I was washing my car this afternoon and noticed that those little squares under the headlights lift up. What function do these things serve?

 

They wash your headlights for you

 

can't get 'em in the US though

 

There's no real reason to have them in the states. I always thought the headlight washers/wipers were dumb until I lived in Germany. There were numerous times where I had to pull over to clean off my headlights because they were too dirty to let enough light through to see the road.

 

I wouldn't mind having them...especially if you have to drive in the winter. Is the dirt in Germany different than the dirt in the US?

 

definite bonus having the headlight washers in the winter. THey do get iced up sometimes though.

 

Hmm.....

 

and before anyone asks, yes you can install these on a US model 8.
No, it's not easy.
No, it's not cheap.
Yes, it requires a lot of work to retrofit this onto a US car.

 

I've seen rx8s with the squares on the front bumpers in the states, are they just not functional here?

 

you'd have to ask the owner

 

Canadian RX-8 comes with headlight washers. It used to be mandatory for all HIDs equipped cars. But I think that's no longer the case. BMWs, Audis, Benz, 911s etc all have headlight washers.