Blinker Issues

[Moghedian]

So I was in some slow moving traffic today when i needed to change lanes and ran into some trouble. There is no side blinker on the Versa, therefore the car next to me had no idea I was trying to get over until I cut him off. Unless he is in front of me and can see the one to the inside of my headlight <lousy placement imo> or my taillight, the driver next to me has no clue. I'm interested in putting something like what VW's have, a nice tasteful light on the 1/4 panel up front. Just wondering if others have had this problem, and if so, how it was overcome.

[biggie]

You would drive down your resale value by putting something like that on. Ruining the panel.

Maybe something on the side mirror or something that could be replaced easily.

[robj80]

I disagree you biggie. If done correctly the next buyer of the vehicle would not even know it wasn't factory equipment. I really don't think a side marker is going to drive down resale. Now if he threw altezza's on the back or chEapBay headlights on it might.

The tiida over seas has the fenders with the lights already. Nissan really should have added these to the US market.

Here is an odd pic I found on the internet, it's showing a US style versa with side markers? I'm thinking the Euro left hand drive vehicles all look like this and across the pond get the side markers.

[Red Devil]

I disagree you biggie. If done correctly the next buyer of the vehicle would not even know it wasn't factory equipment. I really don't think a side marker is going to drive down resale. Now if he threw altezza's on the back or chEapBay headlights on it might.

The tiida over seas has the fenders with the lights already. Nissan really should have added these to the US market.

Here is an odd pic I found on the internet, it's showing a US style versa with side markers? I'm thinking the Euro left hand drive vehicles all look like this and across the pond get the side markers.

Except when they look at every other USDM V and realize they didn't come with them. Not to mention you have to wire them in which isn't something to be taken lightly. Last thing anyone needs is an electrical fire followed by a lawsuit because you couldn't wait for the car directly next to you to pass so the car behind it could give you space to merge.

[robj80]

I gaurantee you would not even notice them. No one is going to say "hey that versa has side markers". I bet you would think it was a dealer option you just didn't get if done right.

As far as an electrical fire wiring in some side markers, that just seems silly. There are tons of aftermarket lights, fog lights, leds, under neon kits etc. . . Adding lights to your car is nothing new and never have I heard of someone setting themselves or the car's passing them on fire. If you are not comfortable with wiring then go to a radio shop. If you are not comfortable cutting your fender for placing the light then go to a body shop.

Nissan put them on there in every other country except for ours. Why who knows but adding them now "tastefully" has zero negatives IMHO.

[biggie]

I gaurantee you would not even notice them. No one is going to say "hey that versa has side markers". I bet you would think it was a dealer option you just didn't get if done right.

As far as an electrical fire wiring in some side markers, that just seems silly. There are tons of aftermarket lights, fog lights, leds, under neon kits etc. . . Adding lights to your car is nothing new and never have I heard of someone setting themselves or the car's passing them on fire. If you are not comfortable with wiring then go to a radio shop. If you are not comfortable cutting your fender for placing the light then go to a body shop.

Nissan put them on there in every other country except for ours. Why who knows but adding them now "tastefully" has zero negatives IMHO.

You are assuming 'dumb' car buyers, I always assume a car buyer is going to be as knowledgable as myself or more-so. Therefore I'd be looking for a stock car or at least something that is easily is returned to stock.

But if doing this and sure you're going to keep it forever, then all of this isn't an issue.

[Red Devil]

I gaurantee you would not even notice them. No one is going to say "hey that versa has side markers". I bet you would think it was a dealer option you just didn't get if done right.

As far as an electrical fire wiring in some side markers, that just seems silly. There are tons of aftermarket lights, fog lights, leds, under neon kits etc. . . Adding lights to your car is nothing new and never have I heard of someone setting themselves or the car's passing them on fire. If you are not comfortable with wiring then go to a radio shop. If you are not comfortable cutting your fender for placing the light then go to a body shop.

Nissan put them on there in every other country except for ours. Why who knows but adding them now "tastefully" has zero negatives IMHO.

