Aftermarket HID's going to be BANNED?
10-20-03, 06:48 PM
#18
wow i just found this out today, i knew they where going 2 stop hid's in suvs cus of the hieght of the trucks but not overall. so its not illagal if u have hids now but if u buy them it is?..does this makes sense? r they going 2 stop hid's in all cars? shed some light guys
10-20-03, 07:39 PM
#19
Lexus Test Driver
Okay, everybody take a deep breath...
Aftermarket rebased HID kits have always been illegal, due to not meeting the testing requirements required of OEM lighting systems per Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108. Vendors could get away with selling them by making the disclaimer "For Off-Road Use Only. Not Intended for Use on Public Roadways." The NHTSA realized that many people were ignoring this, so as of 08/15/03, they started to actually enforce the law, by threatening vendors with heavy fines for selling kits.
This "enforcement action" has nothing to do with factory HID lighting on new vehicles. Cars and SUVs with factory HID must undergo the same FMVSS 108 certification as any other vehicle to ensure that the beam pattern is properly cut-off and free of "hot" and "cold" spots that could blind oncoming traffic or leave certain areas of the roadway in the dark. Thus, these lights are made compliant before they leave the factory. Some manufacturers are sensitive to the issue of glare on full-size SUVs. That is why Lexus will not put factory HID on the LX and GX, even though it is available on the smaller and cheaper RX, and all of their passenger car models.
My source of information regarding FMVSS 108 and its enforcement: www.hidforum.com , in the stickied threads in the "General" forum.
Aftermarket rebased HID kits have always been illegal, due to not meeting the testing requirements required of OEM lighting systems per Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108. Vendors could get away with selling them by making the disclaimer "For Off-Road Use Only. Not Intended for Use on Public Roadways." The NHTSA realized that many people were ignoring this, so as of 08/15/03, they started to actually enforce the law, by threatening vendors with heavy fines for selling kits.
This "enforcement action" has nothing to do with factory HID lighting on new vehicles. Cars and SUVs with factory HID must undergo the same FMVSS 108 certification as any other vehicle to ensure that the beam pattern is properly cut-off and free of "hot" and "cold" spots that could blind oncoming traffic or leave certain areas of the roadway in the dark. Thus, these lights are made compliant before they leave the factory. Some manufacturers are sensitive to the issue of glare on full-size SUVs. That is why Lexus will not put factory HID on the LX and GX, even though it is available on the smaller and cheaper RX, and all of their passenger car models.
My source of information regarding FMVSS 108 and its enforcement: www.hidforum.com , in the stickied threads in the "General" forum.
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