Hi!

New to this site / forum, just bought 2008 Scion tC 'TRD Edition' (which only means badging/wheels/bodykit - still freaking love it) with really dark tinted front windows, and didn't know that tinted front windows were illegal in my state (IL)... Just wondering if anyone knows how big of a deal this is, and if I must remove it if it's best to pay or do it my self? They're fairly dark, I really like the look but I'm afraid I might have to suck it up and get rid of them. I saw the thread about the law being changed in IL but who knows if and when, plus I'm guessing my tint is too dark anyways.

Input / suggestions?

 

some states are more lenient then others. In NY a cop will pull you over just for having illegal tint but from hearing from other SL members in different states cops will only give you a tint ticket if your are pulled over for another reason. It all depends on how the cop feels.

 

Ah, thanks... I think I might just wait to hear more on that law and drive carefully until I do anything about it then... Maybe start driving with the windows down :D.

 

Exactly what he said, besides its a bullcrap ticket.The last tickets i received was for tints on my old car.In one month i received 3 of them,In new york it's 17% but I'm going to give you a scenario i went through, One cop gave me 2 tickets in one day for tints one for the front and one for the back he put the meter on the windows and it read 16% he goes and says anything lower than 17 is illegal.So he gives me 2 tickets.Even though one is not valid cause their not supposed to give you 2 tickets for the samething on the same day.2 weeks later i get stopped again the same scenario this time meter reads 17% and the cop this time says anything 17 and higher is illegal.So in a 2 week span my tints caught a tan and the law changed? Come on BULLCRAP just like tricky says it all depends on how the cop feels and if he needs to fill that quota they say doesn't exist.

 

Don't make your tC stand out with over-exaggerated mods. (Wide body kit, loud muffler, etc.)
Don't give the fuzz a reason to pull you over then get busted for tint to. If you have a lead foot
or drive recklessly, take it easy. Drive like an **** and expect to get pulled over.

I've had my 35% tint on here in Cali for over 3 years now. I've never had any issues. Even in L.A.
where they thrive on giving 'tuner cars' tickets. I just abide by the rules(?) set forth in the above
paragraph. GL

 

pretty much what the guy above said.. my friends had his front plate off and tints for a while and hasnt been pulled over yet. he does drive wrecklessly and i know this may sound dumb but he knows when not to do it.. like on main streets or where cops usually are.

edit: but his car IS an ep3 so i dont know if cops might be more on the lookout for tc's or not -_-

 

Cool - I just bought the car yesterday, so I don't have enough money to do much to it yet anyways. I did drive like an _______ on the way home from the dealership, but that was out of excitement :D. As long as my windows aren't the reason I'm pulled over I'm ok... just seems like such a stupid thing to get a $50-500 ticket for.

 

Like most have said its up to the cop. Its not really a bs ticket its an Officer safety ticket for the most part. If they can't see in they can't see what we are doing. I have been rolling with darker than legal tent (Limo) for about 5 years on my mini S, and have not had one issue. When I get stopped they go down before the cop gets to my door lets him/her know I am not hidding anything and so far its been working.... I am new scionlife, so I hope its ok for an XB guy to post in a TC thread.. CLiffz1

 

I have some family members that are cops in IL.

They said there biggest pet peeves is tinted windows. Mainly because... well.... if you were a cop, and you pulled someone over, and you have no idea what that person is doing in that car because of how dark your windows are. Wouldn't you be worried? It puts your life at risk because you don't know what to expect.

Why do you think cops always put that bright a$$ light on you?

1. to blind you
2. to see what your doing.

allows them to have initiative if something where to ever to go wrong.

 

Does this mean that if I do get pulled over I should immediately roll down my windows and turn my interior lights on to score some brownie points?

 

lol they dont do it to blind you haha... they use that light because if you are under the influence of any substance your pupils act irregularly. Thats the first sign a cop can tell you are drunk or high besides you swerving while you were driving.

 

yes... roll down your windows, put your interior lights on, take off your hat, hood, or anything else on your head or face, and put your hands on the steering wheel. Nothing makes a cop feel more safe then him/her being able to see what you are doing.

 

Awesome...good to know, thanks a ton.

 

I would hold off for a little while. There's new legislation in the pipes that will legalize tint up to 30% all around. It's passed the house and senate and is just waiting for the governor to sign off on it.

Otherwise, IL police have been cracking down. I know that first offense in Chicago is $250.

More info here: https://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=257015

 

Oh, I didn't read the post entirely correctly... yea, if it's really dark, you can always remove the front windows. Everything else is currently legal in IL.

If you want legal tint all the way around, you gotta wait for the above bill to pass.

If you really want to keep it, just try to keep a low profile. Run your windows down during the summer, things like that. If you call attention to yourself, you're going to get tagged.

 

it really depends where. and if you are going to tint it a little advice ahead of time is know that your window already has tint on it even though it might not seem like it to the naked eye. So say the legality of the state is 35% and you tell the shop to put 35% its going to be darker than that and you will get screwed cus its not including the natural tint of the window already.

Another heads up is that if you do get caught taking it off will be wasting your money and the process of taking it off sucks and probably will cost you more. But risk it if you want!! =]

 

i have 35% tint in cali, and cops don't seem to mind that much.

 

VA sucks for tint, the state cops hate it. I have had 2 tickets on the tC and one on my old car. I have 18% now

 

Well then BOTH cops are idiots...the legal limit in NY is 35% anything lowwr than that is considered too dark and illegal. Also they can only give you ONE ticket for tint, NOT for EACH window. The cop was busting your chops.

 

Of course he was, i know that, it even says it on the back of the ticket itself.When he gave those tics for the front and rear i just laughed and smiled.I knew he was wrong for doing that