- Vehicles
- 420
- Built between
- Jan 2005 – Apr 2009
- Models
- 5
- Recall type
- Equipment
- Initiated by
- NHTSA compliance test
- Owners notified
- 17 September 2009
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between January 2005 and April 2009. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- Vertex 9006Built January 2005 to April 2009
- Vertex H1Built January 2005 to April 2009
- Vertex H4Built January 2005 to April 2009
- Vertex H5Built January 2005 to April 2009
- Vertex H7Built January 2005 to April 2009
What the defect is
Vertex automotive is recalling 420 hid conversion kit bulbs sold for use as aftermarket parts for motor vehicles. The bulbs in these kits fail to conform to the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 108, "lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment."
What could happen
These bulbs produce excessive glare to oncoming traffic which may result in a vehicle crash.
What gets fixed
VERTEX WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND WILL EXCHANGE THE RETURNED HID BULBS WITH COMPLIANT HALOGEN BULBS. IN ADDITION, SHOULD THE HALOGEN BULBS BE OF LESSER VALUE THAN THE RETURNED, NONCOMPLIANT HID BULBS, THEN A REFUND WILL BE ISSUED FOR THE DIFFERENCE IN THE PRICE BETWEEN THE INDIVIDUAL BULBS. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING JUNE 2009.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtJanuary 2005 to April 2009
- Recall reported to NHTSA19 May 2009
- Owners notified17 September 2009
Your rights
A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.
That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 19 May 2009.
To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.
Manufacturer contact
Owners may contact vertex at 1-305-442-2727.
Official source
- Recalling manufacturer
- VERTEX AUTOMOTIVE
- Safety standard
- FMVSS 108
- Recall initiated by
- OVSC
Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Additional notes
Owners may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to <a href=http://www.safercar.gov>http://www.safercar.gov</a> .
Check your own vehicle
This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.
A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.