HID Lights? Legal Or Pull Me Over Now?

[mrdell12345]

Well a friend of mine gave me a set of HID head lamp kits for my car. The light kit is the kind that replaces the stock bulbs with a Xenon arch lamp, ballast and ignitor. The color is 6000k white/blue. The kit was a Xmas present and was purchased from carhidkits site, so I do not want to offend my friend by never trying them, but at the same time I do not want to blind others on the road or get a FAT TICKET. What are the penalties if it is not legal? Heck, what is the legality of these light kits? I live in CA if that has any bearing.

[toxik]

there's nothing illegal about having xenon lights.... most cars including our own altima coupe come stock with HID lights (3.5 premium package on ours).

The only way you may get a ticket or get pulled over for it is if they ridiculously bright (which they won't be) or a non standard color. So anything above 10,000K (deep blue or purple) will attract cop attention, otherwise they don't care.

6000k is pretty much white with a slight tint of blue, you have nothing to worry about.

[trayharrell951]

6000k is perfect

[Throckmorton]

“….get a FAT TICKET. What are the penalties if it is not legal? Heck, what is the legality of these light kits? I live in CA if that has any bearing.”

It might be better to get legal type advice directly from the people who give out FAT TICKETS in CA, instead of relying on advice from people on a car forum.

If it were me, and if I were curious about the legality of my new head lights, and since you live in the state of CA, I would contact the California Highway Patrol. I’m sure they can answer all of your questions, including how expensive the penalties are.

Here is a link to their website. http://www.chp.ca.gov/

[toxik]

“….get a FAT TICKET. What are the penalties if it is not legal? Heck, what is the legality of these light kits? I live in CA if that has any bearing.”

It might be better to get legal type advice directly from the people who give out FAT TICKETS in CA, instead of relying on advice from people on a car forum.

If it were me, and if I were curious about the legality of my new head lights, and since you live in the state of CA, I would contact the California Highway Patrol. I’m sure they can answer all of your questions, including how expensive the penalties are.

Here is a link to their website. http://www.chp.ca.gov/

that's retarded,

real life advice > some by the book answer

[coupecrazy1232]

that's retarded,

real life advice > some by the book answer

[CoupeVQ35CVT]

that's retarded,

real life advice > some by the book answer

Haha not to push any buttons, but really now, you expect the CHP to hand out tickets or fines based on a set of rules and specific penalties, or just hand out some random "real life" $$ amount? The books would also say how bright a set of headlights may be and what colors are legal/illegal.

But I get your point.

[toxik]

Haha not to push any buttons, but really now, you expect the CHP to hand out tickets or fines based on a set of rules and specific penalties, or just hand out some random "real life" $$ amount? The books would also say how bright a set of headlights may be and what colors are legal/illegal.

But I get your point.

you can't go by the book with any highway patrol. trust me if they want to pull you over, there's a stupid law somewhere for them to pull you over. in this case, 6000k HID lights would be ridiculous, I don't know what kind of place you have to live in for that to be the reason you got pulled over. Half the people on the road would be pulled over.... like i said OEM xenon lights are like 5000k, no way a coupe can distinguish between 5 and 6k xenon lights.

tint laws are a great example, here in NY, pretty much any tint is illegal, yet you'll only get pulled over if your tints are RIDICULOUSLY dark, i'm talking 20% tints or tinted front windshield..... I'm sure that's exactly what NYPD would tell you when you call them, right?

[SniperJoe]

Some good answers & info on that subject here:

http://www.squidoo.com/dot-app...bulbs

[Mr. Music]

I had the same concerns as the OP, and went to the source for my answers. This is what I found out:As of 9/22/2008, "HID conversion kits are not legal for importation, manufacture, or sale in the U.S.", according to Mike Cole, Lead Safety Compliance Engineer with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Also, "all HID conversion kits could be subject to fines if an investigation is initiated on them. Title 49 U.S.C. 30165, authorizes NHTSA to impose penalties up to $6,000 for each violation of a motor vehicle safety standard with a maximum penalty not to exceed $16,375,000 for a related series of violations. Considering that an HID conversion kit typically consists of 4 separately regulated items, it appears that a maximum penalty for the importation and/or sale of noncompliant kits could be approximately $24,000 per kit" (Cassandra Peterkin, Safety Compliance Engineer, NHTSA).

