Hi all,

First of all I'd like to say I'm new to this forum and hope to learn a lot and contribute when I can.

I have read the recent threads about stolen HID's and I sympathize with those who have been victims of the crime. I live in NYC and I realize that this problem is worse for my area than perhaps any other area in the country. When i got the car I immediately purchased the supplemental alarm system that Nissan offered. From what i understand (I'm picking the car up tomorrow by the way), the additional protection provides a hood lock and an alarm that goes off when the car is tampered with. But after reading the other recent threads I am a bit confused and i hope some of you can help me out.

1. Is the supplemental security system i bought the one that is easily disabled through the door handle?

2. Is the headlight theft deterrence kit I saw at courtesyparts.com the same as the hoodlock I'm getting?

3. Where can i get the security bolts that have been mentioned in other threads?

4. What are AE headlights and where can i get them? Are they another non-HID type of headlight that also fits the 2003 maxima?

5. The aftermarket alarm that's been mentioned...is this different than the supplemental alarm I'm having installed? If so, can anyone post a link to a good type of aftermarket alarm?

Thanks for all your help in advance. Obviously since i haven't picked up the car yet I haven't suffered the loss of my HID's, but with all I've been reading it almost seems like it is a foregone conclusion. I might have the option of renting a garage for about $125 a month, I wonder if this might be better than having the lights stolen.

thanks again,

Dan Cook

 

I would definitely recommend renting the garage. It would keeps your car more secure than any alarm.

 

Hi,

First, WELCOME and Congrats on your Max.

I just got one also about 6 weeks ago. I live in Flushing, NY, and I think the stories about the lights esp. in NY are as accurate as can be. I think you should definitely take the garage if you can. Be careful where you park, many suggest to use lots which will cost a fortune.

I hope you did get the lock, and if you did, let us know how it works. I also hope your alarm is up to par.

I think the most important thing will be where you leave the car. Even though mine is garaged, I'm already considering putting the older 00-01 lights on mine, just so I won't have to worry as much.

But I love the max, and I hope you will too!!!

 

I see your dog is protecting 2 sets of Maxima HIDs...

Is that kloogys car in the background? I'm going off memory of those rims and the sticker on the side skirt..

 

Yeah thats kloogy. My dog is the MAXIMA GUARD . MESS WITH THE MAXXS MESS WITH HIM!!!

 

Thanks for the replies so far.

The garage might not be an option. I have to talk to the super of a garden apartment complex near me to see if there are open garages. Hopefully I'll find out tomorrow.

Do the 00-01 headlights fit into the 03 nose properly?

Also, any tips on aftermarket alarms?

Dan

 

Where do you live? Really, REALLY, push for that garage. Otherwise you may have to sleep in the car until you can get your hands on some other electric shock devices!!!

 

I live in Queens as well.
But again, do the 00-01 headlights fit into the 03 nose?

Also, how hard is it to remove the headlights properly? As in, not rip them out. If it isn't too hard I'll remove them myself each night and put them near my pillow while I sleep. Seriously, if it's and easy job, I'll remove them each day? Is that feasible?

Dan

 

Good idea, but wouldn't that get to be cumbersome after a while? Don't get me wrong, if it's easy I will do the same too...or until Nissan gets off their asses and comes up with another solution. Damn it.

Aren't Nissan employees Nissan customers as well? Don't they have the same problems we do? Or maybe they all don't drive Maximas.. *sigh*

 

From this forum, everyone says the older lights will definitely fit. But there will have to be some adjustment (that's where I need more details). As for taking them out everynight, some have suggested that as in removable radios. If it takes thieves two minutes to take them out of your car, I'm sure you'll be able to take them out in a few minutes also.

 

What about when you put them back in, having to re-align them? Or are they magic and do it themselves?

 

Do they fit properly? Why do you think they are being stolen? Because they fit perfectly into the 00-01 Max's and vice-versa of course. I'm already considering switching my '03 headlights for '00-01's.

 

Well even if they break the plastic tabs, they aren't good for resale as a whole unit.. so they re sell the bulbs and ballasts (ignitors) which are still worth good money I guess..

 

I think it would be more feasible to remove'em every night and lock'em up in a good steel safe and just put a shotgun under your pillow just in case.

 

This is a very interesting point. So if my HID's get stolen i can get 00-01 bulbs and pop them in. As much as it would suck to have them stolen, at least this option prevents me from having to deal with the lights being stolen over and over again.

drsprite made another good point. Do the lights need to be realigned if they are removed properly or do the just kind of "fit" and that provides the proper alignment. It would seem that having them misaligned would be the only bad thing about removing them nightly...although i concede that this is a pretty significant "only bad thing".

So, how difficult are they to remove properly? just a couple of screws or what?

