Nissan Maxima: Stolen Headlights!!

marteeenez · May 2005

it was parked in long island, new york. i have a 1000 deductible so its not even worth issuing a claim with the damn insurance company.

pathstar1 · May 2005

Uh, hate to bring bad news, but better get ready to submit a claim. As I recall, the costs of replacement will be in the $2500 range.

nj847 · May 2005

marteeenez,you better submit a claim and trade your car in. my headlights got stole twice and cost my insurance to fix $10,000 first time, second time got stole again i just trade in my car without headlights(was estimated $5,000 to fix).

perna · May 2005

I hate reading these posts.

I live in Michigan, where this isn't a problem at all. In fact, when I bought the car, I asked them if they'd ever heard of this. While they couldn't vouch for other dealerships, they said, they've never had a single car come in with its headlights ripped out.

I've had my '03 for over 2 years, and even if I did live in NY/NJ I'm not sure I would let this deter me from buying this car. It's as tight as the day I drove it off the lot, and haven't had any issues with it at all.

thinkalot · May 2005

True. Living in the midwest seems to be disease-free from this epidemic. I am moving to NJ however, and am thinking of either getting the bracket, or just forking over the money for angel eyes or similar replacement so I don't have to deal with this mess hopefully. If there is a suggestion of going with the 2000 model, or some other aftermarket, I'd appreciate it. thanks.

letgig · June 2005

Hi, i had my hid headlight stolen also, would like to keep vehicle but change the lights to non-hid and am considering the 2001, please e-mail the info from the Newark and/or queens location so i can find out the price also i'm imagining they did what they needed to do to adjust the wiring to work properly.

Thanks

Let

letgig · June 2005

Hi, i had my hid headlight stolen and i've only had the car one month, to avoid this type of headache and expense or trade it in, and having the depreciation value, i'd rather keep the car, with the non-hid headache....do you know where in brooklyn, queens or jersey i can have the headlights changed to a 2001, i know there is a 1/2 to inch gap, which is okay, i'll either add something around it or leave as is...
a name, address, phone number of the place where this can be purchased and installed or even just purchased would be great...Thanks.

Let

P.S. unfortunately, thiefs can be anywhere and take anything...so we shouldn't have to move or pay for garage because of them...i say screw them and enjoy your vehicle...it's frustrating, but that's life.

rastagirl · July 2005

Let,

Did you find a place to swap your 2002 lights for 2001? I live in NJ also and my 2002 headlights were stolen twice. I thought they had stopped doing this but last week my neighbor's headlights were stolen in our condo complex and now I'm worried again. Both our lights were stolen in 2004 the same night. I just want to replace these darn lights!

BTW, my car was parked diagonally acrossed from hers and they didn't take mine? Go figure! I don't know if the "Protected by DATADOTs sticker" stopped them from taking mine. I doubt it.

Joan

pjbear · July 2005

I had my '03 Maxima lights stolen out of my car for the 2nd time.

The first time was 12/03 shortly after I purchased the car - replaced to the tune of $3,500.

They 2nd time was this past Saturday 7/16 @ 4:30am my car was sitting in my driveway on a quiet residental street.

This time it looks like more damage then the 1st time.

I was told by the dealer when they replaced the lights the 1st time that the "datadot" would deter thieves, NOT!!!

What are these lights you guys are talking about?

Kirstie_H · July 2005

A reporter is trying to learn as much as she can about the stolen xenon headlights phenomenon. If you have an experience or other information to share, please respond to jfallon@edmunds.com no later than Tuesday, July 26, 2005 with your daytime contact info, city and state of residence and a few lines about your perspective.

stepheno · July 2005

That's a shame that they were stolen. Maybe you should keep your car locked up from now on, huh?

