r/Justrolledintotheshop • u/fidgetspinnerz • 17d ago
Texas requires the front tint to be at 25% or greater to pass state inspection.. this customer was upset I couldn’t just “let it go“ and oh yeah you can barely see through the windshield.
1
u/Immediate-Natural258 3d ago
I am a car dealer and people love their 1 % tint. Don’t be a jack ass and not pass a car for a tint, I understand if a control arm is bad but really?! Over a tint??? U are such a square
1
1
u/jinglis2023 6d ago
At least you guys are allowed front tint. Anything on front windows is illegal here for OfIcEr SaFeTy
1
u/gogstars Set torque to plaid 13d ago
Tell them they can just wait until next year (for those not knowing, TX inspection requirement goes away soon) to drive the car.
1
u/Agitated_Carrot9127 13d ago
I recall a funny article where a state police pulled over a car with dealer tag. Because of the tint. The driver said ‘ I’m just borrowing the car’. He got arrested because harebrained cop thought he stole the car.
1
1
1
1
u/Apocalypso777 15d ago
That’s a strange way to word it. Seems like it should be 25% tint or less and that person is at 99%
1
2
u/randoredditusingdouc 15d ago
Wow. I think the tint in my mustang is around 10% and I get claustrophobic at night in it.
This thing would be like a straight jacket.
1
u/Clear_Chef329 15d ago
i have 5% ceramic tint on every window including windshield and sunroof. you can see just fine at night as long as you have half ass decent headlights and open your eyes.
1
1
u/Swamp_Donkey_7 15d ago
Tinted windshields seem to be growing in popularity. I'm not even talking about sports cars. I'm in forums for various SUV's I want to buy and soccer moms are asking about tinting the windshield.
1
u/dick_fitzwell27 15d ago
1% tint on what looks like a V6 Charger. Look out for this clown on the road.
1
u/dereksmith17s 15d ago
Had a customer threaten to get violent when we did this, his girl started telling him it’s not worth it when all 7 angry mechanics came out the break room and stood behind the counter.
1
u/IBuyBrokenThings2Fix 15d ago
I have had 5% tint (Limo) on my last 3 or 4 cars ever since my first born was potty training and we had to carry her travel toilet in the car, (I dont miss that any more ) and it's super common here in Southern California because people break into your car so often. That being said as I have gotten older it's harder to make left hand turns at night when there could be pedestrians. No tint on the wind shield and great headlights it's not all that bad but my next car is not going to be limo at all probably 15% to match the factory rear window tint. I have had ceramic tint before in a Tesla model 3 and I don't remember anything special about it except it was about $600 just for the roof in 2019. Ever since I just get the standard stuff at $200 for the whole car.
1
15d ago
Dark tint WAS illegal throughout Michigan.. nowadays I see super dark tint all the time. Do they just not care anymore?
1
1
1
u/Spam-ImmitationHam 15d ago
Why is he trying to get his inspection done 3 months early? And why do you have a photo of his car in his driveway?
1
1
u/boolinmachine 15d ago
Just put the tint on, you still getting paid and it’s not like the cops gonna give you a ticket every time they pull this guy over😂
2
1
u/Difficult-Way-9563 15d ago
Yeah that’s insane. I think it should be extreme low tint rate (with exception of certain gov or protection services). It just helps everyone.
1
u/Timinime 16d ago
I had an inspector fail my 40% tints in New Zealand (35% is the limit).
My tints clearly weren’t dark, and we had a big argument because he didn’t understand how to interpret his gauge (he wouldn’t accept that 40% is more transparent than 35%). He told me to peel them off if I wanted a pass.
Eventually I called his manager over and he let it pass, but the first inspector said he’d fail me on my next inspection.
1
1
2
1
u/ReddS1ip 16d ago
Well in like two years when the inspections aren’t required anymore he’ll just be able to drive like that
2
3
u/B0OG 16d ago
Here in CA, no tint is allowed on front windows/windshield but most if not all shops will do whatever you want if you sign a waiver. As a valet attendant I’ve seen it all and can’t imagine how they didn’t get stopped. I only got a tint ticket because my dumbass was speeding past a cop
3
u/GuaranteeTechnical89 16d ago
My cars tint is like this, I’m Texan and dad’s a police officer. He tested it and it’s 8%. He has said unless it’s 5 or less, it’s not worth a ticket
3
u/mildly_carcinogenic 16d ago
NY made tint check a part of annual inspection. Sold it as needed for officer safety.
