Hi, i am new here, as I am contemplating buying a 2005 TSX as soon as it comes out.

I have just read an article in Car And Driver about HID headlight theft on the Nissan Maxima. Is the the TSX affected by the current wave of HID theft? I understand the TSX headlights are, in marketing terms, not bi-xenon, but only xenon, meaning that only low beams (I think...) are HID.

Is the fact that the TSX has only the low-beam half of a HID light set a factor that makes the car less attractive to HID headlight thieves? Any statistics on this problem and the TSX?

The newest Maxima has problems with this because all cars of this model have HID, so thieves are assured of getting HID lights if they set their sight on a Maxima, unlike other models who have optional xenons. But the TSX has standard HID's. So logically, it should be an interesting target.

Thanks for you comments.

 

Well, to be honest, I've never heard of anyone break into the engine bay of a car to jack some HIDs. If I was a smart thief, I'd hit the stores up here in Canada where they're allowed to sell them (I think in the States it's illegal to sell them aftermarket). That way I save myself the trouble of ripping off a car for a pair of lights when in about the same time I could rob a shop of possibly dozens of HID sets.
I know of a couple of guys who sold HIDs, stolen of course, down in the states. With the money they were asking for, I could've added another $200 and got my self a nice set from xenondepot.
So to kinda repeat, I don't think HID theft is much of a problem up here since its legal and cheap to buy aftermarket, at least not in my area.

 

It's pretty tough to get them out. It requires removal of the front bumper so they're going to be working at it for a good hour at least. Look at what JaTe and BDI went through to tint their corner lights which involved removing the headlights: http://www.acura-tsx.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6992

 

Uhh...I don't know about working at it for a while. Most of the HID thieves use the smash and grab method, leaving thousands of dollars of damage to the cars. If the bumper needs to come off, then you can be sure that they'll just rip it off if they're really that intent on getting the lights. Of course, I have yet to hear about a case of HID theft involving the TSX so I wouldn't worry about it just yet.

 

I'd feel the same, except that the above referenced article was about New Jersey and HID theft... the state attorney general is suing Nissan to make them harder to steal.

Acura HIDs aren't cheap - just the left headlamp assembly was $381 on my repair bill.

 

Ouch...that's definitely not cheap.

 

Good. I'm not saying the automakers can control the thieves, but if they can install immobilizers and whatever to at least discourage auto theft, they should do the same for HIDs if they know it's a common target. Just ranting.

 

Hmmm - are there any other cars that can even use our headlights?

If not, then I think the demand for it might be pretty low.

 

civic owners have already fitted them

but no one on this forum has ever had their headlights stolen, and I assume a-tsx gets every complaint there is out there.

 

Civics???? Damn - thank goodness there aren't a lot of modded Civic in my area.

Guess I'll have to watch out when I go visit my parents though.

 

I've read news articles on the HID headlight theft...I believe it was in FL? Dont quote me on that...

Mainly Porsche and BMW getting hit. And yes, the bumper is nothing...smash and grab is their method.

I read about one porsche owner opting to get halogens to replace his stolen hids...since they were stolen numerous times...he gave up...

 

i have a so call friend mod. a pair of A4's HID onto his civic...looks good and also bimmer's HID onto his bike...i think they will find ways to use ours...so ppl look out for your hids

 

Sigh, I guess if something looks nice, people will find a way to move it to their ride.

 

well, thing about HID jacking, you'll need to find an easy target. a car with the housing easily taken off. Like my audi was easily taken off, its only held on by 3 weak tabs, and it get broken all the time, making the audi an easy target. In new jersey, audis get hit all the time. i didnt take a good look at the tsx housing, but i dont think it can be easily taken off like the audi and some other cars.

 

i haven't heard of any tsx hid thefts yet. so i wouldn't be worrying about it just yet. hopefully, we'll never have to worry about it.

nissan is being sued not only because it was a fairly bad design to begin with (doesn't require smash+grab and the alarm doesn't even go off if it's removed), but mainly because nissan did not give adequate warning to customers and was making the customers pay for replacements and/or a protection kit at thier cost instead of providing assistance. from a consumer standpoint, it looks like nissan is trying to rip off their customers by making them pay for repairs and/or an accessory that should have been included with the car in the first place.

i'd hope that if tsx hid thefts do start to occur, that acura would take care of it's customers and either install a kit for free and include it as a standard feature in new cars. after all, it costs less than $200 installed, not too much to ask of a $25k+ car.

 

I hope we do not have to worry about this ever.....I have seen too many maximas in NYC that are without headlights. I saw one dude come out to his car as I was coming out of a restaurant and say "oh $hit! They stole my hids (the entire headlight actually) in less than 15 minutes. It was a totally clean job too....not the smash and grab method.

 

i have heard of people trying to steal hid's. but don't know anyone personally that has gottn ripped off.

i wonder if that lawyer has a basis to sue nissan. as if making the thief having to open the hood isn't good enough to prevent theft. lawyers are so lame.