I've never had that happen to me, thanks to my security system installed.

bewstadd1ct · August 2005

Interesting you would say that, considering by the time anyone responds to an audible alarm, the lights are already in the theives hands. locking the car up has nothing to do with it, the hood is popped from the outside and headlights are then removed.

nissan has an antitheft kit available which includes theft resistant bolts which are a PITA to get out, a hood cable protector and a door lock cylinder sheild. anyone attempting to steal the headlights after this is going to have a hell of a time.

gig3 · August 2005

I have a 2003 Maxima SE and I too had my passenger side headlight stolen one week after I purchased the car from Nemet dealership in Hillside, Jamaica...They didn't take the other because something must have spook them.....The dealer ship didn't warn me about the headlights being popular w/the thieves.....On that day an officer was dispatched to take finger prints and before he got started he stated he too has a Maxima 2003 and he was informed about that anti-theft kit so he bought it and had it installed on the car, 2 days later his headlights were stolen again but the only difference this time was that they did more damage to his car than the 1st time because the thieve has to work a little longer, instead of 45 second it took them 1 minute and they bent the hood and damage the front grill......My advise to you is don't waist your time buying the anti-theft kit, it is a wait of money and time....

aggiedog · August 2005

I thought that kit was supposed to be free to people in high theft areas?

sharkp · August 2005

I just got a letter from Lexus, telling me that I should get a dealer installed theft deterrent enhancement for my RX 330 since I live in the "areas of the Northeastern United States of high incident of HID headlight thefts".
The letter says its a free installation (needs to be done before Dec 31st) and it includes 2 things: 1) new HID headlight securing devices and 2) unique identification technology applied called "datadots".
Has anyone had this done to their vehicle? I found the "datadots" info from their web page. I have not yet seen what the securing devices are.
Thanks.

vanny1 · August 2005

:mad:

I recently purchased a 2002 Infiniti I35, I had my car less than a month when my headlights, were stolen. I made the grave mistake of parking my car on the condo complex parking site. At 7am on 7/29/05, when I was on my way to work, I noticed my windows down, and my CD's scattered about on the passenger seat. Whatever they did to get my headlights caused my windows to roll down once the car was turned off. The damage alone for the replacements was more than $6000.00. After reading all of the stories posted. I'm thinking of trading my car in for something else, that would draw less attention to my car. Please advise if BMW or Mercedes is also having the same problem? After speaking with my insurance company I was informed that this epidemic is also occuring with the Maxima's, Acura TL's, Infiniti's and Lexus.
I called Infiniti, and of course they are aware of the problem, but honestly are not doing anything about it. If anyone knows of any class action suit in New York City, against Nissan or Infiniti, I would gladly like to know or if there is anything I could do to protect my car from being violated again, please advise.

monkeyshift · August 2005

I had my brand new '05 Escalade for a month until it got stolen out of my driveway. A week later, they recovered it three states away, but otherwise in pretty decent shape. They think it was used as a mule vehicle to transport drugs.

A few things suck about this--1) it's my wife and kids vehicle-- we don't want it back now. and 2) With all those miles that were put on it, GMAC is now trying to tell us that it is our responsiblity. (I only get 12K a year, over 2K were put on the vehicle).

Am I just out of luck, stuck now with 3 long years on a leased, stolen, smelly, car that I never got to enjoy brand new? On top of that, they stole it out of my driveway, no broken glass, no alarm, the dogs didn't even bark. What's to say they can't just do it again, even with the locks changed?

Is there anyway to have the insurance company consider it totalled? Probably a pretty naive thought. What about selling it privately, does the Carfax records on it say it was a stolen/ recovered vehicle and thus make it even harder to get rid of?

Thanks

monkeyshift · August 2005

So they tell me I'm getting my '05 Escalade back, without the VIN numbers. (except for the secret one they can't remove off the bottom). The cops told me that my dealer would just put a temp vin tag back on the front, but this would forever be a car that has lost 25% of its value due to be stolen/ recovered. Good luck selling it, ever, was their quote. So why doesn't insurance companies consider this 25% loss and cover me for it? Instead, I get a 60 grand car back that's only worth 45 or 40 with not much help of anyone purchasing it. What next?

tidester · August 2005

That sounds like a nightmare.

You may be able to find some help in Lease Questions - Ask Here and Questions About Auto Insurance & Accidents.

