rajwany

U.S. Department of Transportation
Office of Public Affairs
Washington, D.C.
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov

News

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NHTSA 43-04
Tuesday, October 19, 2004 Contact: Rae Tyson
Telephone: (202) 366-9550



NHTSA ILLEGAL LIGHTING CRACKDOWN CONTINUES
Continuing its crackdown against manufacturers and suppliers of illegal lighting equipment, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today announced its decision that high intensity discharge (HID) conversion kits produced by a Texas company do not comply with federal safety standards.

The owner of ASTEX USA, a supplier of aftermarket HID kits, was ordered to conduct a recall campaign and provide a no-cost solution to the customer. The company is based in Dayton, TX. When installed in a motor vehicle, the HID kits "can be expected to produce excessive glare to oncoming motorists and others," NHTSA said in its decision.

To date, NHTSA has investigated 24 HID conversion kit suppliers; all investigations have resulted in recalls or termination of sales.

"These illegal lights are a potential hazard to those who share the road," said NHTSA Administrator Jeffrey Runge, MD. "And we will continue to pursue those offering them for sale and violating the law."

Companies that sell, import or manufacture non-compliant equipment could face substantial civil penalties, NHTSA said.

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HarrierAWD

Hip, Hip, Hooray!

These aftermarket companies have always given HID a bad name. It's nice to know that DoT is cracking down on the them. The downside is, well, factory HID theft has gone up.

bizzy928

I agree with the article. After market HID kits that are just swapped into the existing housing are just asking for trouble.

However, I do believe that a proper HID Retrofit could be one of the best safety features you can "add on." Its important to have a proper cut off line to reduce glare.

rl9905

I have a 2000 RX300 and I've installed a Philips Ultinon 6000K HID Conversion kit on my car. My original 99-00 Headlight Housing doesn't have a nice Cut off line like the OEM HID's. Instead mine just glares out eveywhere and the beams doesn't project in the right place. I tried lowering the headlamps but it doesn't help.

I know that oncomming drivers hate this and along with people who I drive behind. I was wondering, if I went to the dealer and bought the OEM 2001-2003 RX Headlights and have them installed professionally, will the 2001-2003 have that cut off line and do those headlights support HID beams?

Another thing, I know that on the RX330 and the ES330 with OEM HID, when the car first starts and the headlights are turned on, they adjust and move up and down. What about on the 2001-2003 RX300 with OEM HID, do they also move up and down like that too?

I don't want to go back to regular OEM Halogen or those imitation HID bulbs. I want to keep the real HID kit but i want to find a solution this problem. I've tried searching the forum but couldn't find any answers to my question. Please help if you can, I want to stop blinding people.

Thanks so much.

TRD-bB

I wish everyone with aftermarket HID kit will think like you do
You've just become one of my favourite RX owner

Neo

iTrader: (3)

As long as you buy the new HID headlights, then you will get the cutoff. The reflectors in the housings are different for HID and Halogen. You will need to get the whole headlight (bulb, ballast, housing) since the bulb base/mount is different. The Halogens are 9006 while the HIDs are D2R.

As for the auto-level, the HIDs on the RX300 does have that but you can almost forget about retrofitting that feature into your non-HID car. It involves sensors and wiring that many have given up on trying. You can always be the first. Having the dealer do it would be $$$$ and they would probably be reluctant to do it. Money talks though.

Good luck.

rl9905

So i can't just buy the New Headlights itself and use my existing HID Conversion? So are you saying that i have to buy the new headlights and along with the OEM HID's and ballast and stuff? I tried that route before i bought my conversion but dealer says NO... Only the one's with NAV can have the HID's, they wont put it in for me. So that's why i was force to go the headlight conversion.

Neo

iTrader: (3)

You can try to mount the bulbs of your kit onto the new housings. Both bulbs are basically D2R bulbs. The OEM ones are D2R and the ones in your kit should be. The one in your kit has a modified base so that it will lock into the Halogen housings as if it was a 9006 bulb. I don't know how well this rebased bulb will connect and fit into the HID housings. You may have to do something custom but if you can get past this hurdle, you should be OK.

