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I just ordered a set after I saw Scott's above. Hopefully it comes quicker than the 6 weeks promised.
There are several sellers that sell the same lights...HC Motion seems to be more of a retailer marketing these than the MFG/brand.
Mine also has aftermarket LED reflectors but I decided not to hook them up as I felt it might look like there's too much going on, so mine didn't get any errors. Will be interesting if you escape any CELs on yours.
After two days of normal commuting and some spirited driving I have yet to throw a code. I don't think it will at this point but i'll update here asap if it happens.
One thing Im not liking too much after washing the car with these installed is how the soapy water hangs around the edges. I cant really wipe it either so any remaining water in there dries there and leaves a small stain but so far no moisture has gone further in past what you see in the pics to the important bits. Last couple of pictures are at night after some rain and you can see what It looks like while still wet.
After two days of normal commuting and some spirited driving I have yet to throw a code. I don't think it will at this point but i'll update here asap if it happens.
One thing Im not liking too much after washing the car with these installed is how the soapy water hangs around the edges. I cant really wipe it either so any remaining water in there dries there and leaves a small stain but so far no moisture has gone further in past what you see in the pics to the important bits. Last couple of pictures are at night after some rain and you can see what It looks like while still wet.
Did you transfer the weatherproofing seals from an old light? @DownUnder did mention that these didn't come with it. So i'm wondering if it could be because you didn't transfer them over maybe. I've had lights like this in the past on other cars and the biggest problem with having water hang around in recesses and grooves like that is that eventually it turns into an algae like fungus and ends up looking green on on the inside.
I did not, I had already installed them after reading the comment about taking the old weather stripping from the other lights. I ended up leaving it that way to see how they would work as is out of the box. Maybe later on i'll revisit adding them or get my hands on the next batch with it already included.
I did not, I had already installed them after reading the comment about taking the old weather stripping from the other lights. I ended up leaving it that way to see how they would work as is out of the box. Maybe later on i'll revisit adding them or get my hands on the next batch with it already included.
Think the weather strip may help with that water buildup. Its not inside the housing but the overhang lip between the housing and lens cover trapping water.
That weather strip is to really just channel moisture to outside and not trap it there. The foam seal where the bolts are is what keeps water out of the car.
The back of the trunk lid and quarter panel are made to drain down to the ground anyway.
I noticed the same thing happening after washing the car the day after fitting the tail lights. I snow foam the car as a pre-rinse and there was some soap left in the recess between the tail light and the body, which I was able to flush out with the hose. Once the soap was gone I still get some condensation build-up in the same area, even with the OEM rubber strips transferred over, but to a lesser extent as what's shown above. It's also not as noticeable on the red version.
so the Ali express one from unknown seller and the eBay one sold by hcmotion are literally the exact same product?
how’s the fitment on these? Do they feel quality as in build quality like the VLANDS?
Yes, there is only one manufacturer of them so they will all be the same, at least as of right now.
Fitment is fine. Vland have been around for a lot longer but I would say the quality of them seems about the same, at least material-wise.
Favorite feature is being able to turn the animation on just by flicking the park light switch on. Perfect when Audis, BMWs, MBs etc get up behind you and try to make their presence felt - The look on their face is priceless. I had a guy in a 2016 3IS F-Sport literally stop and stare when I did the start up animation. Don't think he could work out which model it was at first 😅
These look good! Vlands actually shorted my brake stop switch after a year and their customer service towards me was basically: too bad not our problem. Won't get into that. But these look promising, might have to pick up a pair
These look good! Vlands actually shorted my brake stop switch after a year and their customer service towards me was basically: too bad not our problem. Won't get into that. But these look promising, might have to pick up a pair
I've had reports by a few followers on my IG that the HC motion lights are randomly flickering. The problem with taillights is that once you install them, then random issues like flickering is hard to detect until it gets progressively bad or someone driving behind you tells you 😀
Also two people I know just installed it got the check vsc and brake and abs lights all turned on. They waiting to hear back from HC motion
I've had reports by a few followers on my IG that the HC motion lights are randomly flickering. The problem with taillights is that once you install them, then random issues like flickering is hard to detect until it gets progressively bad or someone driving behind you tells you 😀
Ive been lucky so far with no issues. I check the starting animation and turn signals pretty much daily at the start of my commute or before I go home. Minor detail I forgot to mention is that im using the SmartTap CF18 relay on my car mainly for the turn signal feature. Had to disable hazard light strobe since it was to fast for turn signals to fully cycle.
Interesting to hear about the flickering issue. I haven't noticed that with mine but I'll keep an eye on it. As for the CHECK VSC light, a friend of mine with a 2008 IS-F had the same problem after the install. As soon as he started driving the dash lit up like a Christmas tree and the code came back as being 'C1249 - Open in Stop Light Switch Circuit'. At first we thought it could have been due to him having aftermarket LED bumper reflectors and it was drawing too much load from the resistor on the back of the HC Motion tail light, since I didn't have any issues but chose not to reconnect my LED bumper reflectors, however someone else with an AWD IS350 had the same issue not long after.
He contacted HC Motion and they were quick to come up with a solution by sending him some more resistors. They have now arrived in the country but are waiting for delivery so I'll keep this updated. There was another IS-F owner who posted in the Community F page on Facebook yesterday with the exact same issue, and he solved it himself by buying more resistors on Amazon (
Seems that the IS-F draws more current for some reason, possibly due to the different high stop lamp design in the rear windscreen, which is the same as the facelift AWD IS350 mentioned earlier, so could be a possible theory, but I won't know until some pre-facelift IS250/350 owners get the same problem.
Here's some photos/screenshots of the info I have come across:
11-03-21, 05:51 AM