Best wishes.

tidester, host

toucanet · August 2005

Is this problem occuring on the 2005 Maxima as well? I'm interested in getting one. However, this deeply concerns me.

klarkman · September 2005

I consider myself somewhat of an expert in the Maxima - stolen HID issue, since it's happened to me 3 times in 13 months. I'm in Miami and work in a "secure" parking garage with patrolling security vehicles, but it's no help. After the first heist (June 2004), I worked with the dealer to get the first version of the "Theft Deterrent Kit" (Part #65601-6Y300). It consisted of four parts: tamper resistant Torx bolts, protective pads on hood lock cable, hood lock/cable protector and a driver door key cylinder protector. At first, the kit was on back order and, after three months or so, removed altogether from the Nissan parts list. The best explanation I could get from service technicians was "it did not perform as intended".

In between thefts, I received a notice of a class action suit against NNA in South Florida which was in the settlement phase. Basically, Nissan would make available a theft deterrent kit at a cost not to exeed $30 for members of the class (ie: 02-03 Maxima owners). A final hearing was scheduled in July, 2005.

In July 2005, they were yanked again. This time, I worked with NNA and secured the new version of the theft deterrent kit (Parts #26040-6Y325 & #12089-6Y300). While it still contains the Torx bolts, Nissan has abandoned the hood lock and cylinder key protector; the new kit are a set of brackets that bolt the bottom of the HID assembly to the frame of the car. It was installed in my Maxima on 08/11 at a cost to me of $377.00. NNA agreed to reimbiurse me everything above $30 once I receive the "official" settlement letter.

Four days later, 08/15, the HIDs were stolen again. Not only were the brackets ineffective; it appears they did not even slow the bad guys down. The time of day these thefts occur, combined with the activity in the garage during that time would only allow for a couple of minutes to steal the lights. Apparently, that's more than enough time.

So, the remedy Nissan is proposing to settle these class action suits (in FL and NJ) simply does not work. You can bolt the HID assemply to anything you want, but it's still easily breakable plastic. If they were serious about stopping these thefts, they would recall all 02-03 Maxima's and retrofit the lights with at least two design changes that would stop the thefts cold: encase the HID assembly in a metal (rather than plastic) casing and move the ballast back further in the engine compartment. The HIDs are worthless without the ballast, and Nissan conveniently packages the ballast in the same plastic case as the HIDs.

Great car, but after $10,000+ in repairs caused by HID theft, I doubt I'll ever buy a Nissan again. They really left us hanging on this one.

letgig · September 2005

It is true, they will put the kit on, according to cops doesn't work, the theives will take more than a minute and do more damage...What Nissan should have done was create a different type of light or alarm unit to any proximaty or tampering with those lights or alerting customers before hand (god forbid). I bought mine at nissan nemet in queens, and will never buy from them again, having been battling for 2 months on a trade to get one excuse after another...They claim they weren't aware of the class action suit against nissan or that these were hot items...well i fell victim again, this time for airbags, my car is fixed and in a lot, i'm paying for it, can't use it. obviously don't want to contine being a victim again, will try my business with another dealership...it's frustrating and expensive...the 2005 don't have that problem, but trust me, maximas are hot for parts, so if they don't go for the lights, they'll go for the airbags, the stereo the tires...so having a nice quality expensive car, may not be worth it, if it's gonna benefit the theives...My advice sell your 2003's if you have them and get a toyota, a chevrolet or some other good car that the appearance or parts are so appealing....Good luck.

If there is a class action suit in the New York area, please let me know, cause i will definitely join in on that, and get all my money back as a settlement.

Thanks.

russianmd · September 2005

Someone should also get their act together at Lexus: the stolen headlights on my RX400h cost $8400 (!!!) to repair. And, of course, Lexus (dealer and corporate) deny any responsibility.

It takes less than a minute to pop those suckers out - how is it not a defect? And we'll see if their fix is as effective as Nissan's.

cornellpinoy · September 2005

I feel for you. I have a friend who had the headlamps stolen from her RX300 - parked on her driveway! I also know quite a few folks that have had their Maxima lights stolen. Recently, I saw a CTS that also had the same thing happen - and it only had halogen bulbs, not HID. Do you live in the NY/NJ Metro area?