As for the dealer's claim that only Nav can have HIDs, I am skeptical. It could be true but without knowing more about the RX wiring, I smell BS. It all comes down to wiring. HID systems are pretty basic: HID housing/projector, bulb, ballast, and auto-leveling system (sensors, wiring, computer). The leveling system is a pain to rewire. Maybe they thought you wanted this too and did not want to go through the headaches. The rest of it is straightforward. If you can get your kit to seat well in the HID housings, then your are golden. If not, you'll need to get the OEM parts and do a little splicing/soldering since the wiring harness should be different for halogen and HID setups.

BTW - I do not have an RX or have first hand experience with RX headlights. I am only drawing from my experiences with other headlights including my GS lights and research over the years. This is why I write in generalities above but I can't see Lexus doing something drastically different than other cars or their own lines of cars.

rl9905

Thanx very much for your reply Neo,

But Okay, so i search the Internet and I came across these After market Headlights which runs for $225 each. All i need is a sharp cut off line, I dont need auto leveling and all that stuff. I'm not going to be hooking up the autoleveling since it sounds to complicated. Just a good cut off will be good enough for me. I want to stop blinding people. So is this AFtermarket okay to use or should i stick with the OEM ones?

RX300 2001-2003 HeadLights - CLICK HERE

Neo

iTrader: (3)

Well, from the description of the housing:

2001-2002 Lexus RX300 Headlight (W/O HID) RH (passenger's side)

I would say it is the wrong one. You would want the housings with HID. Also from the pic (although it is sometimes hard to tell with allthe reflections), it looks like it is the wrong reflector too. The design looks like the GS Halogen reflector and not the GS HID reflector. Sorry for drawing from my GS experience again.

rl9905

Okay i just got off the phone with the AUTO LIGHTS. I asked them about the "RX300 Headlight W/O HID", they said that it doesnt have HID (no bulbs or blast) and is not for HID light because it doesnt have the correct HID beam pattern. this one is for Halogen. Okay so no luck on that.

Anyways, i guess i'm going to be sticking with the OEM ones then. But then how can you tell if the reflectors are for HID or for Halogen. Is it the pattern lines inside, I notice on mine, the lines just run up and down in the center. On the ES330 with OEM HID, they also run up and down in the center but there's more lines at the top half of the headlights.

It's okay that you draw your experience from the GS, I agree with you too there isn't drastically different between other cars in their own line of cars. But at least i'm learning more and i'm getting somewhere.

Okay I just got off the phone with Lexus of Westminster and they said that it's 1357.64 for each side, it comes with HID BULBS, BALLAST, AUTO LEVELING MOTOR, THE HOUSING, He said that they wont' installed for me, got to find some place else to do it, becuase of the wireing harness is not available and that it voids the warranty, either way i have no more waranty on it. But i dont care about the auto leveling so no worries on that.

Thanx Very Much Neo

Neo

iTrader: (3)

Here is one on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...spagename=WD1V

(I'm not the seller and I have no affiliation)

From what I can tell from pics, the halogen reflectors have the vertical lines down the middle and are smooth on the sides. These HID ones have lines all across the reflector and if you look real close, there are horizontal bends in them.

Here is a pic of the GS reflector. As you can see, there are vertical lines all across and horizontal bends here too which contribute to the sharp cut-off.

HarrierAWD

Nice, very considerate.

The OEM HID has a cut off because it blocks the light to the bottom half of the reflector housing. In other words, when you look at a factory Lexus HID, only the top half reflects the light.

You can try open the housing and install something underneath the HID light blub to block the light. This way you will get a cut off and won't annoy oncoming traffic.

rl9905

Hmmm sounds like an idea... But it might not look good during the day time if someone sees my headlights. It will look ugly because there is something inside it.

LexFather

moved to lighting forum