imlost

I know all the parts are made in Eastern Europe, but are the parts then diffrentiated when they end up on cars that go to different continents, like Europe vs. USA?

I'm looking for a LED Headlight (plus the ballast/module) for my 2017 Cayenne, and I found one that originally is from a EU car. The seller says I might have to install it with a computer? Does anyone have any experience or insight on this? Does it require any additional steps? If so, is it just resetting it with a PIWIS/Durametric computer?

deilenberger

I'll just comment - and this is AFAIK so don't take it as fact - it's what I've heard here.. the ballasts are linked to the vehicle VIN#. Turns out it's not hard to steal Cayenne headlights due to the latch on the bottom that hold them in. And apparently to counter this Porsche decided to link each light with a particular VIN during assembly, making the ballast worthless on other Cayennes. People have replaced the ballasts with Mercedes ballasts - which are the same but no VIN# locking. The Mercedes ones work - but throw an error message due to the lack of the VIN# lock. If you buy a new Porsche ballast the dealer has to code it to the VIN# for the warning to go away.

That's what I've heard. Haven't experienced it personally - so don't take it as fact. BTW - not all the parts are made in Eastern Europe (Slovakia) - many are from other euro countries including Germany. Some like the ballasts are not made by Porsche - they're made by a company like Bosch or Seimens for Porsche then marked up about 1000% for resale later.

And welcome to the forum!

wkearney99

The question then is can a ballast used previously be re-coded via PIWIS to a different VIN? Or is it a one-way lock, only settable once?

slavie

Headlight regulation between US and EU are different, subsequently EU headlights do not have the "DOT" stamp and are technically not legal on the roads in the US. The reverse is also true - US headlights are not legal for EU roads. Whether anybody will check and issue you a ticket may depend on your state inspection laws. This is a technicality, of course, so it's up to you to decide what the impact is to you.

Yes, you will need the dealer to reprogram the new VIN into used ballasts (Durametric cannot do anything here). The PNs of both ballasts must match exacttly down to the revision number, or else they will not program. The ballasts should program as long as the donor vehicle has not been reported stolen, as VIN will be checked against database in Germany. Stolen VINs are entered into the DB and most electronic parts from such cars are instantly worthless because they will never re-program, not through official means at least.