Running lights - importing your car in to the U.S.

[trailmix 77]

So today we received our compliance letter from Ford - or perhaps that should read, letter of non-compliance.

It says:

With the exception of minor labelling requirements and daytime running lights, the above noted vehicle - etc etc - is basically all good.

It then goes on:

The daytime running light system on this vehicle does not comply with US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108 and therefore must be disabled.

So after a little research it appears that the lights on the Crown Victoria are too bright....do people not have sunglasses I ask you!?

I called our dealership, for $126 dollars approx we can have these disconnected. I called CBP at Sweetgrass, he said, non-complying daytime running lights - no import. (BTW it's the law in Alberta that we HAVE to have them on).

Question: Did anyone else come across this daytime lights issue in their compliance letter?

[SonoranSongbird 3]

I think you have to have daytime running lights in the US as well. To be honest, I know virtually nothing about the car import issue. My fiance dealt with it and it turns out his Japanese import was designed to be compliant with both US and Canadian standards, so there is no issue with it. But before realizing this, he looked into the specific requirements and I just remember him saying something about daytime running lights being a requirement for cars manufactured after some specific date. The car I drove until two years ago did not have them (and it was a 1996 Saturn, not all THAT old) so I was surprised. According to him, anyway, both Canada and the US require them but you required it first.

I realize that is not at all helpful, I mention it only because I don't THINK disconnecting them will solve the problem. I could be wrong on that, though, and I'm sure someone on here will know. Can you get a different type of bulb?

It is a bit mind-boggling that there would be a brightness standard for DAYTIME running lights.

[trailmix 77]

It is a bit mind-boggling that there would be a brightness standard for DAYTIME running lights.

^^^^ agreed! And the fact that Canada and the U.S. can't agree on what that brightness standard should be is just - silly.

Upon further investigation it says that as long as we have them disconnected and present a receipt/document for same, along with our compliance letter - it's all good.

It's so annoying, I'm annoyed!

[Flames9_RN 358]

I believe in canada it is a law, but not in the USA. i know my 2005 Scion does not have daytime lights, and I'm fairly certain my inlaws 2007 Solara doesnt

[SonoranSongbird 3]

Oh doink. It actually SAYS to disable them. No idea in that case. I might try looking that up (if it's in the Code of Federal Regulations, which it may not be). I was under the impression that daytime running lights are required on cars manufactured after a certain date (what date, I don't know). If you do have to disable them, would it satisfy Alberta law to drive with the headlights turned on manually?

[YuAndDan 153]

My 2001 Chevy PU has DRL, no problems.

[trailmix 77]

Just called and booked the car in for Tuesday to have them disconnected.

I hope Alberta will be happy with us driving around with our headlights on!

[Reba 2]

I find it rather strange that they'd tell you to disconnect the drl since US manufacturers are actually now following the Canadian standard and installing them at the factory. (I don't think its law yet in the US though, they're just doing it for the sake of doing it)

here's info from Wiki, which from my interpretation should negate that letter you received and you shouldn't need to disable them:

United States

General Motors, interested in reducing the build variations of cars for the North American market, began lobbying the DOT (United States Department of Transportation) to permit DRLs in the United States shortly after Canada required them. A prolonged regulatory battle was fought, with the DOT objecting on grounds of potential safety drawbacks and glare issues. Eventually, however, these objections were set aside and DRLs of the same types allowed in Canada (save for fog lamp DRLs) were legalized but not mandated effective with the 1995 model year. General Motors immediately equipped most (and, in following years, all) of its vehicles with DRLs beginning with the Chevrolet Corsica. Saab, Volkswagen and Subaru gradually introduced DRLs in the U.S. market beginning in 1995. In recent years, Lexus has installed high-beam or turn signal based DRLs on US models. Some Toyota models come with DRLs as standard or optional equipment, and with a driver-controllable on/off switch. Starting in the 2006 model year, Honda equipped both the Accord and new Civic with DRLs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daytime_running_lights

[trailmix 77]

That's an interesting article Reba, my Husband read that yesterday but I hadn't seen it.

