several customers.
At 6:13 p.m. Friday, residents of Wheatley flipped on a lighthouse — marking one year, down to the minute, that an explosion rocked the core of their community.
Friday Aug. 26, 2022, marks the one-year anniversary of the explosion that rocked the small fishing community in Southwestern Ontario.
A constitutional rights group has launched a legal challenge against the federal government’s requirement that travellers to Canada use the ArriveCan app and unvaccinated travellers quarantine for 14 days.
A Newmarket, Ont. man claims he was offered a job that was snatched away before being offered a second time, which he alleges was a case of discrimination due to his disability.
Residents in a quiet Alliston neighbourhood woke up Friday to a heavy police presence with yellow tape sectioning a road amid reports of gunshots.
Sports cars will descend upon the small beach-side town to perform smokey burn-outs and donuts in private parking lots.
Horizon Health is asking people not to visit the emergency rooms at two hospitals in New Brunswick this weekend, unless their medical needs are life-threatening.
Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health says he is concerned the public has become too complacent about COVID-19.
The deadline for the final report of the public inquiry into the 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting has been extended five months and is now expected by March 31, 2023.
Police on Thursday made an arrest in a recent shooting that left one Calgarian dead and another in hospital.
Anti-poverty advocacy groups and the NDP opposition are calling on the provincial government, which is anticipating a budget surplus, to lift up Albertans struggling with poverty .
Police are investigating after around 300 memorial plaques were removed from a northwest Calgary cemetery.
A Winnipeg woman wants to know why she wasn't allowed to be with her friend who was waiting for care at Health Sciences Centre (HSC) Adult Emergency.
Winnipeg police are searching for a teenaged suspect now wanted in connection to two homicides after the victim of a random attack in Point Douglas died in hospital.
After a lifetime of eyeing the sky, a woman from Opaskwayak Cree Nation has made history.
Before this week, 21-year-old paramedic Sara Stone had never assisted in an emergency birth. That all changed when a frantic family pulled up beside her on Tuesday.
Authorities believe a truck driver is dead after a tanker loaded with "a large quantity of flammable liquids" crashed in Northern B.C., shutting down a major highway.
Canadian rock band Nickelback has put out an open call for "friends and fans" to participate in a music video shoot for an upcoming single.
Roger Bilodeau, 58, was found guilty of manslaughter in the deaths of Jacob Sansom and Maurice Cardinal in May.
A west Edmonton composting company must stop operating after it was denied a court application to extend permission to remain open.
Police are investigating the suspicious death of a man in west Edmonton on Friday.
© 2022 All rights reserved. Use of this Website assumes acceptance of Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy