I just came back from the Nissan Dealer today and I was asking the parts/service department if they've heard of any special reinforcements to prevent the HID theft of my Maxima. It seems that they've heard of the thefts, but they have nothing they can do to help us out with our HID's. However, he said the 00'/01' headlights are interchangeable with the 02'/03' so an easy swap can be performed. I was so tickled pink to hear that, but I'm sure many ORG members already know this by now. But should I ever get my HID's stolen, I'm retrofitting 00'/01' headlights....screw the HID's, I personally don't think they are any better than regular headlights. And that means I can travel to cities and other places of ill repute and not have to worry about my HID's. Plus the headlight bulbs would be much much cheaper to replace when one should burn out sweet.

 

well, sorry to rain on your parade, but i would venture to guess that a potential theif would open up your car anyway, once they saw your tails and your grill, assuming all 2k2's had HID's. it may only make them more mad if you don't have the HID's. secondly, the HID's life is around 3000 hours - meaning that in all likelihood, the bulbs will outlast the car.

now, just a question...do you really think that HID's are not "any better" at all than halogen lamps?

 

What are you smoking? HID's provide much more light than the 00-01 stock head lights, especially with the high beams on.

 

First off, I cannot see how the HID bulbs will outlast my car. I don't drive my car nearly as hard as some of the people on this forum. So I can expect to go through a few pairs of bulbs for the life of my car. Second, Nissan doesn't seem to give a rats *** about us Maxima owners and this HID theft problem. From what I hear, the Maxima's lights are alot easier to steal than the ones on the Acura's. And if Nissan isn't going to do anything....that it leaves it up to us owners. I'd gladly bite the bullet and retrofit 00/01' lights in my 02' Maxima. I just don't feel like forking over $500 deductable to pay each time my lights get stolen? And what happens if you need to travel at night and you have no headlights? From what I hear, this problem is not only happening in NYC, but its starting to happen in other cities nationwide. I plan on taking road trips in my Maxima in the future and don't want to be worried sick about my lights. What this all boils down to is that this car has the potential of costing me more money than its worth with these HID's. Better or not? I personally don't think so. The range is the same, but the light is different and may help slightly, but to me it doesn't justify $500+ out of my pocket each time these lights get stolen. I love my Max to death, and the reason I bought it was for the engine, interior, and performance....I could care less about the lights. Again, as much as I love my car.....I'd consider trading it in if I didn't have any solution such as swapping out my HIDs for 00/01's.

 

I am willing to trade my 00-01 headlights for a pair of 2k2 hids. Pm me if you are interested.

 

so go swap em with some 00/01 guys.. im sure they would love to trade thier regular crappy lights for HID's.. shoot i'd do it in a heart beat if i had an 00/01.. HID's are simply better...

trade them now..

 

to each his own. i can't argue with you if you don't think that the HID's are significantly better. except you didn't address the fact that your car is a 2k2, and any thief will assume that your car has HID's when they see your tails and your grille and will start tearing in your car. once they see that your car has halogens, even if they have the courtesy to leave your lights behind, do you think that they will be careful not to scratch your car when they pry open the hood and uncork your lights? you're likely to have scratches all over your car...

the way i see it, once the theives get their hands on your car, you're probably going to have to pay the deductible regardless.

as for nissan not giving a crap, i agree with you. they designed the car improperly - they should not have made the 2k2 lights fit 2k's and 2k1's. this problem wouldn't be nearly as significant otherwise.

good luck finding a solution. i suggest you sell your lights if you're going to retrofit them - they will fetch a ton of money.

 

I called my dealer in NJ yesterday on the same question and they said that in order to replace the 2002 HID's with '00 or '01 lights you would have to change the wiring hardness. A mear $1,200 for the wiring.....so they say. I am not sure if this is true, but its does not appear to be worth it with their being so many advantages to HID's other then somebody else wanting them in their car. I'm not sure if anyone has ever switched back to halogen lamps and if its that simple.

 

i dunno about that.. because there are alot of 00/01 guys who upgraded to 2k2-2k3 lights already....

 

One thing i keep repeatedly hearing is that nissan is stupid for making the lights easy to steal. How is nissan supposed to know that people are going to steal headlights ? ? ? There has never been another car manufacturer that has had an epidemic (if that's the correct word to use) like this.

I have a hard time believing it's any easier to steal our HID's than acura, bimmer, MB, etc, etc. If someone is well studied on this i'd love to know. . .

 

That, in my opinion, is the most unlikely scenario I've ever heard. The thief is not going to look at his tail lights and his grill and make the determination that the car has HIDs and start tearing into his car. He is going to look at the HEADLIGHTS to figure it out and walk away when he doesn't see the HIDs.

 

Don't take it personal but that is a naive question. Parts theft is as old as cars themselves. Why do you think some time way back hoods went from being opened from the outside to the inside of cars? HIDs are being stolen for the same reasons airbags, and a miriad of other expensive parts that are common, or can be applied, to many different cars.

Nissan's cost cutting to improve their bottom line has a lot to do with the fact the HIDs are being stolen. For starters, the security system does not have a shock sensor, at the manner in which the housing is held, I could go on...

 

Do the other manufacturer's have shock sensors with their factory "alarms"? I know parts theft is huge, but it doesn't seem like other cars have had as big of a problem, specifically with HID. Why would nissan think any differently? Please go on and on.

 

Plastic tabs.

 

Hood can be opened from outside.

 

this isn't a solution. it's merely avoiding the problem.