I have it on good advice from one of our fellow VJ'ers that the running lights issue should not be an issue at all (their compliance letter from Ford said the same thing ours does) - plus we have a year to import it 'officially' after we get to the states, if it turns out to be an issue at the border.

[MrsCat 6]

Trailmix - where did you find the # to contact Ford for a letter of compliance? Did you just contact your local dealership, or is there a # on their website.

thanks in advance!

[Flames9_RN 358]

Trailmix - where did you find the # to contact Ford for a letter of compliance? Did you just contact your local dealership, or is there a # on their website.

thanks in advance!

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/import...ada01192007.htm has the phone #'s of all manufacturers

Some one on the board said Ford charged them $75 for it!! And they may have stated it would have been free if they had gone to the dealership, but I may be mistaken!!

[KiminON 0]

when i got my letter from Subaru (free of charge) they asked which state i was importing to as some required the lights to be disconnected and others not. she did name a couple of them at the time, but i don't remember which.

[trailmix 77]

Trailmix - where did you find the # to contact Ford for a letter of compliance? Did you just contact your local dealership, or is there a # on their website.

thanks in advance!

Hi cattattude,

I just called the main ford number, they referred me to the dealership as the dealership actually does the letter, or at the very least requests it. It took them a couple of weeks to get it to us in the mail if I remember correctly.

I should also mention, when we got to the border the border agent insisted that we had to import our car that day. This was pretty much the only 'unpleasant' portion of our border crossing experience.

BTW we decided not to get our running lights disconnected.

Border person (after all the immigration paperwork was completed): 'What are you going to do with your car'?

Us: 'We haven't decided yet, if we decide to keep it we will import it later'.

Border Person: 'You can't import it later, you either have to do it now or not at all'.

Me: 'Oh, that's not what I was told, I understood we had up to a year to import it'.

Border Person: (in a loudish voice, speaking very slowly and succinctly) 'I don't know what you were told but that's wrong, you either have to do it now or not at all. You need a compliance letter from the manufacturer".

Me: 'Oh, I have that in the car, i'll just go get it'.

The thing is, I didn't want us to have to turn around and go back to Coutts to a mechanic to have the running lights disconnected, if it was going to be an issue.

So I go to the car and get the letter, border agent reads it and kind of says to himself 'Ford should know better than that'.

I fill out the 2 forms, he stamps them, hands them back to me, along with the letter of compliance and that was it for importing the car.

[LadyJane 1]

The border guard telling you that you needed to import your car "now" seems like baloney to me. We "imported" FEW's motorcycle the week after he arrived. But, the bike was stored here in Michigan and he didn't bring it with him when he crossed, so that may have made a difference.

As for the running lights? I dunno. To my great surprise the rules for vehicle importing appear to be arbitrarily enforced (note the sarcasm). It seems like our border guard was most concerned about emissions from the motorcycle. But, it didn't prevent us from importing the bike duty free.

[trailmix 77]

The border guard telling you that you needed to import your car "now" seems like baloney to me. We "imported" FEW's motorcycle the week after he arrived. But, the bike was stored here in Michigan and he didn't bring it with him when he crossed, so that may have made a difference.

As for the running lights? I dunno. To my great surprise the rules for vehicle importing appear to be arbitrarily enforced (note the sarcasm). It seems like our border guard was most concerned about emissions from the motorcycle. But, it didn't prevent us from importing the bike duty free.

I agree about the 'import now' thing and about the arbitrary enforcement.

I know of at least one person here who imported their car later and there was someone else just the other day who did the same thing. Strangely this guy was not a 'new' guy, he was even training someone on how to do the IR1 when processing my Husband's.

Oh plus, I called CBP at Sweetgrass before we left, as mentioned above, he said disconnect the running lights or you can't import it. Who was wrong - Ford or the CBP guy on the phone or the guy who processed it at the border, who knows! Maybe there are no hard and fast rules!

It's confusing isn't it.

Edited May 5, 2008 by trailmix