Projector headlights cracking from the inside out

crafferty · April 3, 2015

Update: Getting pretty annoyed with my Chevrolet dealer. The service manager was supposed to call 2 days ago but nothing yet. Usually I would have called each of the last two days but haven't had time at work. So I'll be calling him this morning.

I can say this much, it's not heat. My Z06 has OEM HID, which generates very little to no heat, and the headlight lenses had crazing/cracking. Granted that it took a few years longer to appear than on your truck.

I feel it's just a bad set. My mom had a Cadillac Deville where the rear housing around the tailgate would crack like my headlights. 3 sets later we figured it had to be a design flaw.

almost looks like someone gave it to much elbow grease when cleaning the headlights. like flexing them over and over while trying to scrub off bugs?

Impossible, I spray Griots Garage bug cleaner and let it sit for 5 minutes. Then spray it off and maybe pick off a tough spot or two with my finger nail. Edited April 3, 2015 by crafferty

crafferty · April 4, 2015

Met with the service manager at my dealership and they are sending pictures of the headlights to the DM. They have never seen nor heard of this issue on these trucks. Let alone only 5,000 miles on the truck too. Should have word back from the DM next week sometime. The passenger side is so bad now I can feel the cracks on the outside.

morrislee · April 5, 2015

Met with the service manager at my dealership and they are sending pictures of the headlights to the DM. They have never seen nor heard of this issue on these trucks. Let alone only 5,000 miles on the truck too. Should have word back from the DM next week sometime. The passenger side is so bad now I can feel the cracks on the outside.

What is the recent weather and humidity like where you are? Do you think that will put some stress on them?

gmtech117 · April 5, 2015

Met with the service manager at my dealership and they are sending pictures of the headlights to the DM. They have never seen nor heard of this issue on these trucks. Let alone only 5,000 miles on the truck too. Should have word back from the DM next week sometime. The passenger side is so bad now I can feel the cracks on the outside.

I cannot understand the issues some of you guys have with your dealerships. If someone brought in a brand new truck into my chevy dealer where I work, I would be ordering you new headlights no questions asked that very day. They are clearly defective, your dealer won't be able to prove any physical damage on them that's your fault, so them acting like they are investigating the issues with the DM is bs. They can send your headlamps back to GM after they give you new ones to figure out why that happened, and not waste your time

POS VETT · April 5, 2015

I chalk up that kind of attitude to the fear of having to pay for the parts instead of covered by warranty. This is the same attitude, in a way worse, when I had to take in my Z06 for the same cracking problem. Service manager was very sure of impact damage yet there was no sign leading to it. I got GM Customer Service involved and at one point the service manager pissed me off on the phone and I slammed the phone on him.

At the end, I took the Z06 to another dealership and after showing the cracking, I was assured they would be replaced; completely different attitude and mentality. I never looked back. The sad part is the first dealership is also a Callaway dealership.

crafferty · April 5, 2015

I cannot understand the issues some of you guys have with your dealerships. If someone brought in a brand new truck into my chevy dealer where I work, I would be ordering you new headlights no questions asked that very day. They are clearly defective, your dealer won't be able to prove any physical damage on them that's your fault, so them acting like they are investigating the issues with the DM is bs. They can send your headlamps back to GM after they give you new ones to figure out why that happened, and not waste your time

I chalk up that kind of attitude to the fear of having to pay for the parts instead of covered by warranty. This is the same attitude, in a way worse, when I had to take in my Z06 for the same cracking problem. Service manager was very sure of impact damage yet there was no sign leading to it. I got GM Customer Service involved and at one point the service manager pissed me off on the phone and I slammed the phone on him.

At the end, I took the Z06 to another dealership and after showing the cracking, I was assured they would be replaced; completely different attitude and mentality. I never looked back. The sad part is the first dealership is also a Callaway dealership.

I completely agree with both posts. It's a little ridiculous how many hoops I'm having to jump through to get this issue fixed. First the service writers wouldn't sign off, so then I had to hunt down the service manager after 3 days of waiting to hear from him (didn't have time the first two days to leave work early) and now it's on to the DM. On the flip side my local Ford dealership is great. I had a GT500 last summer and they replaced my clutch under warranty (12,000 miles) and took care of numerous little issues no questions asked despite me buying the car used. This is my first time using my local Chevrolet dealership so I'll see how things go and keep everyone posted.

Spurshot · April 5, 2015

Looks like UV affected from the light. It's concentrated where the beam passes through it. I suspect the plastic batch may not have adequate UV protectant. That means there's gonna be more show up with the problem.

crafferty · April 6, 2015

Looks like UV affected from the light. It's concentrated where the beam passes through it. I suspect the plastic batch may not have adequate UV protectant. That means there's gonna be more show up with the problem.

That would make the most sense to me. Maybe I'm patient zero!

learfxr · October 22, 2015

Just found this same issue on my wifes 2014. We only have around 22k miles on it and it's parked outside 24/7, doesn't fit in the garage due to length. I just noticed today her passenger side upper lens has numerous cracks and the lower lens has several cracks. There are no impact marks, no marks on the chrome trim around the lens and no marks on the bumper, so everything that sticks out in front of the lens has no damage and the lens has no impact marks. Has to be bad materials. We are due for an oil change and will be headed to the dealership

learfxr · October 22, 2015

Just got back from the dealer. They said they couldn't find any info posted by GM for an issue with the headlights, but after they took it in the shop and inspected everything they decided to replace the RH headlight assy for us. I wasn't sure for a little while, but they replaced it since there was no signs of impact.

pm26 · October 23, 2015

They are suppose to be like aircraft grade lens if I recall the sales correct. Looks like someone might have punched it so it pushed inward causing the inside surface to expand. Did you piss someone off? XD

Looks more like Harbor Freight grade lens to me.

Dale noble · October 13, 2020

I have a 2016 Colorado and same thing , both headlight covers are starting to look like a cracked ice , I do have LED’s installed , would it have something to do with the light rays that the LED’s produce cause my understanding LED’s don’t give off much heat