rjcastr

Dammit!!1

My rear reflectors (red) were removed by the VPC in oxnard, Why? Now i have to go and buy some, its not right, anyone know why they do this? I had them when i was in Germany

Rudy

Because they're technically not legal for the US. The VPC most likely can't release a vehicle to the dealer without it meeting all the requirements of the US DOT...

rjcastr

they should have placed them in my trunk, where can i get some? They also drilled holes in my front bumper for the license plate what the hell!!!!! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRr

rodybmw

We have discussed the legality of the reflectors many times before. If they were not legal then they would not have the "DOT" lettering on them (which they do). Also, BMW NA would not put them in the official BMW Accessories catalog for the 5 series (which they have). Even the position of the reflectors meet the US specs (I checked). So I think that the reflectors are legal because of the following reasons:

1. The reflectors have the "DOT" marking on them
2. The position of the reflectors meets US regulations (as a matter of fact the E46 coupe's reflector positions is more borderline in height then the E60's, yet BMW NA sells the E46 coupes here with reflectors).
3. BMW NA would not put the reflectors in their 5 series accessories catalog and sell them as an accessory if they were illegal.

Having said all that I bought my reflectors in Germany but did not install them when I did my ED because I did not want the VDC to take them off here......but at the time BMW NA was not selling the reflectors as an accessory back then. I waited until redelivery here to install them.

You can buy the reflectors at any US BMW dealer and they are not expensive.

jet190rs

don't you read the ed forum on bimmerfest?
they warn everyone not to install any accesories while still in europe.

EBMCS03

Yup Totally legal! No ideal why the E60 dont have them...

TONS of cars on the road now have red reflectors on the bumper on the road... just take a look next time and start counting... I think almost all lexus have them. and like Rody said... E46 has them.

They're $12.50 a piece at the dealer.

rjcastr

Jet190


I Didn't install anything while i did my ED. The reflectors came installed when i picked up the car from Munich then they were removed at the VPC

Rudy

The reason I used the word "technically" before describing the reflectors as illegal is that we've discussed many times before that although they appear to be US DOT legal based on the actual specifications (posted by me and linked to from here) it's clear that there is some reason why US bound E60's do not have them. If you check this thread, you'll see that early cars actually came with the reflectors painted over (not just blank inserts.)

My theory is that there is more to the approval process for US DOT than just the "DOT" stamped in the plastic or other cars having similar reflectors. I think BMW presented the car for approval and for some reason they didn't pass so they were forced to yank them from US bound cars. The DOT is still in the plastic because they probably stamped the same parts for all countries assuming that it would pass the US test.

I wasn't aware that they're in the US accessories catalog now. That's an interesting point -- you'd think that if they were legal, they'd put them on the cars instead of painted inserts (which are likely more expensive to produce).

Either way, I think the VPC has clear instructions not to allow "non-factory" stuff to remain on the car so if you're doing ED, I suppose the best advise is to not modify anything until you get the car back to the States...

jet190rs

really? that's a new one. the ed cars were always the same as the us cars....
hmm i guess you should've ripped the reflectors off the bumper before dropping off the car

mullman

That is wierd!
I ED'd last month, and happened to re-delivery on Saturday.
No reflectors in Germany.



I'll be buying them today...