Shipped your car to Maui? Start here.

Why mainland tint fails here

Every state writes its own tint law, and Hawaii’s is stricter on the front side windows than many. Hawaii requires at least 35% of light through the front side windows and wing vents, measured through the film and the glass together, with a 6% tolerance at inspection, so a meter reading of 29% passes and 28% does not. Factory glass already blocks some light before any film goes on, which is why a film sold as “35%” on the mainland can read darker once it is on your doors.

The annual safety inspection meters the tint. If your car came over with dark fronts, that is where it shows up, and the owner fine for a tint violation is 300 to 550 dollars per offence. Drivers and passengers also have to roll tinted windows down at a traffic stop. There is no medical exemption for darker fronts in Hawaii.

What the shop does

Bring the car to 430 Hookahi St in Wailuku, about 8 minutes from Kahului Harbor. The front side windows are metered through film and glass and you see the reading. If it fails, the old film comes off, adhesive and all, and new ProLayers window tint goes on in a shade that meters legal on your glass. Ceramic tint is worth considering here: with the fronts held to 35%, the V10 and V16 ceramic tiers do the heat work the shade cannot.

The rear windows are checked against your body style. On sedans, vans, minivans and trucks with mirrors on both sides, Hawaii allows any shade on the rear side windows and back glass, so mainland rear tint usually stays. SUVs, coupes and hatchbacks are not named in the statute, so the shop confirms the rear shade for those bodies. Mirrored or highly reflective film, film that looks red, yellow, amber or blue from outside, and film over the third brake light on a 2013 or newer vehicle all have to go.

You leave with the certificate Hawaii law requires the installer to give you. It stays in the vehicle. If a certificate is missing, that counts against the installer, which is why Offshore gives one with every vehicle install.

Getting the car from the harbor to the shop

Your shipping company tells you when and where to collect the car at Kahului Harbor. Book the tint appointment for a day or two after the expected arrival, since sailings can shift. The shipping handover page covers what to check at pickup, what to tell the shop, and how to plan work before a car ships off the island.

Tell us the year, make and model, which windows have film and when the car lands, and the appointment is the first thing we confirm. The full rules are on the Hawaii window tint law page.