Dan

 

Judging how these guys can just pop them right out would lead me to believe that it's not that hard. I see 2 screws on the top of the ligh housing, not quite sure if there is a wiring harness you would have to unplug or not.. *shrug* I've never thought about taking them out every night.. My biggest concern would be re-alignment..

 

This idea is interesting...

If it would be possible to have a quick release device so that the lights just pop off, and then take the lights with you in a bag, or leave them in your trunk. This will be great in troublesome areas. Thieves will think the car was already hit.

Of course the alignment is still an issue.

But interesting...

 

Hey Dan,
Lemme start off by saying welcome to the org and congrats on the newly-acquired car! I'm not too sure about the supplemental security system, but I'll give it a shot at answering some of your other questions.

#3 You can get the security bolts from TimW (if he's still selling them that is). You can just drop him a PM or perhaps he'll see this post and answer anyhow.

#4 The AE headlights are the headlights from the 20th Anniversary Edition Maxima (2001 I believe). They are non-HID and look like the stock lights from a 2000-2001 Maxima, except they are bronze (tinted a little). You can get them and fit them on your 2003 if you choose to.

#5 There are aftermarket alarms that have shock sensors/proximity sensors which would give off a siren if someone was either tampering with your car (shock sensor) or got too close to the car (proximity sensor). There are also alarms out there that have a 2-way pager-type LCD screen which monitors the car and will page you if something wrong is detected. Here's a link to one of these that's pretty popular... http://www.directed.com/security/responder/default.asp

Take a look, and this alarm may be a good option for you. Like the others have said, if you end up having the option to rent a garage, I would definitely recommend you do this. Good luck!

 

Well, let's do the math. $125 x 12 months = $1,500/year. If you keep your Max. for the next 4 years that'll cost you $6,000 as long as they don't increase the rent for the garage. If your HID's get stolen, that'll cost you anywhere between $1,500 to $3,000 depending on what the f***ing thieves break just to gain access. So maybe it's better to remove them every night. But since you probably have insurance, who cares?

 

The problem with counting on the insurance to solve your HID problem is more aggrevation than anything else. Not too mention that you have a $500 deductible and that they will increase your rate even though the theft was not your fault. On top of that, the thieves may leave the car in an unuseable state. Mine for example, can't be driven at night for obvious reasons and during the day, I need to leave someone in the car because the doors don't lock since they broke the locking mechanism to get in. If you have to go to work, what do you do then? The police report takes 15 days to become official and the insurance company wants to see an official report before they analyze it. The comes the time to repair the car.

So in my opinion, even though the garage is more visible money, a few stolen HIDs will probably outcost the garage.

 

Hi Dan. Welcome.

I'm a newbie here too and my introduction was prompted when my HIDs were stolen. I wanted to warn other people not to count on the built-in alarm. I didn't buy the supplemental alarm so the one that I was referring to in my message as easily defeatable was the basic one.

One solution to your future problem is to change the lights now to the older model. That's what I will probably do as well. I looked at how these lights are fitted to the car. It appears that there is only one bolt that holds each light on one side. The other side appears to just plug in to a hole. I don't think that the alignment happens here as there is no slide-bolt of any sort. My guess is that the alignment is in the light housing itself, so you should be able to remove the lights easily and take them with you if you really wanted to do that. But the one day that you are lazy (very cold or rainy) and you fail to do it, they will be there to take them.

Good luck.

 

Welcome Dan,

The head lights are bolted in with 2 bolts on the top and line up thru a pin on the outside end of the light and a bracket on the bottom inside. So alignment will not be an issue.
As for the 2000-2001 lights...you will have to have them rewired to take the older head lights and the bottom inside bracket is different.

Hope this help.

 

Thanks for the welcome, and thanks to others who have welcomed me.

I PM'd him a few minutes ago. Hopefully he responds soon.

Swapping out the lights is definitely an option for me since i bought the Maxima for more than just its lights. Anyone have any idea how difficult the rewiring is? Also, is it the lights that need to be rewired or the plugs from the car?


Thanks for the link. I live near a big boulevard so there are lots of alarm installation places I can talk to. The only problem is that I had Nissan install the supplemental package alarm so i already have an alarm remote and all that. Perhaps just a backup siren or a battery backup on the existing alarm would suffice in case they clip an alarm wire. Any thoughts on this folks? I've never had a car worth alarming before::P:

Well, I made an inquiry about the garage today. I won't be able to get an answer until January 5th since the guy I need to talk to is on vacation.

Well, I'm a pretty frugal guy. I'd definitely brave the rain to save three grand on headlights.

I was told there'd be no math

seriously, my wife and I are going to buy a house in the next year or so which would give us our own garage. The garage wouldn't be rented for more than 18 months.

Once again, thanks for all th replies.

Please post responses to my further questions. this forum is helping quite a bit.

Take care,

Dan