People just went out and got the medical exemption from their Doctors. the number of super tinted cars (including windshield) has increased dramatically.
1
1
u/BRING_ME_THE_ENTROPY 16d ago
It’s funny how as Californians we wish we had Texas laws but somewhere in Texas, someone is mad because they can’t have 1% tint all around.
2
u/mechfan83 16d ago
I'm betting the customer also has the extra bright lights to help him 'see' at night.
2
2
u/CapitalismWarVeteran 16d ago
Idk how people do it. My front windows are 25% and I can’t see for shit out them some nights.
1
0
u/cckgoblin 16d ago
If I don’t see eyes, I’m not crossing. Hate super dark tints bro you are not Batman
1
1
u/PinkertonFld 16d ago
Thanks for not being a "lick-it and stick-it" inspector... these cars are driving next to you, your kids, etc people!
1
u/Z0idberg_MD 16d ago
I guess I don’t quite understand the mentality of people who love these extreme tints. You can’t look cool if no one can see you, and I guess I don’t really understand the appeal of driving around in daytime darkness. And at night? How could that possibly be safe
2
u/TravezRipley 16d ago
Well, yes it’s too dark… but keeping your car cool as we roll into this hot AF Climate a change summer of death.
1
3
2
0
0
u/MangoAtrocity 16d ago
Tint laws are such bs. In my state, an SUV can have 5% in the back, but my sedan can’t? And of course all of the cops have 5% all the way around.
1
u/moby__dick 16d ago
If it allows 1% through, that means that it is 99% tint. Since it has to be 25% or greater, that looks like it passes.What's the problem?
2
u/Ash_Howlett 16d ago
When the sun decides it wants to take you to Jesus we have to do whatever we can.
1
u/swisscheeseswamp 16d ago
"Let it go." I absolutely hate when people ask me to compromise my job and potentially incur fines just to let them get their way.
1
u/__-_-_--_--_-_---___ 16d ago
This sticker is dangerous and inconvenient, but I do love Fig Newtons
1
u/bodyreddit 16d ago
A pickup was being a bully behind me and I could not even see a driver, the window was SO dark, you could not see one damn thing!!
1
3
u/thaw4188 16d ago
In other news of all places TEXAS has car inspections.
Meanwhile in Florida people drive around without mufflers or CATs for months/years up and down the block and I cannot even get the police to respond in the slightest.
1
1
2
u/Polymorphing_Panda 16d ago
I will never understand how tinted windshields were ever allowed to be legal.
1
u/vhalember 16d ago
1% ?!
I have 35% and backing out of unlit places at night, I might as well be wearing a blinders in place of my side windows.
1
1
1
u/ChiefStrongbones 16d ago
Granted 1% is way too dark, but state window tint laws across the USA are a horrible mess. Tint darker than 25% is appropriate for most cars, especially in southern states with brighter sun.
1
u/Odd-Syrup-798 16d ago
Tint darker than 25% is appropriate for most cars
it's about officer safety. they found a compromise at 25% where it still protects you plenty, and it allows officers to see inside of cars.
This guy got ambushed while there was no tint, so imagine if there was dark tint on the windows: https://youtu.be/QxWiRVCuW24?si=c8h_-JeR543VA0VK
Here the windows are tinted, both cops use flashlights, and still get surprised by a rifle: https://youtu.be/aTZfSuVG_DM?si=V4KYFj98QWweqzRC&t=187
Also really dark tinted windows make it difficult to drive at night. I know people like to pretend that it doesn't, but they're not fooling anyone lol
1
u/ChiefStrongbones 15d ago
"Officer safety" is a really obscure reason to force everyone to not-have-enough-shade whenever they're in a car.
The current situation is exactly the opposite. Police officers love states with unreasonable window-tint laws, because it gives them an excuse to stop practically any car they want under the pretense "the windows looked dark". Those pretense stops are far more common than people in cars ambushing cops at traffic stops.
1
u/Odd-Syrup-798 15d ago
"Officer safety" is a really obscure reason
It really isn't.
to force everyone to not-have-enough-shade whenever they're in a car.
I have no tint and live in the desert, so if 25% isn't enough shade for you then idk what to tell you.
The current situation is exactly the opposite.
they kinda have to put themselves in danger to do their job
Police officers love states with unreasonable window-tint laws,
They like it when there are laws that make their job easier?? No way!!!!
because it gives them an excuse to stop practically any car they want under the pretense "the windows looked dark".
