Hello EF,

I am (still...) in the middle of process getting my car registered in Switzerland. My car (infiniti G35x sedan, AWD 2008) is from America, and it has Xenon headlamp.

I had my car inspected several days ago, and failed because of Xenon light. In Switzerland it is mandatory to have automatic height adjustment device and high pressurized washer. And my car doesn't have that option. (But the HID Xenon head lamp was original in the car.)

So I am thinking maybe I should downgrade the lamp to halogen lamp.. Which is pity, but cheaper way to pass the inspection. I talked to the infiniti dealer here in Basel, and they don't know how to do this. Or they are also not quite sure if they can make it work with Xenon light either...

I talked to a car electrician this morning who infiniti dealer recommended, and he was hesitant to do it. Because he thinks it is too much work, and also a bad decision to manipulate the car to have the lamp that is not as good as the original lamp...

Does anyone know a smarter solution for this? Anyone knows a garage who deals well with changing xenon to halogen..? Or any administrative solution of avoiding the change..?

Thanks in advance.

No easy solution

Change headlamps (at cost)
Or fit headlamp adjusters and washers (at cost)

You will have costs. You cannot avoid that.

Xenons require special extra gubbins to run (ballast and high voltage circuits) IIRC, so your halogen won't slot straight in - you'll need to replace the entire housing, plus some electrics/fuses I suspect.

Don't know how it fail though - my espace has xenon, and it passed ok (though they did need adjusted slightly for height). It has auto level and pressure wash though.

thats why it passed

If you decide to install non xenon lights, make sure to check if they require a manual light level (up&down) dial inside the car! That is required in many EU countries and the Swiss Xenon requirements seem all too similar (to many EU countries).

For My 2 cents I would have the whole light assemblies replaced with the correct height adjustable and washing unit and then the car reprogrammed for them.

It is costly, yes, but it is the correct action and after you have shipped the car over it is worth it, just think what the equivalent car in Swiss prices would be!

The problem is if the car is a canbus vehicle simply removing the ballasts will give the computer all sorts of problems I can ask the techs at the specialist garages we use with our clients for import and MFK conversion / passing if you like to see how involved your case actually is. You might be able to also shift the original units on eBay US easily.

Another issue might be the availability of Halogen lights. I don't know about other countries, but AFAIR the G comes with standard Xenon lights in Switzerland, which means that fitting Halogens may not even exist on the market.

Thanks everyone for the answers!!

As far as I know all infiniti vehicle these days have Xenon lights. So original Halogen housing does not exist.

I talked to one garage who mainly deals with Toyota import/conversion, and he said installing infiniti's original washer system will cost 1500CHF assuming that I have auto height adjusting thing - which my car doesn't have.

The electrician said changing the light to Halogen may be possible, but he really doesn't want to do it. He thinks that it will require too much work, and the result is to make a good lighting system to a bad lighting system. He thinks it is kind of stupid.

I am not sure what to do. I don't plan to stay in Switzerland forever. I might move to another country in 3 years or so. If I knew that it was going to be this difficult, I wouldn't have shipped my car...

anywhere in europe will have the same regulations so unless you plan on going back to the US......

If I were you I would find an infiniti or a good nissan dealer in germany and ask them for a quote.... it will be sooo much cheaper and you can claim the tax back depending on your permit status (but have to pay swiss tax)

the closest infiniti dealer is frankfurt

Hmm... so Germany has the same regulation on Xenon light.....?
xigh...

Yes - it appears that it is only the US that doesn't both with washers and levellers - both of which are designed to reduce the possibility of blinding oncoming drivers.

Apparently US is the only developed country with outdated regulations that allow you to blind oncoming traffic at will!!! So PLEASE do NOT drive that car on public roads! You might be causing serious accidents by blinding people. Washing is required for the same reason: dirty glass will scatter light and thus blind oncoming traffic. It is a simple as that.

People and LEGISLATORS should start caring not only about themselves (in this case not only how well do I see with my super bright xenon headlights but also care whether I will blind others by doing so).

Developed? Since when? I must have missed that Memo...