5% Tint and getting pulled over by the Police?

[jtgumy]

I have 5% on back door and hatch and sunroof, and 20% on front doors over stock tint. I haven't got pull over yet for tint, which more then half the time all windows are down anyways.



Back in the day I had an 08 taco with 5% all the way around and 20% on windshield. I did get pulled over a lot but My dermatologist sent a paper to the state police to have darker tint, I just showed the cop the paper signed by state police and they just tell me to have a nice day. I miss it.

 

[redkat]

Me: "Officer, I'm doing the public a favor, they don't wanna see my ugly face."

Officer: "Agree, have a nice day sir."

 

[flyinhawaiian01]

Why not just look at what your state allows? Here's a link to determine what's legal:

Tint Laws

As for tinting the front windshield, unless you have a doctor's letter, it is not legal, at least not quite yet. The tint associations are trying to get some films legalized for front windshields, and have already gotten the legal permission for truckers to allow certain films on their front windshields, due to the amount of truckers who have skin cancer-presumably from driving without better UV protection. I won't go into debating this, but I can tell you that 80% FILM (as opposed to "TINT") on the front windshield of all the vehicles I own makes the interior quite a bit cooler, even in the hot sun of Idaho.

Also, contrary to popular belief, the darker the tint does NOT make it cooler in the vehicle, it actually heats the interior quite a bit faster than lighter tint!

If you want to run darker tint, that's up to you. Its your vehicle, and if that's what you want, then you take the chance of getting a fix-it ticket for it. I run 20% on my front sides and 80% Air80 on my front windshield, and if I get pulled over for the sides (its almost impossible to notice my windshield is tinted, cops wouldn't notice it, as its just that light and done well enough that you cannot see any edges and have no wrinkles/creases), then I get to pull it off and get it checked, then put it back on if I feel like it.

In Hillsboro, OR, the cops there were real sticklers about dark windows, here in Boise, not so much. Same goes for when I lived in SoCal, the town I lived in loved to give out tickets for window tint, but Honolulu, I never had a problem with my old '78 LTD with 5% all the way around!

Point? It really depends where you live and where you travel to. There's no striaght-cut answer here, and it could just be your lucky day to have a cop notice he cannot see who's driving, and feels you need to be pulled over!

So, rather than anyone giving a glimmer of hope that you won't get pulled over for tint, just do what you want and take the consequences if you get busted for it! Don't want to take the chance? Have your local tint shop do a LEGAL film on your vehicle and call it good! You'll never get bugged for legal tint, most cops know EXACTLY what legal tint looks like, and even slightly darker than legal, most will let it go, so long as they can see who's in the car and how many are inside.

 

[tberry5000]

I have 5% on all my windows and and 40% across my dash. Its 3m tint and i dont believe its terrible at night. I did get pulled driving through Georgia in December and was given a ticket by a Highway Patrolman. I didnt think a cop could pull you over for just your tint, i was going the speed limit in the slow lane and he came right after me.

 

[E.J.W.]

We've had 20% tint on the front door windows since the day our 2008 Impala was new. It has 35% on rear door glass and back window. Had it done at independent shop. My wife got stopped at an road check for registration and insurance. Like others said; have the window down before the officer gets to you. They were NY troopers and it cost us $350 in court for the front windows. (NY allows limo tint on rear door glass and back window if you have dual outside mirrors) The meter reading on the ticket said 70% tint. We told the judge that would be impossible to see out of. He didn't care.
My opinion was that with the factory tint plus the applied tint the meter was saying 30% and the officer did not know how to use the meter and read it wrong. We looked into fighting it but a lawyer started as $750.
Took it off the fronts that weekend.
E.

 

[Stanman]

California is no tint on the windshield, colored or clear. However, you can have an upper tint strip no lower than the AS1 line (4" from the top). Front side windows are basically the same but you are allowed 70%LT. Any shade is possible for the rest.

It really depends on where you live and how you drive. I have 5% on the sides and rear. The windshield is 30 or 35. I like the privacy aspect and I do not like wearing sunglasses, but at night it's a negative making unlit areas even darker. I'm in the 626 area mainly (Pasadena, San Gabriel, Covina). Unfortunately, I get tint tickets tacked onto speeding...never as the primary reason. I think law enforcement "ignores" trucks, unlike cars especially lowered ones.

If you just want heat rejection instead of privacy, you can get clear tint. I do feel the windshield has a major role in allowing the inside to get very hot when parked even if all other glass are tinted.

Higher quality tint like that from 3M does not get very dark (I've only seen as low as 60%) but the clarity is amazing compared to other brands. I would pick an independent installer instead of the dealership.

If you know someone in law enforcement, person could technically sign that you "fixed" it. The courts just need to see this and have you pay; they never check your car. If you fix it by removing, CHP will sign for free while the Sheriff makes you pay a service fee.

PS. This could become an important factor if you are ever involved in an accident.

 

[jdtaylor42]

I had 5% on my old Passat Wagon for years in New Mexico and never got pulled over or questioned about it but it was really difficult to see at night when backing. I had 15% on our newer Passat and it was much easier to see at night but got pulled over and ticketed in Arizona by highway patrol. In fact they tested my tint and said it tested at 12% so I got a $200 ticket but didn't have to prove I fixed it so I just paid the fine and kept the tint as is. Haven't been pulled over since then. Think it just depends on how busy the cops are honestly and if they need to meet their quota's.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Don't tint your windshield. That is just crazy talk.

You run over some kid on a bike at night cruising to McDonalds and they are going to hand you your ass on a platter.

Bad, bad idea. Plus as far as I know it's illegal everywhere to tint your windshield and an invitation to a getting a coupon and/or razor scraper handed to you while they watch you scrape it off.

 

[tberry5000]

Don't tint your windshield. That is just crazy talk.

You run over some kid on a bike at night cruising to McDonalds and they are going to hand you your ass on a platter.

Bad, bad idea. Plus as far as I know it's illegal everywhere to tint your windshield and an invitation to a getting a coupon and/or razor scraper handed to you while they watch you scrape it off.

Im almost 99% positive a cop cannot strip your tint.. When i was pulled the cop asked if my windshield was tinted but he had no way of proving it. i just told him i was unaware if the tint shop tinted my windshield or not and handed him the card to the shop that did it.

 

[flyinhawaiian01]

Higher quality tint like that from 3M does not get very dark (I've only seen as low as 60%) but the clarity is amazing compared to other brands. I would pick an independent installer instead of the dealership.

3M has had the standard percentage films for many, many years. One of the tint shops I worked at in the 90's used 3M exclusively, and I installed many cars in Des Moines, IA using their Panther 20 and Panther 5 films. In fact, my '87 truck's xtra cab windows are STILL the same panther 20 film that is over one of their commercial 20% films, looks sorta like black chrome on the side windows (yes, film still there and not purple from '95 or '96!).

3M now has their "color stable" line, which comes in 50, 35, 20 and 5 percent shades, this is for their automotive side:

3M United States: Scotchgard Automotive Protection: Car Buyers: Products: Window Film: 3M? Color-Stable Auto Films

As for getting signed off in Socal for a tint infraction, been through that twice. Pulled film, cleaned glass, drove to CHP office, had inspected, they signed off, drove home, installed new film. Second one, the Simi PD was so lazy, the guy just zoomed in on my truck in the parking lot with his surveillance cam, noticed there was no film on the passenger's window, signed off and that was it. Again, drove right back home and installed new film!

Yeah, I'm a sucker for punishment, but its only because I hate to have no tint on my vehicles! Once you have dark windows for a few years, its extremely hard to be in a car without tint at all!

 

[Porqupine82]

Full disclosure: I'm a cop, and I personally do NOT write window tint citations, however it is illegal in some states and there are cops who will. It is what it is, and nothing will change that. If you're okay with getting a $100 ticket from some boy scout cop, to have dark windows, do what you want... I'm with [MENTION=90379]RockyMtnHigh[/MENTION] 5% is too dark here's mine with 20 and it looks great IMO

 

[pokits]

I live in CA and really would like to do a 5% tint all around the car, but I'm wondering if this is a bad idea in terms of negative police attention or possibly getting ticketed and wanted to hear your thoughts.

Also, should I get this done at the dealership or go with a local shop?


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went from limo tint to light in my front two windows due to getting a fix it :lookout:

 

[GhostRider8]

What % do you have on your windshield? I'd like to consider doing that as well. Any advice after having it so long?

Once you have it, you will never go without it! I had 10% at one point on the windshield, however my vision isn't what it once was! I will probably do 50% when I get my 4Runner tinted. All depends on what your desired outcome is? when I had 10% I didn't want anyone to be able to see in, now it's just more of a heat and comfort for my eyes.

Funny thing is my darkest tint never got me a ticket. 08 Tahoe 2.5% on all sides with 7-10% on windshield.

 

[mesto102]

went from limo tint to light in my front two windows due to getting a fix it :lookout:

How light did you wind up going to?

 

[JEL]

In Hillsboro, OR, the cops there were real sticklers about dark windows, here in Boise, not so much. Same goes for when I lived in SoCal, the town I lived in loved to give out tickets for window tint, but Honolulu, I never had a problem with my old '78 LTD with 5% all the way around!

To be fair, no where in the CONUS has stronger sun and more intense UV than Honolulu! :surfer:

In any case, SoCal isn't too bad if you're not too dark, and don't drive like crazy. I have 35% 3M over the factory privacy glass, and 15-20% (can't remember) on the front doors just to match the rest of the truck. It looks good and 35% quality tint is really all that's needed to stop essentially all of the UV rays and the vast majority of the heat. IIRC the returns diminish rapidly beyond 35%. We have 35% of the car my GF drives and I notice no difference in heat rejection vs. the darker tint on the front windows of my 4runner, same goes for all the rears.

The Pacific Northworst is the only place I've had trouble with the state cops and tint, but then again, Washington State (particularly the Seattle area) is known for being a speed trap with ticket-happy troopers and city cops who really have zero flexibility.

I have considered doing the 3M Crystalline 70% on my windshield, I rode in a car with it and was very impressed how much heat it rejected, pretty much all the heat was gone similar to the dark stuff on the rest of the windows. It's also so light it's pretty much imperceptible from the inside or outside.

 

[TrkyMfns]

I had 5% all around (excluding the windshield) for over 5 years and never got pulled for it. I've driven all up and down the east coast in that time frame.

The privacy was nice, but the visibility sucked. When I got my 4Runner, I went with 15% all around. It's nice and plenty dark, but sometimes I wish I had 5% again lol. Do what you want, but don't compromise your safety solely for style.

 

[bloodninja]

Quick Summary:

Simply because you haven't gotten pulled over for something does not mean you aren't in violation.

That said, if you know your state's vehicle laws (hint: it's your responsibility to know them) and you know you're in violation, it's only a matter of time before you're stopped for it. So there are two schools of thought on this:

1 - Do whatever you want and wait to get caught

1.1 - Accept the fact that you were in violation and fix it​

1.2 - Accept the fact that you were in violation and don't fix it, but continue to be issued violation notices​

1.3 - Don't accept responsibility and instead tell everyone you know about how mean everyone is and life isn't fair​

2 - Obey your state's laws and don't have problems

 

[4FL]

I put if I remember correctly 32% all the way around, so my back windows are darker than my front ones. I have the strip across the top of the front windshield.

If people are concerned about heat, they make a clear tint for the front window that blocks the heat great. I live in Miami and can state it works great.

If you absolutely need 5% up front; I think you can make something (maybe they sell?) that is removable to stick there. So you can stick in on your side window when you want, and remove it when you want.

 

[flyinhawaiian01]

Its called static cling film, and its impossible to just stick on and see through it without installing it like an actual film. The bubbles will make it impossible to see clearly, which just makes it more dangerous to use. If you install it with water though, it will lay down well and you'll see through it almost as good as regular film, but as soon as you remove and re-apply, you'll need to have water again. And I wouldn't use soapy water for this either, it will make it cloudy.

As for clear film, they do make several UV "films", they are not "tint", as they have almost no reduction in light transmission. The best film you can use on a car with the most heat reduction would be a ceramic-based UV film, such as Llumar's Air80, Suntek's 80% film, and a few other brands, I think 3M also has one, but can't find my 3M film book anywhere in my shop right now! These films have the highest heat rejection properties, and still has full UV rejection, but does not darken the windows. For the Air80 film, it looks almost identical to some of the Mercedes windows with the blue hue to their glass. Suntek's film has a green hue and isn't quite as clear as the Llumar film, but its also not nearly as expensive either.

 

[FrontRange4Runner]

How in the hell do you guys see out at night, or even in inclement weather? I had 5% on the commuter I just bought and had to pull it out immedeatly. Also , do polarized sunglasses black it out entirely? Mine did, so I had to drive around with my head tilted like a moron for a few days. May have just been some low quality stuff installed by the PO. Also, saw multiple cops in the few days with the 5% here in CO, and never got a second glance.