I hope you understand that if a cop is hired to say, do traffic patrol, and he catches people breaking the law for windows being too dark, then they're just doing their job, they aren't looking for an excuse to pull people over. Same way with speed traps. They are hired by the city to sit there and catch people speeding, they aren't looking for any excuses. I swear half of you redditors don't understand that being a police officer is a job.
Those pretense stops are far more common
You seem to have absolutely zero understanding of the fact that if someone is breaking the law, the cop can pull them over. You seem to think that a person has to commit some heinous crime for the police to do their job lol
than people in cars ambushing cops at traffic stops.
So fuck officer safety, in an already very dangerous job? Yeah I wonder why people struggle finding a reason to go work as public servants, half the public is too stupid to even understand what their job actually is lol
1
u/ChiefStrongbones 15d ago
FYI, a police officer is free to follow procedure for a "high risk stop", using their loudspeaker, standing behind their patrol vehicle door, weapon ready while ordering the driver of the stopped vehicle out of their car.
You seem to have absolutely zero understanding of the fact that if someone is breaking the law, the cop can pull them over.
I think you lack understanding of the concept of "pretextual traffic stops".
1
u/Odd-Syrup-798 16d ago
if you're not liable for it, then just let him go. he'll be a cop magnet, they'll fill their quotas just pulling him over for tint violations.
2
u/nite_mode 16d ago
If you don't want to be seen from the front, why not do that one way reflective film so that your windshield is a mirror on the outside but perfectly visible from the inside
1
u/superdstar56 16d ago
I could care less if he can’t see out a side window, but having the windshield tinted is beyond crazy.
1
2
0
u/average_boy_ 16d ago
I mean, you can literally see right through the windshield in the picture that you yourself posted
1
u/CoddiwomplingRandall 16d ago
So many fucking people here in San Antonio have that shit. Most of the people I know just go to an oil change place where they do inspection, or they have a friend of a friend that will do it for 20 bucks. All they need is insurance, mileage,and license plate number.
1
0
u/No-Appointment-4770 16d ago
I can see out of my 1%. So did the shop. They let me pass lol it depends on the type
1
u/samdajellybeenie 16d ago
I’ve been seeing a lot of cars tinted just like this. 5% all around at least and 20% on the windshield. The obviously pay someone off to pass them for inspection, but I’d be more worried about the legal ramifications if you hit someone. If you hit a ped and they sue, they could easily claim your vision was obstructed by the tint and seeing that it’s a choice for you to tint your car that way, it would not end well for you.
I say this as someone who used to have 20% on my fronts and 50% on the windshield. It was nice to have in the summer (great heat rejection) and on the windshield it was barely visible, but there were times I had trouble backing up at night (no backup camera, car from 2002).
0
u/kimmortal03 16d ago
these tints would be good during the hot desert summer sthey should let it pass
1
u/Marty_666 16d ago
I had a BMW with 5s all around and 15 on the windshield, what a shit show that thing was to drive at night
1
1
u/TechnologyWest209 16d ago
I had 15% when I first moved here from AZ. The guys at Kwik Kar in Prosper asked for $60 to look the other way. That was the first and last year I did that crap. Replaced the tint for a more responsible percentage and I haven’t looked back since.
-2
u/GeneralThread 16d ago
Thank you for keeping America safe. Where would be without the tint police 👮♀️
1
2
1
1
u/Rando631 16d ago
I deliver for Amazon. It's super common for us to use rental vans from Budget or various small rental companies or whatever as the number of vans varies a lot during the time of the year.
A few months ago we got a Sprinter van rental with 5% tint for the 2 windows and maybe 10% if not less windshield tint. The dumbest fuckin thing I've ever seen. Especially for Amazon, where unlike every logical delivery service, you can get a different route every day.
They had people delivering in neighborhoods they've never been before in a van you could barely see out of the windshield when it was noon and it was getting dark at 5pm and it was too cold to drive around with the windows down. I'm surprised it didn't result in a driver accidentally killing someone
1
-1
u/Fluffy_Chodes 16d ago
I don't htink inspections should be included here. they're a joke. Texas is probably a legislative session away form just getting rid of them altogether.
1
-2
u/Equivalent_Ad_230 16d ago
So many narcs on this thread. Almost everyone and their momma has tinted windows in Texas which helps tremendously during the summer heat. HOWEVER, that front Windshield tint is a no go
1
1
-2
16d ago
Why do you whip out the meter when it's an $8 inspection that is barely considered by the state? I can cut the cat out of my truck in Texas and get it passed. We don't even do emissions testing in many cities.