djlax152 · October 2005

Well Add me to the list also my 02 maxima had its headlights yanked from it not even 2 weeks after i bought the car! This is insane that the motor companies refuse to do anything about this. Its as if they begg you to buy their car with their billions in advertising then once you buy the car your screwed. I too will never buy another nissan or any other auto manufactur that refuses to take action about this !!! NEVER NEVER NEVER and i am also getting rid of my maxima as well

blkhemi · October 2005

I just made a 1345 mile trip to come to my daughter's rescue after some thugs made off with her headlights at a football game. Not only did they get hers, they made off with 13 other cars, most of them Nissans(7 Maxima's, 2 I30's, 1 G35 2 350 Z's and oddly, a Chrysler 300 C, all with HID's) So I decided the best thing to do was to call the local Nissan dealer in Austin, Texas(GO LONGHORNS) and purchase the headlamps . The rep told me that they were on back-order for 3 MONTHS. He further said that they cost an estimated $789 a piece. I was in total shock. So I called the insurance company after I got the police report and they implied that they would suck up the cost minus the $500 deductible AFTER they locate a set of lights. WHAT?? So the car was completely unusable at night and because my daughter wouldn't be caught dead driving a car without headlamps even in the daytime, I left her my 3500 Dodge Ram to drive until I could get back home and find the lights. Turns out, no one had them because of this latest round of theft to the Nissan cars. Here comes the gotcha!

Checked out E-bay, and guess what people ? I saw all of our lights.

Wonder what would've been the outcome of all of this if Nissan would've stamped the VIN# on all of the headlamp assembly's? These guys were selling them for like $100 bucks. So I managed to buy 2 sets, 1 as a spare. After about 5 days, flew back down to Texas and the bandits had made off with the Dean of Students Infiniti Q45 headlamps and a few other Nissan-related cars. Now they had finally done it. He had ordered 24/7 police patrol after "his" car got snabbed.

To say the least, I left my truck with her and drove the Max back home to Long Island and trade it in on a '06 GTO for her today. She originally wanted a G35 Coupe, but as you can see they're just as easy to be vandilized. I will never buy another Nissan again. Nissan, knowingly mad a bad headlamp design, has lost me and quite a few other customers. And for more reasons than the headlamps. But that is whole nother story........................

maximacrap · November 2005

Anyone with Xenon lights in NJ are subject to HID thefts!
No matter what you drive,lexus,toyota,nissan,whatever.
If it has bling ,bling,you know what type of person wants it
Let me tell you they live in deprived areas :Newark,Passaic, and the Oranges.Also people with suped-Hondas that have readily available Projector housings that fit your HIDs,pick up a custom car magazine or search online.We need to sue the hell out of these people that promote stolen lights!!!The aftermarket car parts people.
So get a car with halogens,sue some companies, or stop complaining.If any lawyers out there want to do this post online,or reply so we can all join in. :lemon:
Signed Maximacrap-

gtw · November 2005

I need to hire one of these thugs to show me how in the hell to replace the burned out Xenon bulbs in a 2004 maxima. My goodness what a task it looks like.

rmd · November 2005

I GOT THE DATA DOT INSTALLED ON MY RX AND THEY STILL TRIED TO GET MY LIGHTS SO I AM TRYING TO GET RID OF MY CAR ASAP. MY BUMPER WAS ON THE GROUND WHEN I CAME OUTSIDE THE SOCIAL SECURITY OFFICE IN THE MORNING. SO THIS DATA DOT IS A WASTE OF TIME.

rmd · November 2005

I HAVE THE DATA DOTS INSTALLED IN MY RX AND IT IS JUST A WASTE OF TIME THE THIEVES STILL TRIED TO TAKE MY LIGHTS. DEALER SAID IT IS HARD TO TAKE THE LIGHTS BECAUSE OF THE EXTRA BRACKETS THEY INSTALLED BUT THIEVES WILL KEEP DAMAGING YOUR CAR TO GET THE LIGHTS REGARDLESS. I AM SO UNHAPPY WITH THIS CAR I JUST LEASED THE RX IN APRIL AND I WANT TO GIVE IT BACK ASAP BECAUSE I CAN'T DRIVE IT ANYWHERE. SOMEONE PLEASE LET ME KNOW HOW I CAN RETURN THIS CAR WITHOUT MESSING UP MY CREDIT

rmd · November 2005

I JUST LEASED A RX IN APRIL AND NOW THERE IS A HIGH DEMAND FOR THE HEADLIGHTS I CAN'T DRIVE MY TRUCK ANYWHERE. DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW I CAN GET OUT OF THIS LEASE WITHOUT MESSING UP MY CREDIT. I HAVE THE DATA DOTS AND THIEVES STILL TRIED TO TAKE MY LIGHTS. THEY LEFT ME WITH 850.00 DAMAGE TO MY BUMPER. WE NEED TO DEMAND CAR MANUFACTURES STOP PUTTING THESE DAMN LIGHTS ON THESE CARS!!!!

