Door Reflectors

[Braindead]

Anybody has any suggestion to replace the reflectors with LED lights to make it more visible?
@MABETT , probably a product idea?

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[MABETT]

Anybody has any suggestion to replace the reflectors with LED lights to make it more visible?
@MABETT , probably a product idea?

That’s actually a really interesting idea

We’ll pass it along and take a closer look.

We’ll also bring this up in our community group for more owner feedback, but would love to hear thoughts here as well — what do others think?

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

I just took a look at mine and took a picture.
It's not really a reflector per se it's a cover-up for a screw/bolt that holds the interior door card/panel on.

 

[MABETT]

I just took a look at mine and took a picture.
It's not really a reflector per se it's a cover-up for a screw that holds the door card on.

Yeah That Might be some challenges with wiring depending on the setup.

 

[Maverick123]

Get some high quality reflector tape, the kind they put on flatbed trailers and stick some strips of it as far out on the door as you can. I've done this to all my cars since forever

 

[Chops]

I didn’t even know we had those on the doors. Neat.

But if I was making timed neighborhood nighttime
deliveries in my truck - I’d do what Maverick123 suggested and attach reflective tape to the steel portion of the door. Big piece.

 

[Braindead]

Yeah That Might be some challenges with wiring depending on the setup.

There should be a live wire that you can pigtail off (power windows/door). Still need to remove door panel to access!

 

[gjallen3]

Yes there is power to tap into behind the door panels, but you would also need a switch to activate the light unless you don’t mind it burning constantly when driving.

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

After a cursory look this is what I found. They appear to be self-powered. I have no idea how they work.
I don't know if popping that lens cover, removing the door card. Then messing around with splicing the wires is totally worth the end result?
Is there enough folks who are going to want to mess around with this, to justify Engineering, Manufacturing and marketing? Is there a satisfactory product already on the market?
Is there room for more competition?

 

[Tbone289]

I just took a look at mine and took a picture.
It's not really a reflector per se it's a cover-up for a screw/bolt that holds the interior door card/panel on.

You know, this is a good point. It's clearly not a reflector, so why wouldn't they just put a door-color plastic insert here to cover the screw rather than translucent red? I could swear that the earlier c-platform vehicles (like the Focus/Escape) had an actual reflector here.

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

You know, this is a good point. It's clearly not a reflector, so why wouldn't they just put a door-color plastic insert here to cover the screw rather than translucent red? I could swear that the earlier c-platform vehicles (like the Focus/Escape) had an actual reflector here.

Terry, @Tbone289
Over the lifetime of the vehicle,
I would think it's more cost effective to produce 1 universal RED len, as a cover-up for that bolt / screw.
That way Ford does not have to stock different colors as the interior color changes and also you don't have to worry about mismatched shades of plastic. That would drive the OCD Crowd Nuts.

As far as lighting goes
Ford/Lincoln put these nice big white curved ones on the Corsair.
According to the Lincoln Forums.
They don't light up either.

If Lincoln didn't illuminate theirs. Ford sure as heck isn't going to light up the Mavericks red lens.

 

[Tbone289]

Terry, @Tbone289
Over the lifetime of the vehicle,
I would think it's more cost effective to produce a red color len, as a cover-up for that bolt / screw.
That way Ford does not have to stock different colors as the interior color changes and also you don't have to worry about mismatched shades of plastic.

As far as lighting goes
Ford/Lincoln put these nice big white curved ones on the Corsair.
According to the Lincoln Forums.
They don't light up either.

You have a point on the color change, but they would have to change the color of the rest of the panel anyway. I can't imagine that small piece is going to make a substantial difference in the cost, but...maybe. EDIT: That makes sense actually, because otherwise they would have to mold all replacement pieces in every available color.

That Lincoln one looks like a reflector. If you shine a light at it, it would reflect light back at you, the same way our front parking lamp lenses do, even when they're not lit. That's what I mean, I have older Fords that have an actual reflector there, not a light. The original idea of this is that, if you opened your door in the line of an approaching car at night, the driver could easily see your open door due to the reflection back from his headlights.

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

You have a point on the color change, but they would have to change the color of the rest of the panel anyway. I can't imagine that small piece is going to make a substantial difference in the cost, but...maybe.

That Lincoln one is a reflector as well as a light. If you shine a light at it, it would reflect light back at you, the same way our front parking lamp lenses do. That's what I mean, I have older Fords that have an actual reflector there, not a light. The original idea of this is that, if you opened your door in the line of an approaching car at night, the driver could easily see your open door due to the reflection back from his headlights.

No Sir, the Lincoln ones are not illuminated, they are Only Reflectors.
That has confirmed by numerous members of the Lincoln forum.

 

[Tmurfet]

That’s actually a really interesting idea

We’ll pass it along and take a closer look.

We’ll also bring this up in our community group for more owner feedback, but would love to hear thoughts here as well — what do others think?

The entire point of those reflectors is to "reflect" the headlamp light from oncoming vehicles -- typically when the driver or passenger is opening the door to exit on a busy street. Oncoming drivers have their attention focused on the reflected light -- assuming they are not looking at their phone at the time...

 

[Tbone289]

No sir the Lincoln one is not a light. That has confirmed by the members of the Lincoln forum.

OK, but at least it's a reflector, unlike the Maverick. It works as a safety feature, not just a translucent red screw cover.

Like my 2012 Focus. It doesn't light up either, but it reflects oncoming lights and it's a screw cover.:

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