 

my friend had the first TL when it came out in 99 or so, the HID for that model did indeed fit the Civic. lots of theift at that time. heard later model TL's had unique size that is only for their model. i would assume that TSX has it own unique size that won't fit other cars.

 

Well it is the state attorney general, not some private-practice attorney starting a class-action lawsuit. NJ insurance is so outrageous that the state tries anything to lower it. So if HIDs are too easy to steal from Nissans and insurance on those Nissans is inflated because of this, they think the lawsuit may force a redesign that protects consumers and, ultimately, lowers auto insurance. I think it's valid

 

Nice to know that headlight theft seems not to be a problem on the TSX.

Also, I never heard about aftermarket HID's being available in Canada. As HID's require a different kind of power supply, how could aftermarket HID's be used in place of standard halogens?

I suppose we are not talking about Silverstars and the like...

 

this is a huge problem here in brooklyn. i see at least 2 acura's a week with this. the thieves stick in a flat head, flip up the fenders and steal the lights. very common on pre-04 tl's, cl's, maxima's.

 

btw, it's 381 for the housing, then you need the ignitor and bulb (which is $120) by itself. MB xenon's complete usually run 1400 while the previous acura's each headlight is about 1grand.

 

Would the alarm on our TSX's go off if someone were to steal a HID?

 

That brings up a good question. Is the TSX alarm armed after the first remote click, or only after the 2nd click (horn beep).?:o

 

no

yes

 

Any OEM HIDS can be retrofitted to work in any car.

 

The only purpose for the horn beeping after the second click is to signal that the car is already locked. It's good for times when you forgot to check the lights flicker, or the door locks fall in place. Nothing else.

 

lol... haven't heard that one in a while

1st time = armed

 

They are available in Canada. You just have to open your eyes. I had one kit of OEM Nissan HIDs that I fit into my Honda Accord 95 stock sealed beams, and they fit really nicely. Maybe just two dabs of goop or a silicon seal to make sure the bulbs hold into place, and you are all set. What's really nice, and surpising is that the D2s had the same focal point as Halogens, so it was really easy to adjust the lights once installed.

All you have to do, as far as power supply is concerned, just tap the ballast connection (usually red) into the + wire in the harness, and make sure your ground is grounded directly to the battery's - via a good wiring like sound system wires. At least for the Nissan ballasts. If you don't do this, you'll fry the ignitor in a matter of a few hours, even during winter.

But now this thread is getting me nervous, because it originates from Brooklyn, and the deal was really nice, and the supply was very good too. God I hope I wasn't buying what I think I bought...

 

Back to HID thief... its getting higher again.. especially in NYC.. they're filling class action lawsuits this week against lexus for not securing the lights, they claim that it takes less than 60 sec.. just like the maximas..

What can we do to prevent our headlights from getting swiped ?

should we go spread rumors that the tsx light sucks and not worth stealing ? if enough people on the internet knows.. they go after other cars

Should I get vin etching on the headlights ?? hahaha

So far the only people that want these are the retrofitters.. its the only reason they steal the headlights, for the projectors..

One way is to make retrofitting on those lower end car illegal.. if you get pull over for having retrofit lights, you might end up not wanting them.. of course its hard to enforce them since they bearly enforce the cell phone laws here..

 

Do the Maxima's headlights turn with the car, like the RX 330?

I ask because the rumors i've heard here in NY are that its not the headlights being stolen, but the motors that turn the headlights when the cars is in a turn. Those motors are unbelievably expensive. If that is the case, us TSX have less to worry about.

 

it was funny, when the last gen maxima came out with hid, it really took off.. i guess the news report are WRONG again.. since you're right about the motors.. the light has gotten cheaper and i was wondering why anyone would risk that.. but motors are different..

well i hope mine doesn't get rip out.. cuz the guy across from me had his rx330 hid rip out last month..

 

This is what I don't understand though...a lot of Americans worry about auto theft or vandalism and yet, when they have a garage, they don't park their cars in the garage and use it for storage instead...

 

I see that all the time. Oh and not just either.

 

not one person on this board afaik has complained of headlights being stolen, so I'd say its a non-issue

 

Not only that, but with the amount of damage they would probably do to your car in the process, the headlights would probably be the least of your concern.

 

Bizarre, you would think it would take less time to steal the entire car then to steal the head lights

 

Generally speaking, it's illegal to make any modifications to a DOT approved lighting system (or more correctly, it is illegal to drive on public roads with any lighting system/installation that isn't DOT approved). Technically, that includes even silly stuff like using bulbs that are the wrong color, are too bright, etc. In many countries, they require an annual inspection and will verify stuff like your lights being to spec, but that's unlikely to ever happen here.

 

On the contrary...several states require annual inspections. It just won't happen in Cali anytime soon.

 

The HID theft problem was with the older gen. TLs and Maximas the headlights on those cars were held on with a few clips so a theif could open the hood and take both headlight under 5 mins.