 

I didn't believe it either. I would imagine that there is difference in the amount of power supplied to the HID's v. the halogens. Is the wiring harness different in an 00/01 compared to my 2k2? Could a 2k2 actaully switch back to 01 AE lights by simply pullings out the HID's and attaching the 01's?

 

yes

 

Well I for one wouldn't tollerate to see my HID's go. If that ever happened to me, I'd seriously consider selling my Maxima. Its a shame too since there isn't any affordable competitor that can compete with the max without costing more. I'd probably bite the bullet and end up in a Civic or a Corolla. Way to go Nissan for screwing up such a great car. The reason they won't help us 02' and 03' owners out is because their attention is all focused on the 04' Maxima which won't break any new ground in my opinion.

My parts department told me that its possible to do the 00/01' swap. They also told me to park the front end of the Maxima close to something so theft isn't possible. And I still have no intentions of traveling to NYC or its boroughs. Being from Upstate NY, I wonder how long my luck will last.

 

Come on, I understand that the lights are easy to remove but you have to blame THE PEOPLE STEALING THEM!

By that logic, should you blame the radio manufacturer of your head unit if it gets stolen? "Why did you make the radio so appealing the theives?"

How about getting pick-pocketed? "Why did the wallet manufacturer make it so it could fit in my back pocket?"

Come on, we can fault Nissan for making them easy to remove, but can't blame them because dirt sacs are buying the parts stolen therefore creating a market for them. As far as retro fitting the cars, I'm sure that people with the 2ks and 2k1s were pumped when they first heard that they could have HIDs on their car too.

The HIDs are a large reason of why I purchased the Maxima. I am just as paranoid as everyone else, but at least Nissan didn't make the car so you can start it and drive it away with nothing more than a paper clip!

 

Amen, brother

I live in Queens and i am certainly concerned about HID theft. I have a 2k3 SE, and yes, the headlights are cool, but I would certainly swap in 2k1 lights if my HIDs got clipped. I won't swap them out before that happens, but I certainly won't have the same part stolen twice, so yeah i'd go with halogens. I, personally, could care less about having HID lights or not so it's no big deal.

But the thieves are to blame, not Nissan. Nissan designs a car they think will sell. End of story. They are in the car selling business. I think it would be wise for them to design a security mechanism that can be added to the Maximas at the buyer's option, but I also think it's reasonable for them to charge for it if they do. I don't see the ease of HID theft as a design "flaw" so much as just the natural course of doing things. I'm no car designer, but I think certain things have become basically standardized or at least common practice. For example, door handles are flat pieces of metal that you lift and the door opens. Nissan does it, Ford does it, everybody does it. You only get fancy when you want to impress like on the 350Z. If you want to slide your seat forward there's a lever under the cushion. You twist it and slide your butt. You can adjust your seat in a car you've never been in before, because no designer thinks too much about it. The design is simple, so designers just assume it will be the same. It's easier that way. Headlights slide into the header panel and get screwed in. End of story. What's to think about? It turns out that a few design ideas have combined to make getting at the headlights easier than it should be, I suppose. But no one said thieves are stupid. They figured it out. Nothing is perfectly safe. And to say it was dumb to make the headlights fit the older models is silly too. first of all, it saves time and money buy using a same or similarly shaped nose and headlight section. Second, they can sell headlights to anyone who wants to add them to the car. It's a good business decision.

things get stolen, they always have, they always will. Does a manufacturer have a responsibility to the consumer to help them counter an obvious risk that they assume by buying their product? Yes. Car theft is an obvious risk, so nissan installs their immobilizer system. But it's not Nissan's job to protect against every last possible scenario. Caveat Emptor. Let the buyer beware. the owner of a car assumes a certain risk by parking it in public. You diminish that risk buy paying for insurance. But there will always be some losses.

From what i hear, the headlights can be swapped relatively easily. I don't know if that translates to inexpensively, but that's another story. I believe the rewiring jub actually becomes a bit easier by virtue of the fact that some of the wiring apparatus has been removed by the thieves. But I'm no expert on that either.

Bottom line: Thieves are skumbags and the world has to deal with them.

Just my $.02

Dan

 

I personally do not condone theft. But I am of the opinion that if you build it they will come. Nissan builds a car that has the following "attributes" if you are a thief:[list=1][*]Ease of acces to cut the alarm wires[*]Ease of hood opening without ever accessing car's interior[*]HID bulb and ballast in nice compact pacakge[*]$700 housing being held by a few lousy plastic tabs[*]Large numbers on the road (in comparison to other cars w/ HIDs bar maybe the TL/CL)[*]Large numbers parked overnight outside (as opposed the TL/CL)[/list=1]

Other makes may have the same "attributes" but thieves may not have easy acces to them since most Mercs, Lexus, Bimmers, Infinitys, Acuras and Audis are nicely tucked at home overnight...

I'd be willing to bet that as the technology trickes down to more mundane cars, those who have the same design features will fall pray to the same thieves (isn't that the second oldest profession?).

 

Yeah i think so...

1. Farming
2. Thief
3....

Oh that's not what you meant?

 

Yeah i think so...

1. Farmer
2. Thief
3....

Oh that's not what you meant?

 

get the 00-01 headlights and put an aftermarket HID kit in them.. and if you dont see a difference between HID's and regular headlights, theres something wrong with your eyes.. when i drive a car without HID's now, it feels like the headlights arent even on since im used to the projection of the HID's