So there you have it; HID kits are illegal across the US. Now, are you likely to get a ticket for HID's? Probably not; but don't piss any cops off or you could be in a $24,000 hole.
Modified by Mr. Music at 3:33 PM 1/21/2010

[CoupeVQ35CVT]

you can't go by the book with any highway patrol. trust me if they want to pull you over, there's a stupid law somewhere for them to pull you over. in this case, 6000k HID lights would be ridiculous, I don't know what kind of place you have to live in for that to be the reason you got pulled over. Half the people on the road would be pulled over.... like i said OEM xenon lights are like 5000k, no way a coupe can distinguish between 5 and 6k xenon lights.

tint laws are a great example, here in NY, pretty much any tint is illegal, yet you'll only get pulled over if your tints are RIDICULOUSLY dark, i'm talking 20% tints or tinted front windshield..... I'm sure that's exactly what NYPD would tell you when you call them, right?

The OP asked if they were legal or not, and that is not a gray area, they either are and you are OK, or they are not, and you use the conversion kit at your own risk. In that sense, a "real life" answer, whatever it was wouldn't really be as reliable as knowing the actual law. In this case we find out that kits are illegal plain and simple. And yes you can say after that, "use at your own risk."

Like I said I got your point initially, but you can't mess around with $6000 - $24,000, (which is absurd for just LIGHTS) which I'm sure he may not have bothered to find out otherwise, had he simply be given an answer like "they are OK if you don't get a purple HID kit etc." and later got caught and fined $6 grand....

"Is it ok to drive fast on the autobahn and go 200 mph?" a) Yeah go for it man! It's the autobahn!b) Yeah but ONLY in designated 'no limit' stretches of the autobahn, otherwise they do monitor traffic carefully and have quite a few speed limited areas across it, which no one ever talks about. They impose heavy fines.

Anyway I got your point. It's like the speed limit is 60 mph but everyone goes 62-70 without getting pulled over....until some jack a** decides to go 70 mph zipping between traffic, or better yet you go 67 mph and no other cars around...and a bored cop waiting for prey...that's asking for trouble. But the bottom line is the limit is 60mph.

[mrodrig2]

The fine is not 6grand everywhere. Car lighting is dictated by the individual states' vehicle codes. While I do believe that HID conversion kits are illegal in all states, the fine will vary state to state depending on what type of ticket it qualifies for, i.e. you may get a cheap fix it ticket in some places but in others it may be a moving violation.

[CoupeVQ35CVT]

The fine is not 6grand everywhere. Car lighting is dictated by the individual states' vehicle codes. While I do believe that HID conversion kits are illegal in all states, the fine will vary state to state depending on what type of ticket it qualifies for, i.e. you may get a cheap fix it ticket in some places but in others it may be a moving violation.

Yeah I'm sure it's different depending on the situation/location, I was only giving an example, if the OP wasn't aware that there was a hefty fine or that it was illegal to begin with, he'd be in for a nasty surprise.

[toxik]

I don't understand why an HID kit is illegal. For example, I had altima coupe HID lights and its the same concept, a ballast attached to the bottom of the headlight.... what makes a kit different? You add a ballast and replace the bulb.

Anyways, I don't believe anyone has every gotten a ticket for HIDs for more than $200.... I don't even see how a $24k ticket would hold up in court when I see people with DUIs get dismissed.

[Throckmorton]

When I Googled "HID headlights in California", this link came up.

http://forums.officer.com/foru...41131

This exact question, word for word, was asked on that forum on 01-11-2006. Strange but true.

