Dealer LED headlights scam??

Bingo. It would appear AutoNation is illegally installing non-compliant LED headlights into customers vehicles without their consent. If you paid a premium for this 'service' you were robbed. Replacement LEDs in halogen headlight assemblies are illegal and usually have increased foreground light with dangerously low distance projection allowing one to outrun the headlights at highway speeds posing a real safety hazard.

Wouldn't it be interesting if someone had a lighting contact at Toyota corporate, I wonder what Toyota would think of AutoNation's practices....

 

This is correct. It's illegal, per the NHTSA, to put LEDs or HIDs in housings meant for halogens. Housings that were made for LEDs or HIDs are fair game though.

Edit: I should specify, it means headlight housings. Fog housings aren't regulated by the NHTSA. Your state laws may dictate that though.

 

im NOT defending the dealer .................

unless U specified Toyota parts

what he provided was a ' dealer option '

not so much a scam..................theyve done it for decades

some regional some the factory Never saw

 

If by scam or option you mean illegal modification then sure, call it a scam. Either way someone with muscle (crash) will inform someone with leverage (Toyota) who will crush this shadiness or the dealer gets no more product.

Or, in RD style

breaks ... life .. bad ... pills ... hard... sometimes ... swallow... hammer coming atnasean gonna get got

 

it looks like you just took the delivery and your car seem scratched?

 

If you're referring to the line above the headlight in my first post, that's just a clear vinyl bra and a shit load of bug splatters. Other than that yes the passenger front window glass had a scratch in it that I didn't notice until I got the truck home.

 

Well, this thread is interesting and got my attention because the truck I have coming, TRD OR DCSB Cement, is thru Autonation (!) and it's supposed to have the LED headlights as in option LG : LED Headlights with LED DRL + Black Bezel - LED Foglights.

So, I've got a call into the sales guy to confirm exactly what's coming. I don't want to get down there in 10 days and find out it's not correct.

 

Go there and call them out if they did the same thing.

 

Before you accept delivery I would look at the headlights to see if you have the LED headlight housing. If you see the halogen housing, I would open the hood and pull the low beam bulb. If you’re able to, then obviously it’s not LED, second, verify they stuck an aftermarket LED bulb in the low beam. If so, you can decide on your course of action with the dealer.

 

Talked to the salesguy, got pretty specific and he says it's the real thing. We'll see when it gets here and it's on the order sheet.

 

I'd get the local news channel to tag along with you and film from their van. Could make for excellent investigative journalism. They live for sensational stories like this.

 

So OP what happened with the dealer?

Enquiring minds want to know.

@DeeKay20

 

I vote @crashnburn80 as expert witness reference.

 

Back in the '60s and '70s when most cars didn't have AC, dealers would offer cars with "Factory Air Conditioning." That lead people to think that it was installed at the factory where the car was built. There was actually a company called "Factory Air Conditioning" that made after market AC.

The dealers weren't lying they were in fact selling "Factory Air Conditioning." It just wasn't OEM air conditioning.

You have to be careful to read the sales agreement and inspect the vehicle before you sign anything and turn over the check.

 

I'm not that concerned. I know to go over the truck in my own PDI and it's not my first rodeo. The biggest pain in the ass would be rejecting the truck and having to start the cycle again if it's not correct.

 

There is no need to reject the truck over this specific issue. Bring a set of halogen H11 and H9 bulbs with you. Require the dealer to remove any LED bulbs they installed by providing supporting documentation that it is not legal to install LED bulbs in halogen projectors for road use. Replace with your bulbs after purchase. The OEM Osram H11’s are lousy anyway and the Philips H9’s are cheap and easy to source. Return the bulbs unopened if it’s in fact OEM LED.

It should be immediately obvious which headlights the truck has. A horseshoe DRL is OEM LED and an L is halogen.

If they did in fact pull this stunt, use it however you want on price negotiation. Ultimately, they have the upper hand because supply is low, demand is high, and there is a lot of confusing information about LED lighting for vehicles right now so their next buyer is likely to not know as much. If they won’t budge and you still want the truck, removing the LED bulbs yourself after purchase and throwing them in their trash can is a nice way to send a message.

 

If you provide the link to that page (maybe by going through your browser history), that page may be retrievable.

Or, maybe provide the VIN, and possibly we can find it.

 

Damn that dealer sounds shady

 

Here's the original link to the dealer ad, but it just redirects to their tacoma search page.
https://www.autonation.com/cars/3TYCZ5AN8LT004944?sc_lang=es-US


In other news for anyone who's curious, I've called the dealer daily this past week asking to speak to the sales manager who oversaw the sale. Tuesday I emailed the same sales manager. Wednesday I tried to get any of the other dealer managers on the phone with no success. I keep getting the runaround saying they'll call me back. Honestly though I'd rather get an email back from them so at least I have somewhat of a paper trail going forward. Might be time to get Toyota's regional office involved.

 

That sucks op. Have you tried to go there in person