Ryekir

I live in Massachusetts and took my Jeep in to get inspected for the first time since I bought it. The guy doing the inspection turned on the headlights and asked if they were aftermarket HIDs. I told him they were LEDs and he said he would have to fail me because they're not legal since they're not OEM.

Anyone know if this is true? Or if there is anything I can do about it? I see lots of other Jeeps driving around with the same or similar LEDs (I have the trucklite heated LEDs), and they're marketed as being "DOT approved for use in all 50 states".

Mattk11

Put the OEMs in for inspection, get your sticker or whatever they do, them replace them. You can probably pick up some OEMs used for $20.

Jonathan_JK

This is another reason I moved from the North East (NH) to the south. They don't care about headlights as long as they work. They also don't check to see if they are aimed right. All they check is if the low and high beams work.

I go with put the OEM's in for the inspection... pass... then put the good ones back in

jeepmojo

keep changing headlights every time, id live with the stock ones and i do. granted brighter is better but i can see fine with my stock ones . thats lame he wouldnt pass it for that reason . What a putz so you cant change bumpers , tires, wheels etc...
your bumper isnt stock one either it appears will he fail it again 2nd time around?

Pete1971

find someplace else to go, this guy is an idiot, besides DOT approved should be somewhere on the light anyways, this is what I hate about our inspections, picking the right place to go that knows what their talking about, for GOD sakes the dealership sells LED lights for a wrangler

karls10jk

Instead of taking internet advice, why not find your local state police station and ask them. State police typically have authority over the inspectors. If someone is having a bad day and fails you for legal lights then it would be up to the state police to go remove his license. The inspectors walk a fine line and they know it.

4x4TruckLEDs.com

I've heard of that in Utah as well. I sell a LOT of LED Headlight conversion kits (best on the market so far, which is why I sell them)... while they look great, it's true they won't pass DOT inspections. As others said, throw the stock halogen bulbs in there during inspection. It's about a 10-15 minute swap out. If you've put LED lights in before, you know the drill. It's not too bad to swap them out for inspections every year or two.

Side note... if you do need better LED headlight bulbs, check out my site. The XHP series are a really popular item. VERY durable so if you have issues after you swap your bulbs out (drop them/etc...) maybe time to upgrade.

Again, NOT DOT legal but hell... half the stuff on our trucks isn't DOT legal right Joe Law isn't gonna stop us though.

dahreno

Wow ! I'm surprised that a vendor is recommending not only running non DOT legal lights on the highway but, but knowingly breaking the law. Now I know that most here will say to me, "what's the big deal?" but, it doesn't make it right. In my work, if I decide to not do something that is a code, people can die so, I can't afford to give advise like this. Maybe DOT doesn't like blinding on coming traffic for some silly reason or something. There is supposed to be a difference between regular lights and brights. If it seems like the brights are on all the time, what's the point ? People are constantly being blinded by them, you may not know it because your in a high Jeep but, people in regular cars shouldn't have to suffer the brunt of non legal super bright lights. If you can't see with your regular lights, maybe get your eyes checked. Just my 2 cent rant. Carry on ! lol

4x4TruckLEDs.com

I've always told my customers if you replace your headlight bulbs, ALIGN your lights as well. Don't assume they will be lined up.

But look at the facts. MOST of the aftermarket parts that go on these trucks, isn't street legal. The off-road lights, not street legal. The bigger tires, some are not street legal either. Lifting the truck changes the center of gravity, etc... it can all be looked at as illegal by the right guy INSPECTING your truck.

Here in NY, we don't have those crazy inspections.

Some inspections I agree with, but why outlaw ALL LED lighting kits? It takes a lot to get DOT approval... there are good kits on the market that are not DOT legal yet, which don't blind people or cause issues.

Then there ARE those crappy kits that should not be installed (i don't sell those or recommend them at all).

I sell an LED kit that works properly as you can adjust the beam pattern on the bulb itself. So between that AND the fact that you need to align your headlights, you should be good.

I'm not telling people to "ignore the law" and do what you want. I'm just saying that a LOT of these products being installed do not carry that DOT lamp, but that does not mean they are BAD products or DANGEROUS if installed properly.

Jonathan_JK

The laws are behind technology. There was a article on USA today about how manufacturers are putting in new tech that has not been approved by the DOT. Some states have stupid inspections some don't have any. Just look at Florida. You don't like the state inspections do what I did move to another state. I'm so happy I don't live in the cold New England area anymore. Also no toll roads for 200+ miles