tidester · November 2005

I seriously recommend turning off your CAPS LOCK - people either tend to ignore messages written in ALL CAPS or become irritated by them especially when they appear in tandem, i.e. ALL CAPS will not help you make your case.

Best wishes,

tidester, host

gtw · November 2005

Anyone know how to do this?

syms1 · November 2005

I traded in my 2003 Maxima SE in January 2004 for a new Toyota Solara without xenons and I now sleep much better. Most upscale new cars including BMW, Nissan,Lexus,Infiniti,Acura,etc. have these desirable xenons. Most Toyota models do not including my Solara. Trade in values on Maximas are very low and insurance rates are astronomical, especially here in NJ. A class action lawsuit against Nissan by the State of NJ is still pending. Most of my friends and neighbors with these upscale cars are at their wits end since many of them are least and cannot be turned in without a significant loss.As long as there is no concrete solution to this recurring problem I would avoid Xenons at any cost....no matter how nice the car is. It isnt worth the cost or aggravation.

blkhemi · November 2005

On 10/15/2005, I posted a letter about the latest round of
HID thefts on the Maxima's. It's not just singular to the NJ area. My daughter was in Texas when they got ours.

Well for all of the prospective Infiniti M buyers out there beware: My wife got hers ripped off in a private gated doctors office this morning. This, on a $58,000 vehicle. They took the whole front-end off(bumper,grille, and light assemblies)

I think that either the DOT or the FTC should get involved and question these automakers on why these parts can be stolen with nothing more than a screwdriver. I hope I'm not the only one who works hard enough to throw $60K a vehicle only to have something like this happen. Not only do you have to go through all this but rest assured your insurance premiums will rise dramatically.

Total damage to the M-45: $4953.98.

Just wanted to give everyone a heads-up on what's happening with these headlights on other makes. However, the most cases involve Nissans. Looks like I'll be shopping other makes next year.

stever · January 2006

Now Infinitis are getting broken into with screw drivers in the keyhole.

vchisari, "Infiniti FX45 / FX35" #2974, 3 Jan 2006 2:49 pm

Steve, Host

johnster · January 2006

Over on a competing automotive website the owner of a late model Nissan Maxima writes in with a problem that must be Nissan's solution to this problem.

The owner had a headlight bulb burn out in his Maxima and was told by the dealer that in order to replace it it would be necessary to first remove the front bumper (I imagine he means the bumper fascia) at a cost of $250.00, mostly for the labor involved, in order to get access to the bulb to replace it.

The mechanic at the website says he checked with Nissan and that this is indeed now the Nissan-approved method of replacing the bulb. Kind of hard to believe, though it might slow down some thieves.

stever · January 2006

"Owners of Nissan Maximas whose headlights were stolen between December 2002 and November 2003 will share in part of a $325,000 payment the company is making to New Jersey to settle a lawsuit the state brought over the thefts."

Nissan pays $325,000 to settle stolen headlight issue (Straightline)

Steve, Host

strongbad · January 2006

I was thinking of buying my friends 2003 Maxima. He lives in Wisconsin and they have had no problems with the lights getting stolen. I live in Illinois. Does anyone know how often these lights are getting stolen in Illinois/Wisconsin or if there is anyway for me to get this data? Is this primarily an East Cost issue? Thanks.

hadenough · January 2006

Unhappy is an understatement.The data dots are a joke. Had them installed after lights were stolen the first time. Less than 90 days later lights were stolen with more damaged to the car.I am getting rid of the car.
I am also leasing my car, I was informed by the leasing company that I could sell the car or Lexus could buy it back and pay the termination fee. I contacted the main lexus office and have requested that they buy back the car, pay the difference in payoff and blue book value.
A class action law suit is definitely needed. They don't have solution to this problem.
Contact your leasing company directly and explain situation and that you want to get out of lease. Also call the 1800 lexus number and file a complaint

lookin_mdx_nj · January 2006

This theft thing is getting out of hand. My RX330 was hit 3 times in less than a year. Twice with me and once with the previous owner !!!.

