Theft of HID headlights

S

Setec Astronomy

Well-known member
The theft of HID headlights from parked Nissan Maximas is rampant here in New Jersey. I now have read about the same happening to an Infiniti (which of course is a related brand). I have two questions:



1. Is this prevalent in other parts of the country also?



2. Are other makes with HID headlights also targets?



I have read that the Maxima headlights are quick and easy to remove with minimal or no damage to the headlight, and cost $1000-2000 to replace, making them an attractive target for a parking lot grab. I guess this is one of those things where the theives make their own market; the people who need a replacement set are the people who had theirs stolen, unless they fit in a regular Max.
 
My uncle also lives in NJ. Same thing happened to his Maxima 2003. Headlights got stolen 3 times in short period of time. It was PITA claiming insurance and replacing headlights. Finally he sold it and got himself a new car with regular headlight :D.



Well, I never heard any case like that in my city. If headlights are secured properly from inside then its difficult to steal but in case of Maxima its not.
 
Yes, it's pretty common. Acura lights fit Honda cars, etc.



It happened to someone I knew just recently. Brand new 1 month old Lexus RX330 sitting on the persons driveway. The lights were stolen and the bumper & hood were damaged.



Over $4500 in damages as the hood, bumper & lights needed to be replaced. The *OEM* alarm has a motion alarm but that's IF only when the system is armed and someone pulls the door handle from the interior of the car will it sound off.



FWIW, I remember seeing a NJ class action lawsuit against Nissan due to this issue.
 
I forgot to mention--the latest one I read about in my town happened at a supermarket--while it was open--the others have been from a mall parking deck, again, during shopping hours. On the Max's, it's apparently a quick screwdriver pry, so the theives are brazen enough to do it in the midst of shoppers, etc.



As far as the CA suit, I don't remember seeing that, but I remember reading that Nissan was doing something to make the lights harder to remove, which I think included a kit that could be retrofitted to existing cars.
 
This is a common complaint in certain parts of the country for many different vehicles. I know some Acura's and even Porsche HID lights are getting stolen quite frequently.
 
I live in Jersey and have seen my share of Maximas with ripped out headlights. In fact one of my friends from work had his headlights stolen outside a friend's house. He had to go throught insurance which was a big mess. I believe there the easiest to steal because there really not held in secure. They were many compliants made to Nissan about it and they issued a anti-theft device, but i'm sure people can still steal them regardless. I remember when HIDs were new, one of the only cars that had it, the Acura 3.2TL, where getting headlights stolen like crazy. Its a shame that you can't have anything nice without worrying about it getting stolen or ruined at least here in Jersey.
 
btw, go to eBay and type in Maxima HID, or OEM HID and you'll find tons of listings that were probably stolen :angry
 
This is the only time I appreciate the engineering of the BMW assembly. No one even a thief could make money by stealing the BMW HID lights. The labor required makes it not worth it. I also dont think they would fit another vehicle.



They better do something about it though, im in the market for a new car and this alone makes me not even think of considering an Acura or an Infinity/Nissan. Its not brain surgery to fix this probem. Nissan in particular screwed up big time but in an uncomfortable twist they make out selling replacement lights. Where is the motivation to fix the problem when your selling 100 grand in parts a week:mad:
 
lol... i remember lookin @ the hid assembly in my dads bmws... and damn.. its like you have to be a rocket scientist just to take out the hid bulb, let alone the whole system? damn german engineering :)

u know what i wonder? i have not heard about this yet.. but really makes a lot of sense... the new mini cooper s has hids, and the headlight is mounted to the hood.. so how easy would it be to pop the hood, and unscrew the lights which are fixed to the underside of the hood? seems easy right, since there isnt any engine in the way... wonder if thieves will start goin after those...
 
FalconGuy said:
This is the only time I appreciate the engineering of the BMW assembly. No one even a thief could make money by stealing the BMW HID lights. The labor required makes it not worth it. I also dont think they would fit another vehicle.



They better do something about it though, im in the market for a new car and this alone makes me not even think of considering an Acura or an Infinity/Nissan. Its not brain surgery to fix this probem. Nissan in particular screwed up big time but in an uncomfortable twist they make out selling replacement lights. Where is the motivation to fix the problem when your selling 100 grand in parts a week:mad:
Click to expand...



I have an '04 Acura TL (3rd Generation). It's my understanding that the earlier generation TL's had HID's that were much easier to steal. I have not heard that it's at all easy -- or worthwhile -- with the 3rd gen's.
 
I read an article in Car and Driver about this problem in NJ. The article stated that Nissan was redesigning the bulb assembly.
 
the redesign did not work @ all... all it was was brakets that were supposed to keep them in.. but they were plastic brackets... a whole lotta good that will do... unless you're takin about the newer maxima, which has a completely redesigned headlight configuration....
 
i think BWM lights can be adapted to fit in other cars, but yeah they're a PITA to get out so probably not worth stealing when acuras/nissans are so easy to get to.



I've heard a few companies are even developing alarms especially for protecting headlights



btw, SETEC ASTRONOMY..great name...I love that movie;)
 
It would be nice if the automotive engineers could design HID headlight assermblies so that they would not work at all if removed, like the coded radios found in cars.
 
i know nothing about HID except they are really good lights, but can they work with just the headlights (i assume you guys are talking about just the headlight housing/assembly) or do you also need some other stuff, like a power converter or something (i vaguely remember reading on fitting HID on a non-HID car and thought they had to use some power converter)?



interesting, but there hasn't been much news about this type of theft here in Hawaii. i guess we're a little behind the rest of the nation. :D
 
Hey Setec, my father saw some kids steal headlights in South Orange off a Maxima.



A car pulled up, 2 jumped out, and in a matter of seconds, they were gone with the headlights.



Turns out, the owner of the car was in the same office where my father was going for a doctor's appointment. This was the THIRD time it has happened and the car was barely a year old.



I said he should have followed them and called it in on the cell phone. He looked at me like I was nuts and said he knew better than to follow 4 thieves (2 in the car as well) armed with screw drivers, other tools and god knows what else on the way back towards Newark.
 
yea.....just like rims and other stuff that is beginning to get popular....there has been a sudden price inflation in HID stuff(may have something to do with California's banning of aftermarket HIDs)....so it is a terrible thing....but it happens with anything that is rare and that can be sold easily with no tracing...you can never know if you are buying stolen parts or not...cause some stuff is manufactured for sale to consumers....and some parts are being bought off of wrecked high end cars.....and some parts are possibly jacked from people's cars....
 
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