my headlights were stolen - is this a new trend?

Dave, did you mean that if you had factory HID headlights, you would have replaced them w/ halogen headlights instead? This isn't going to deter thieves cos' it's very hard to tell from the headlights themselves if they are HID or halogen unless you look extremely careful. Thieves easily identify HID headlights by the fact that HID-equipped Prius always comes w/ factory fog lamps as well - that's how they know if our headlights are HID or not. In other words, thieves may still think that you get HID headlights as long as they see the fogs until they rip everything apart.

But then again may be I misunderstood you, as why would you need to buy non-HID headlights from Canada? We have non-HID (ie: halogen) headlights in the US!

With that said, one good way to deter thieves from stealing our HID headlights is that we just replace the front valence + fog lamps w/ a front valence w/ no fog openings at all! Like those halogen Prius models. But you will lose your fogs......

 

I actually went ot the trouble of making an official-looking "NON_HID" sticker... then when I opened the hood to install them, I saw bright yellow stickers all over the palce stating they ARE HIDs, so it's futile. And like was posted, the foglamps are a giveaway.

Time to lower my comprehensive deductible...

 

I think of a few possible ways to deter HID headlight theft:

1) Like I mentioned, swap your front valence w/ integrated fog lamps with front valence w/ no fog openings. This is to pretend that you have a halogen Prius. The downside is that you lose your fog lamps.

2) Retrofit projector HID units onto factory headlamp housings. But the thief must realize that the projector HID units cost much less than OEM reflector HID like what we get. But to be honest, most thieves find both appealing regardless of the price difference. This is what a projector HID unit looks like: Retrofitted Projector HID Headlight - as you can see, it looks VERY different from reflector-based HID headlights (like ours).

3) Use a wireless surveillance camera (in-car pointing towrds the front or at a nearby bldg pointing towards the front of the car) & catch the sucker on video. Sure he will most likely still manage to steal your HID this time, but he will be ID'd & be in jail very soon. Such cameras are not expensive these days.

4) Move & change job if possible. And avoid parking in bad neighborhoods whenever possible. But this is a very extreme situation, I know.

 

OEM HID pumps up Maxima theft

From ABS News:

"...The Nissan Maxima, a midsize sedan, is the second most likely to be stolen among newer vehicles. The Maxima's theft rate went up after the company began installing expensive, high-intensity headlights as standard equipment in 2002, the institute said..."

Read the whole article here: >> Original Article

 

Or get a Doberman and chain him to the car.

 

Will this work? Modify a stun gun & run it through the headlight housing somehow. Activate it only when the car is parked. Now, any sucker who dares touching your headlamps will be zapped like a bug. But make sure he falls backward instead of onto your Prius bonnet - cos' that's a human bug kill which isn't pretty.

 

Just be sure your affairs ar ein order, because you'll be in jail for 20 to life with that trick.

 

You're right, of course unless I'm a cop:

Pregnant woman 'Tasered' by police is convicted

 

What about just taking the fogs on the package #4 or #6 off? Guess that could serve as mild deterrant too as "see - no fogs, just holes".

 

Good grief, they tasered that pregnant woman several times. That entire police department needs to be fired! Out of control officers, do they just hire gangstas and give them badges, like they do in L.A.?

 

She got tasered only a few times? Lucky woman. Look at this poor fellow, totally unarmed but got shot at over 120 times. Those shooters were having so much fun that they even shot at each other a few times:

LA County sheriff troubled over 120 shots fired in Compton

 

The holes give it away. But, if you cover those holes nicely w/ a circular plate, then maybe they are less obvious. I don't think the valence without the holes is too expensive.

 

I don't know.... an experienced thief will be able to tell the difference between HID and halogen just by looking at the lamp. If a mechanic who doesn't know which package has HID and halogen can tell me which is which, I imagine the common thief has figured it out too...

I think a 'certified non-HID" sticker may not be too good either. It would draw attention and again, you can tell by looking.

Go to the dealer, ask to see a pkg5 and pkg6 next to each other. Study in detail.

But maybe you, as an honest person may not know what to look for. So maybe that's a waste of time.

To be safest, I would say pay the few bucks extra a month and drop the deductible on your insurance.

Living in the middle of nowhere does have its benefits. I have $500 deductibles all around. If I lose anything (car, computer, TV, anything) it'll probably be a total loss (tree fell on car or apartment burned down) so for me, it's perfectly logical.

I don't miss living in the city.

 

While this is probably true, it would mean that the crooks would have to start checking EVERY Prius out there, fogs or no fogs. I don't think the diff is noticable enough to see from the car driving by, if the fogs would not be there as an indication which would scream "I Have HIDs".

Seeing that small % of Prius owners would do this anyway (so the crooks would not necessarily see it as a problem), while it's "security by obscurity" - it could sure help.

 

Well, it's quite simple.

Someone wants to steal some HIDs. They may know nothing about the Prius. They just stake out a street lined with cars for a few days, then make their move. They walk casually past each car, quickly inspecting the headlights to see if they're HID. If not, they walk on, and if so, they get to work.

Keep in mind a lot of retrofit lights are stolen too. So thieves have to look at every car they're targeting and not just for the obvious telltale signs such as foglights. Just because a car doesn't have factory HIDs doesn't mean it won't be closely investigated by the thorough thief.

If you want to protect yourself from someone, you put yourself in their shoes. Think like them.

It may help to hide foglights, but if someone wants your HIDs bad enough to destroy the front end of your car, there's really no stopping them from getting what they want. End of story.

 

Yeah, that true, definitely. I guess no matter what we do - might deter some to a degree, but - it is as you said in the end. :|

 

Unfortunately HID theft is a big problem. Let's face it, if it cost a good pennie there is a market for it as parts. Local gangs have been known to go after airbags as well. I suspect that once they find out how much our batteries cost they will be taking the whole damn car for parts.

Stan

 

Only if there is a demand for them, and with an 8yr/100K warranty, not very likely for a good long time. Heck, there isn't much of a demand for classic HV batteries.

 

I have HIDs I'm now worrying about, and with fog lights signalling a car that should have HIDs, I'd think about major retrofitting before someone steals the headlights anyway before checking what the capsule looks like. Perhaps a "No HIDs" front license plate...

 

Dan, I have found that the demand for replacement parts is usually driven by shady repair shops/body shops. They charge replacement cost to the consumer who unknowingly gets stolen parts to repair their cars.

Stan