Tail light swap (to EU spec)— plug and play?
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I broke my promise of never getting a car with red turn signals. There's hope in this thread.
They are apparently plug and play, but they're a bitch to get off with a hidden bolt behind one of the rear pillars and bumper removal due to part of the assembly being lower than the bumper lip.
Do the Euro spec lights have the required US DOT reflectors for the side views? I know that the red view reflectors are in the bumper cover.
Depending upon the state you are in, your the EU version of the tail lamps s may not pass the state safety inspection - especially if the inspector verifies whether or not the lights are DOT approved. I had that experience a number of years ago because he saw that my rear fog lamp was not lit when the tail lamps and brake lights were lit. He was going to reject the car when I explained it was a rear fog lamp and standard on all Volvos. After consulting the Virginia State Police, he passed the car because the fog lamp worked and because the light cluster had a DOT/SAE number embossed on it.
As a side note, I did see a UK spec SPA XC60 in Northern Virginia a few months back. The amber turn signals were not that vibrant, like on earlier models. The amber seemed to be much closer to red than the traditional orange that we have known and loved over the years.
Depending upon the state you are in, your the EU version of the tail lamps s may not pass the state safety inspection - especially if the inspector verifies whether or not the lights are DOT approved. I had that experience a number of years ago because he saw that my rear fog lamp was not lit when the tail lamps and brake lights were lit. He was going to reject the car when I explained it was a rear fog lamp and standard on all Volvos. After consulting the Virginia State Police, he passed the car because the fog lamp worked and because the light cluster had a DOT/SAE number embossed on it.
As a side note, I did see a UK spec SPA XC60 in Northern Virginia a few months back. The amber turn signals were not that vibrant, like on earlier models. The amber seemed to be much closer to red than the traditional orange that we have known and loved over the years.
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Guaranteed the euro lights won't have the DOT side reflectors! But wow failing an inspection, I didn't think that is even a thing to check! Like there are plenty of DOT requirements in FMVSS but states don't call them all out, other than they do probably prohibit changing any of those things. But I suppose that DOT mark on lights is either there or not and an clever inspector could call you out for it.
No idea if plug and play, though function seems the same, the turn signal area is separate in the Volvo lights I don't think they are ever used for braking? That would indicate a good chance it works. From my adventures in tapping reverse lights, I did learn sometime in 2020 the rear lights changed, from directly driven LEDs by the BCM to being a LIN unit controlled by the BCM. That may be a consideration in getting the right parts.
No idea if plug and play, though function seems the same, the turn signal area is separate in the Volvo lights I don't think they are ever used for braking? That would indicate a good chance it works. From my adventures in tapping reverse lights, I did learn sometime in 2020 the rear lights changed, from directly driven LEDs by the BCM to being a LIN unit controlled by the BCM. That may be a consideration in getting the right parts.
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Interesting. I did not notice a difference when I briefly looked at volvo uk.
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I believe the lens is still red, so you'd have to see the signal illuminated to the spot the difference. As always it's puzzling euro mfrs go to the trouble of making the signal red for the US. It's a different part for Volvo to support the side reflectors for the US anyways but still they could have just as well left the signals amber, the lens is red so the stylists can get what they want. But they are convinced 'mericans prefer red signals.
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