i drive a 2011 tc and i am going to stick a hid kit because you cant see very far with the halogen bulbs. I want to know if it is legal to have them or not. Im not sure anymore

 

You should be okay with a HID kit since it has stock projectors headlights. It's when you have a reflective housing and the HID just glares everywhere and you look like an _______ blinding everyone. Cops will pull you over for that ____.. well in CA at least.

Like the lifted trucks with the 10K HIDs in their headlights and fogs lights. Super _______s. /rant

 

Depends on where you live. could be illegal but cops usually dont pull you over for it.

Where I live, "TECHNICALLY" its illegal to have HID's on a car that did not come equipped from the factory with them.

As stated above, if you have projectors, you can get away with it, but if you have the 05-07 halogen headlights, it will be very obvious to anyone that drives by you that they do not belong.

Cops around here are actually really cool about it, but not with HID's in fog lights. That blinds no matter what.

 

All plug and play HID kits are illegal, its a federal law not state law. Only factory HID's are legal. If a cop enforces or not is a different story.

And not to be a complete a-hole, but this is about the 5th thread you've made in the 1st Gen tC side of the forum, you will get more accurate answers to most questions using the 2nd Gen tC side of the forum.

 

spicy has it exactly right - it is a FEDERAL rule that states "incorporate" into their laws.

Local enforcement is spotty because often the officers have zero idea the rule even exists...

 

the only time law really cares about hids,are if there blue,purple,green and etc,if there white or 6k or below youll be fine...

 

Should be illegal for everyone!
I've seen factory HID blind me just as bad as some plug and play kit inside a halogen housing.

 

x2

 

FMVSS No. 108 says you are wrong: It states that replacing halogen bulbs with HID is unlawful. Numerous decisions and opinions by the NHTSA have confirmed that, and many manufacturers or importers of HID conversion kits/parts have been busted.

See: https://www.scionlife.com/forums/sho...id#post3543356

The only thing it depends on is the local law enforcement folks: Some will nail you for illegal equipment, some will not.

Making a blanket statement that the law doesn't care is not only wrong, but is potentially very misleading (and expensive) to others on ScionLife.com

HID conversions are unlawful, period.

Many local LEO don't care/know.

Some do.

Unless you can back up with documentation that the federal government has reversed itself on FMVSS No. 108, FMVSS No. 108 stands as written, and FMVSS No. 108 has been incorporated in many states' laws by reference.

Those federal rules have been referenced many times on ScionLife.com, dating back to at least the beginning of 2007.

Tom

 

If you want to avoid this legal mess, just look for high-performance halogen bulbs by companies such as Hella or PIAA.

 

or just ask your state police. in virginia and Ive asked, it is legal to have hids on your car if they didnt come with them as long as the hid kit has a dot approved sticker on the kit.

 

I have yet to see anything really definitive. Federal law is so convoluted, even the cops don't understand it (http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_20...cfr571.108.pdf). From my not-so-extensive, unreliable internet research, it appears HIDs are enough to give the police an excuse to pull you over, but they won't give you a ticket for them unless you're just being an ___. With the factory projector beams though, I doubt any cop would even know your lights aren't factory HIDs.

 

I don't even think there is a DOT approved aftermarket HID kit, and put it in a halogen housing is still going to blind everybody. I just got my car inspected with 6000K HIDs and have to say that having projectors is likely why they let it ride, now if they were blue(or higher temp bulbs) then I would have failed. Still, if the car does not come with HIDs from factory, it's illegal and does not conform to federal regulations. Even if you do a retrofit, it still does not conform to standard as it was not from factory designed that way. If you get hit with a ticket for it, do not complain, as you now know it is not legal for your tC no matter what you do, it's the risk you run when adding an aftermarket HID kit.

 

Yea I know what u mean but u know I think I'd rather take a ticket than running off a dark road you know. I want to be able to see down it cause in the state of Texas there are coyotes out here n I have seen them on Te roads I drive on