It's one thing if the hookups are there, it's another if you have to go splicing wires. I don't think you give the general public enough credit. It's noticeable when you look at a USDM V and a world market V as far as the sidemarkers go.

[robj80]

We just just differ in oppinions here. I have wired gauges into my g20 with lights and had no issues. And I paid a radio shop to wire a new MAF harness on. So wiring is the least of worries here. If you need plug and play for everything then the aftermarket stereo business would have died years ago. And as far as people noticing it's all good. They look great and have a useful purpose. It looks like a dealer installed item, hell you can even get "nissan" lights.

[Moghedian]

Man, I'm sure glad everyone expressed their opinions on a mod I haven't even performed yet.

People putting down good ideas for being different aside, I was asking if anyone had done it, or had attempted it.

Anyone who has an opinion on the matter and not some direction to head in with, please keep your comments to yourselves. If I decide to do it, and I post pics, THEN you may feel free to comment on it. Thnx.

[BlueMango]

Relax a little. While I don't agree with everyone's method I will say that most have valid reasons to be careful about attempting this type of alteration: electrical short/fire, ruining the panel, making sure you go to a professional to get it done right.

My question is: Is it really necessary to do this. It seems that the versas have to blinking lights on the headlight. One towards the center of the car and one on the outside. Note photo:

Is yours different?

[Moghedian]

Yes, the one on the outside is a reflector, not a blinker. Therefore, someone from the side has no idea I'm signaling.

[robj80]

Problem solved! and you don't even have to modify your car.

I just went out to check my sedan as I was curious if the tail lights had signals on the side but sure enough it doesn't. I am definately installing side markers on my car as I see this is a safety issue and I think nissan dropped the ball. Nissan should have made that reflector a "blinker".

[DrivingHabit]

Its sad, now these days most if not all people driving out there don't even use blinkers unless of course sometimes they will use their blinker if either turning at a stop sign or stop light or they always looking back or around for the cops.

One tip to point out is to always inspect your vehicle before any driving checking the blinkers / headlights are working properly for example. but then again we live in a busy fast paced world when people don't even to check and just hop in their vehicle.
Modified by DrivingHabit at 5:00 PM 5/12/2009

[Red Devil]

Yes, the one on the outside is a reflector, not a blinker. Therefore, someone from the side has no idea I'm signaling.

If someone from the side is that far up that they can't see your taillight turn signal then you have no business trying to merge over in the first place.

Either wait for them to pass and then merge or speed up and pass them. Not trying to bash you or anything. It's just that if they can't see your taillights because they are that far beside you, you shouldn't be trying to merge.

[Skim302]

OT: I've been waiting to see someone with the chin splitter. Did you get it from versaspeed? It looks nice btw.

[Moghedian]

If someone from the side is that far up that they can't see your taillight turn signal then you have no business trying to merge over in the first place.

Either wait for them to pass and then merge or speed up and pass them. Not trying to bash you or anything. It's just that if they can't see your taillights because they are that far beside you, you shouldn't be trying to merge.

Slow moving traffic, I'm talking 20 feet a minute. Not a lot of opportunity to get ahead or behind the person next to you, who was pacing me more or less in this incident, to see a blinker. So I can either be the guy that comes to a full stop in the lane until someone lets him in, or I can look into putting some nice side blinkers. Maybe a nice side-mirror blinker like I've seen on some vehicles would work too.

In regards to your post of hand signals out the window, those work great if the person you are signaling is the the left of you. Put them on the other side of you and a half car length behind and the guy will be as oblivious as... well lets just say I doubt hes paying attention to my hand signals.

On a side note, I thought the NTSB stated you had to have a blinker visible from the side of the vehicle in the US. How do you suppose Nissan glossed over that part of the inspection?

I'm surprised no one has attempted this mod yet, or mentioned it if they have. I know its not as flashy as some nice 17's, but it is a viable safety concern imo.

A long long time ago, someone posted that while they had their headlights out, they were going to try and swap the blinkers to the outside. Does anyone know if this ever came to fruition?