So, I guess the DOT and the extra bracket doesn't help much ?? what else can we do ?? Who can we complain to ? I called Lexus customer experience and they told me its only a problem in my State (NJ). They wouldn't do anything.

perna · April 2006

I was thinking of buying my friends 2003 Maxima. He lives in Wisconsin and they have had no problems with the lights getting stolen. I live in Illinois. Does anyone know how often these lights are getting stolen in Illinois/Wisconsin or if there is anyway for me to get this data? Is this primarily an East Cost issue? Thanks.

I live in Grand RApids, Michigan, and have owned an '03 Maxima since 03/03. Never had anyone screw with the headlights, and I posted in this thread back in May that my dealership had never seen this happen. This is still the case.

Wisconsin? I'd say buy the Max and enjoy one of the best cars on the road. :shades:

watsonru · April 2006

Your retailers of HID headlamps are charging too high. I know China manufacturers can export HID headlamps at price only US$100.00 per set FOB Shanghai, China, with small shipping

charges.

davidvsgoliath · June 2006

DAVID VS GOLIATH
2002 NISSAN MAXIMA
Ive had my headlights stolen three times, the stolen headlights are only part of the problem the real problem is how easy it is to get into the Nissan Maxima. Due to the design of how the door handle is attached to the door, with a flat head screwdriver the thieves pop out the driver side door handle to get to the electronics which allows them to lower your windows, unlock your doors and disarm the factory alarm so they can get into your vehicle and pop open the hood to get to the headlights without damaging them and taking what ever else you may have in your vehicle. This is more then a headlight problem, it is a flaw in the design of this vehicle. And Nissan is unwilling to except responsibility. Shame on you Nissan, you have lost one more loyal customer.

I urge everyone that has or had this problem to call Nissan and file a complaint 1-800-647-7261 and just dont stop there file a complaint with the Consumer Reports www.consumerreports.org and the Better Business Burrow www.bbb.com anyone you think that can help us little guys with this problem. :mad:

tristan1 · July 2006

Just bought my wife a new 2006 SE with HID's and I'm wondering if 04-06 headlights are getting stolen too. :confuse:

shadowfox777 · July 2006

You shouldn't have much problems with headlights being stolen from a 04-06 Maxima. The 04-06 model years isn't as popular as the 00-03 model years and a majority of the 04-06 models come with HIDs.

Remember also, the headlights from a 04-06 and 00-03 are not interchangable (but they still could retrofit the projectors; requires more work, etc).

maximafan · July 2006

The only model of the 2004-2006 Maxima that
has HID's is the SE's with the "driver
preferred package" and The SL's.

That being said, I have not heard anything
about the '04-'06's having problems with
stolen HID's. I have read several pages back
in this forum of Infiniti's and Lexus RX's
having their headlights stolen.

I still can't get over the fact that this
problem is pretty much a regional thing,
i.e., the northeast/NJ/NY area and some
areas of South Florida(Miami) and possibly
the Texas cities. I live in the Tampa Bay
Area and there's been no such reports of
HID theft particular to 2002-2003 Maximas.
I drive a 2002 Maxima. Right now, I'd
better knock on wood since I have less than
a year left on my lease.

tristan1 · July 2006

Maybe thieves just could'nt tell which one got HID's and which does not. They tried to take the one's out of my pacifica but end up just damaging my hood, bumper and headlights.

godeacs · July 2006

Texas cities? Have not heard of any problems in the San Antonio area....

maximafan · July 2006

Check Post #189 and #199, both posts are
from "blkhemi". I believe this was in the
Austin, TX area. Hopefully, you and I can
rest easily in our towns on this issue.

Nissan Maxima: Stolen Headlights!!

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