And not to outdone, same question posted by mrdell12345 on this Honda forum on 01-20-2010.http://www.hondaclub.com/forum....html

and this Honda Fit forum on 01-19-2010.http://www.fitfreak.net/forums....html

and this Chevy Cobalt forum on 01-19-2010.http://www.cobaltss.com/forums...48576

and this Pontiac G6 forum on 01-19-2010.http://www.g6ownersclub.com/fo...=5866

and this ImportsNC forum on 01-19-2010.http://importsnc.com/forums/ge....html

Sooner or later mrdell12345 will find an answer he either likes or dislikes.


Modified by Throckmorton at 10:47 AM 1/22/2010

[toxik]

^ must be a cop

[mrodrig2]

I don't understand why an HID kit is illegal. For example, I had altima coupe HID lights and its the same concept, a ballast attached to the bottom of the headlight.... what makes a kit different? You add a ballast and replace the bulb.

Anyways, I don't believe anyone has every gotten a ticket for HIDs for more than $200.... I don't even see how a $24k ticket would hold up in court when I see people with DUIs get dismissed.

The reason is that HID conversion kits are generic and not intended for any specific vehicle. OEM halogens are meant to be reflected and are in a housing designed for such light emission. OEM projector HID's are meant to be projected through a lens and a clear housing. Unless you are spending money to retrofit a projector or are buying expensive D2R reflector HID bulbs then you aren't properly matching your light source to your light enclosure.

Regardless, even if you are doing that, it is still illegal because you must have DOT approved equipment if you want to drive on public roadways. Custom work is not DOT approved.

The bottom line is, use some personal judgment and do it at your own risk.

[toxik]

The reason is that HID conversion kits are generic and not intended for any specific vehicle. OEM halogens are meant to be reflected and are in a housing designed for such light emission. OEM projector HID's are meant to be projected through a lens and a clear housing. Unless you are spending money to retrofit a projector or are buying expensive D2R reflector HID bulbs then you aren't properly matching your light source to your light enclosure.

Regardless, even if you are doing that, it is still illegal because you must have DOT approved equipment if you want to drive on public roadways. Custom work is not DOT approved.

what? i'm talking about 08-09 altima coupes that come with Xenon lights on the 3.5 premium package, they don't have projectors, they have the same reflector headlights as the non-HID ones. The only difference is a ballast that's attached to the headlight and the D2S bulb replacing the H11 bulb.... headlight is exactly the same otherwise

[mrodrig2]

The housing is intended to produce focal points for a certain bulb's output. Replacing the bulb without changing the housing produces glare.

[toxik]

The housing is intended to produce focal points for a certain bulb's output. Replacing the bulb without changing the housing produces glare.

I've had both headlights, my OEMs with no Xenon and OEMs with Xenons, they both have the same housing....

[mrodrig2]

OK.... The OP was talking about an HID conversion kit. I don't understand what you are arguing about.

DOT approved, OEM Xenon with D2S bulb = legalUnapproved, aftermarket Kit with H11 = illegal

D2S =/= H11

[CoupeVQ35CVT]

I found this on another forum, the last one in the link Throckmorton provided, actually. Looks like someone on there got smart and figured out something about this OP dude....

Quote »" Originally Posted by Taldir:I like how you guys are talking to an SEO spam bot. He's just looking for a dofollow link with juice. Your just feeding it.

Truth: mrdell12345 - Google Search"[/quote]

[toxik]

OK.... The OP was talking about an HID conversion kit. I don't understand what you are arguing about.

DOT approved, OEM Xenon with D2S bulb = legalUnapproved, aftermarket Kit with H11 = illegal

D2S =/= H11

WTF how is a cop gonna give you a ticket for an H11 bulb, I can't even tell bulbs apart, let alone inside the headlight. What is he gonna take your bumper off to check what bulb you have in there.

[QR25DE]

Nevermind.

[mrodrig2]

WTF how is a cop gonna give you a ticket for an H11 bulb, I can't even tell bulbs apart, let alone inside the headlight. What is he gonna take your bumper off to check what bulb you have in there.

Damn dude, I don't know why you are still looking for something to argue about. Just because something's illegal doesn't mean you are going to get a ticket for it. It's like talking on your cell phone while driving. If you want the HID kit get it, doesn't mean you are going to get in trouble for it.