[robj80]

In regards to your post of hand signals out the window, those work great if the person you are signaling is the the left of you. Put them on the other side of you and a half car length behind and the guy will be as oblivious as... well lets just say I doubt hes paying attention to my hand signals.

On a side note, I thought the NTSB stated you had to have a blinker visible from the side of the vehicle in the US. How do you suppose Nissan glossed over that part of the inspection?

I was just messing about the signals. But about the NTSB after you posted this thread I was trying to find info about the required blinkers. I like you thought they needed to be visible. Nissan has to have a guy on inside . Wonder if enough V owners complained and if in fact it is law to have them maybe we can get these installed at the dealership free of charge? Or maybe I'm just dreaming. Either way I'm getting some just have to find some that will look good and look like they belong there.

[APEXi240]

None of my cars have ever had side blinkers and it has never been a problem for me, even driving in a very congested/densely populated area.

I've never had a problem navigating traffic.

[Moghedian]

None of my cars have ever had side blinkers and it has never been a problem for me, even driving in a very congested/densely populated area.

I've never had a problem navigating traffic.

Back to the details of the post:

The Versa is the 1st car I've seen with a blinker on the inside and not the outside. I bet if you sat down and thought about it, all the cars you've owned probably had a blinker located on the outside of the headlight assembly, compliant with NTSB spec.

I'd be interested to see if someone can come up with another vehicle that has a headlight assembly like this.

[iluvmyVersa08]

Back to the details of the post:

The Versa is the 1st car I've seen with a blinker on the inside and not the outside. I bet if you sat down and thought about it, all the cars you've owned probably had a blinker located on the outside of the headlight assembly, compliant with NTSB spec.

I'd be interested to see if someone can come up with another vehicle that has a headlight assembly like this.

My parents minivan does not have a side blinker. The front headlight assembly looks like it is split into two parts. The inside part (closest to the middle of the hood) is orange and is the part that blinks. The outside part is white and is just the regular daytime running light. No side blinker at all, and we have never had a problem merging in / out of busy stop and go highway traffic

[Ginsu]

I'm surprised no one has posted on this issue yet. I noticed right away when I was first checking out the Versa on the dealership lot that the turn signals were crazy close to the center of the vehicle. I don't know what kind of van your parents have iluvmyVersa08, but I've never seen a vehicle with the signals that close to the center. I bought the car anyway, because I loved it, but I still wondered about this issue. In most circumstances, as Red Devil mentioned, other drivers will be able to see your rear blinkers anyway, but there will be the odd time (say when you're parallel parked in front of a van or SUV and you are trying to merge back into traffic) when cars will not be able to see them at all and you'll just have to be a d!ck and go for it.

As for the mod decreasing the resale value, I can see both sides of the issue. I think a dealer would be unimpressed with your decision, but then an 18-year-old kid would love it and probably pay extra.

As much as I would like to have the European-style signal lights though, this is not a mod that I would feel comfortable doing myself.

[APEXi240]

I bet if you sat down and thought about it, all the cars you've owned probably had a blinker located on the outside of the headlight assembly, compliant with NTSB spec.

Corner lights are parking lights, so...no blinker on outside of the assembly/on the corner/on the side.

Same setup as the Integra. The sidemarker is a reflector, not a blinker, so same deal.

Corner lamps are once again just parking lights.

In conclusion, a majority of the cars I have driven have not had corner blinkers or sidemarker blinkers.

*Edit. None of the vehicles pictured here were mine, just using the pics as examples.

[Papercarz]

Corner lights are parking lights, so...no blinker on outside of the assembly/on the corner/on the side.

Same setup as the Integra. The sidemarker is a reflector, not a blinker, so same deal.

Corner lamps are once again just parking lights.

In conclusion, a majority of the cars I have driven have not had corner blinkers or sidemarker blinkers.

*Edit. None of the vehicles pictured here were mine, just using the pics as examples.

wtfmy 1981 Chevy Camaro beast has a sidemarker like that 240.... and it blinks!! Why doesnt that one? Mine was made in 81.... AND THE ORIGINAL BULB STILL BLINKS!!!

even after engine swap!