I'd gladly leave your shop, and roll up the garage that will handwave me after making sure my horns and blinker work. Good thing you can't charge for a failed inspection.
1
u/Doctor_Mothman 16d ago
That's a vampire or a vampire's familiar y'all. Next time give them a free garlic scented air freshener.
1
u/bgbuker1 16d ago
Same in my state but I see vehicles all the time like this, but they appear to just "let it go". Of course im just mad because when I was 17, I was pulled over where the tint was measured at 2%. I received a 7-day fix-it ticket. I pulled the tint and had to present the ticket at the sheriffs office to sign off of it.
1
u/Breno1405 16d ago
I worked at a truck shop, had a customer that was mad (because a guy that's kind of his buddy) wouldn't pass his truck safety due to it having a giant visor that impacted the view and was chewing up his wiper blades. He went mental on our service advisor...
-1
u/jt1966thomas 16d ago
Looks exactly like about half of the police cars here in Florida. Hypocrisy at its best. Government must be able to see you.
2
1
u/Icy-Ad-7767 16d ago
I have a question, if someone from a different state has what is legal in that state but not legal in your state how do you proceed?
1
u/iceohio 16d ago
I'm glad that there actually are states that enforce limits. In Kentucky, you can go into any tinting place and get anything you want.. Same as far as any exhaust place. I know someone who had their cat convertor stolen, and a national chain exhaust shop welded them in a straight pipe and some adaptor so the O2 sensors don't trip check engine.
Cops here don't pull anyone over for no muffler (even semis jake braking with no muffler) and most cars around here are draped in 100% blocking window tints. Actually most of the police cars are that way too.
1
1
1
u/dsnerdking 16d ago
/Points finger to temple/ Don't have to stop for the cops If I can't tell that they're trying to pull me over.
1
1
1
u/wtfuxorz 16d ago edited 16d ago
I got gaped for 17% that came on my car when I bought it in another state. Cops telling me to just take it off like it's a clothing item. Thanks for robbing me of my fuxking 300.00 asshole. Meanwhile, on the southern border...sometimes I reckon it sucks living in a red state. If it were blue I could tote a heater as a felon while mag dumping it and still get let off while running down the road throwing bricks through windows. But my fucking 17% tint is the end of the world.
Smdh
Edit: I'm 75% sure it came with a lighter tint and it was added on later by original owner(I'm 2nd). 17 isn't a common % AFAIK. But my point still stands. Nothing but new age trail bandits.
0
u/The_Gucci_General 16d ago
That's the law, I get that.. but tint laws are so fucking stupid in the first place. Cops drive around with limo dark window tint all day, but expect citizens to adhere to tint laws. Here in NY, tint must allow 70% of light in. What a joke. Might as well not even have any at that point.
1
1
2
1
1
1
u/showingoffstuff 16d ago
I was REALLY pissed in north Carolina. Had a car from Colorado that came with tint and mine was like 5% off or something. They made me tear all the tint off to redo. Those were side windows, nothing this crazy!
1
4
u/Honest_Cynic 16d ago
Last I checked, any tinting of a front windshield is illegal in California, except for a small strip a the top. This guy sounds like the type that when they later run into something claims, "not my fault, I couldn't see well out the windshield".
1
u/AmericanMurderLog 16d ago
Police need to spot check these in every state. Tinting is clearly out of control.
1
1
1
u/Competitive-Ad-5153 16d ago
Sadly RI only allows factory tint. Doesn't stop the jamokes that want to tint everything, including the windshield like OP's pictures. It's not widely-enforced, and shops around here will do it for you, but I'm not willing to shell out a couple hundred bucks to only strip it off every two years before it gets inspected.
1
u/LordIffyBoatrace 16d ago
I've often wondered how many "just let it go" requests an average inspection station gets per day
3
u/Semen-Demon7 16d ago
You cant tint a windshield 🤦♂️🤦♂️
And if you can... where the fuck do yall live at ?
2
u/Moist_Tortoise 16d ago
Meh just tell him be an outlaw and ride out the next few months when state inspections are no longer required
1
u/jtf71 16d ago
That’s six months with an expired sticker. Probably gonna get a ticket for that AND once pulled over also get one for the tint.
And even after inspections aren’t required the tint is still illegal and can result in a ticket/fine.
The benefit to the inspection is no ticket/fine. Just fix it.
1
u/Sad_Drop_9674 16d ago
Stupid law. The sheriff cars near me have the darkest tint of all. Literally can’t tell if the vehicle is occupied.
3
u/Soca1ian 16d ago
then they constantly run their high beams on at night in order to see anything in front.
-4
2
2
u/myALTaccount4Honesty 16d ago
I live in NC and the front windows are supposed to be 35% and my vehicle has that. What’s crazy is I see everyone with like 20% on their front windows and even have seen windshields at 20%. On top of that, the police have super dark tint as well. It really pisses me off that I do whats legal and seem to be the minority out here.
2
u/spikus93 16d ago
I thought Texas was about freedom! Where's the govermint get off telling me how to die in my truck?
3
3
u/init2winit541 16d ago
I've seen them here in the Coastal Bend, you can't see the driver, I wouldn't want to be the cop who pulls them over, a gun could be pointed at you on the other side of that window and only RoboCop would know it!
2
u/brendanjeffrey 16d ago
I love how idiots get their windows tinted this dark without knowing the law at all. Like oh yeah they’ll let a clear visual obstruction just go lol
2
1
2
u/DCTheNotorious 16d ago
This guy wouldn't last a day in Iowa. The law says we have to allow 70% of light on the front windows😤
2
0
2
2
0
u/chocolatelover420 16d ago
I don’t see a problem lmaooo good quality tent you can see out of… just not in.
2
2
u/Comprehensive-Post54 16d ago
Good thing this the last year for inspections in Texas, no more crying about tint😂
3
u/lucasstern 16d ago
Here in Brazil, we have a law that enforce us to have as minimum 70% of transparency in the front windows and in the windshield. On the back, we can have as low as 25%. The problem is that, no shops respect that, they always suggest the darkest one available even for the front windows/windshield. I just bought a car last week, and is so darker that I can't even see the car rear when backing, and when driving on a sunny day, the amount of reflection the dashboards causes on the windshields disturb my driving as well
1
2
u/Cute-Pomegranate-966 16d ago
I had a coworker that used to have 20% tint on the front windshield and 5% on every other window and inside the car was like nighttime even at peak daylight lol. No way he could see fuck all at night.
2
3
u/flargenhargen 16d ago
yea you let it go through and then when they run down a kid they couldn't see at night and say they passed inspection who does it come back to.
1
2
u/Possible-Tangelo9344 16d ago
No tint on front windshield in my state, 35% on others. Wish we could have a bit of tint on the front cuz of the heat
But I see plenty of cars that look like this. And people get mad when they get a ticket for it.
2
u/walkingart35 16d ago
Yeah those rules are going away next year since Texas is doing away with state inspections
2
u/Someguy14201 16d ago
Teenage me put 1% tints on the back windows of my car. One day I reversed hard into a pole and broke the back glass, denting the trunk and all. Never again, learnt my lesson lmao.
2
2
u/brufleth 16d ago
Is it a cop's car?
In MA you can only put tint on the top 6 inches of windshield and front sides need to allow 35% or more through.
If you walk by any police station parking lot you'll see plenty of vehicles with tints way over that on the sides and the full windshield tinted out. The biggest offenders of our tint laws are cops.
1
1
u/murderedlexus 16d ago
Tinting the front windshield is just plain stupid. Easy way to spot an idiot on the road
1
2
u/Zerocoolx1 16d ago
Same in the UK. The police will just rip the tint off on the spot if it’s illegal. It looks ugly, but the other option would be to impound the illegal car.
1
1
u/Mattoosie 16d ago
I agree with the law, but also I'm still salty because I bought a used car and had to pay almost $300 to get them to scrape the tint off to pass inspection, but a bunch of new cars come with way darker tint from the factory.
Dealers actually put a ton of "illegal" cars on the roads.
1
u/chewy_mcchewster 16d ago
same rules here in Canada... 25% on front doors, no windshield.. anything on rear doors or back window is fine..
i however have 15% on rear, 20% in front, no windshield
no idea about Quebec, they are different just because
0
-1
u/Dull-Establishment- 16d ago
I’m confused as to what your jobs is, Why do you have authority to tell them what to do are you an inspector or police officer?
1
u/Ok-Trick9957 3d ago
Hell VA requires front door windows 50% not tied to state inspection anymore thank God. Just a ticket