GM Pickup Headlight Issue Validated By IIHS Testing

Westwind · October 25, 2016

I have a 2015 GMC Sierra 3500 CC manufactured before August 2015 and I wouldn't say my lights are bright, I do tow my Fifth wheel south once a year and 4 hours of driving are in the dark and that's when I would appreciate decent headlights.

IIHS telling us the headlights are inadequate means nothing, tell me what GM is going to do about it. The least you can do is recommend a fix which I shouldn't have to pay for. I don't appreciate the super bright lights coming at me so I can understand people complaining about them.

revrnd · October 25, 2016

My 2011 GMC Sierra 2500 HD has good lights. Not projector. My 2015 GMC Yukon XL has the projectors and they do not compare with my Sierra. Not as bright. The Yukon is a half ton pickup with a different body. Not just the pickups have the issue.

I just sold my 2011 Chev 2500HD & was satisfied w/ their performance. When I bought it to replace my 2004 Chev 2500HD I immediately noticed that the lighting was better down the road & towards the edges.

MPULSE · October 25, 2016

I had a 16 Denali loaner for a night and that was the first thing I said to the dealer that I couldnt see 20 feet in front of the truck at night. Felt like there was a piece of black tape on the top of the headlamps. This had the Intellibeam system too.

I own a 16 Denali and know exactly what you mean.

MPULSE · October 25, 2016

That's crazy! My 2016 are way too bright. I was thinking of posting my "Too bright headlights" question on this forum. I get flashed all the time from opposing traffic. A neighbor a road over from me hollered about my lights being to bright. That's through my yard the persons behind me yard and another road over.

Is your truck lifted or leveled? Also, do you have intellabeams?

MichBlueEagle · October 25, 2016

My truck is not lifted or leveled. I do have the Intellabeam headlights. My 16 Silverado is a LTZ Z71, not sure if the trim package matters?

MichBlueEagle · October 25, 2016

Also the Intellabeam is Not engaged.

Zanch · October 25, 2016

Go read the IIHS page! Excessive brightness is actually excessive glare!

f5fstop · October 25, 2016

My '16 GMC SLT with LED projection and Intellibeam are fantastic when compared to my previous '15 Silverado LTZ with standard projector beams and Silverstar Ultras.

Pure white light with a distinctive cutoff to the left to prevent glare from oncoming vehicles. High beams work great too.

Only problem I encountered was that if you tow a trailer that drops the back end down 1", you will get flashed by oncoming traffic. That one inch raise is just enough to move that cutoff up and allow glare. With no trailer on the rear, I have never been flashed by oncoming traffic. Corrected that problem with a set of Ride Rite air bags that allowed me to level the truck to stop the glare.

valkyrie9901 · October 26, 2016

When I was younger, I thought my 53 Chevy's lights were great. My 15 2k were fantastic till I was told they were poor... .

2016 Sierra Owner · October 26, 2016

My truck is not lifted or leveled. I do have the Intellabeam headlights. My 16 Silverado is a LTZ Z71, not sure if the trim package matters?

The 2 trucks use a totally different system. The Silvy has 2 low beam bulbs and 2 high beam bulbs. The Sierra only has 2 bulbs total. The way they control the high and low beams is by a shutter system. When in low beam mode the shutter partly covers the bulb (hence the black tape over the bulb you describe) and in the high beam mode the shutter lifts out of the way to expose the whole bulb.

Karen Black · October 26, 2016

The headlights on our 2014 Gmc Sierra Sle were terrible we upgraded to silver stars headlamps and still have to run the fog lamps .

showtz · October 26, 2016

Lest we forget, Gm used to be able to build a vehicle that did not vibrate, the tranny did not shift like shit, the throttle had good response and the headlights provided ample illumination. I guess it is hard to remember how to do these things correctly. I actually passed on purchasing a new Sierra 1500 after I test drove one and was told all of this nonsense was normal. Gm has had problems since 2014 with their new platform and cannot determine where the problems lie in a small percentage of the vehicles, some of the problems occur right out of the box, others after nominal mileage. I used to purchase a factory order without so much as a test drive, I now no longer will do this because of these underlying problems. I feel that these new technologies like Active Fuel Mgmt are going to present their own set of problems, some owners with the 5.3 V-8 are noticing problems, Cylinder Deactivation is promising 7.5% more efficiency for mileage but at what cost. We are being told not to try to remedy any problems yourself or else the warranty is out the window, just drive some more so the truck gets to know your driving habits. I'm also sure none of the new lane departure, rear view camera or other newer options will ever fail after 36K miles, hell I'm still trying to rectify my wheel sensors telling me I need air in my right front tire for the millionth time. Give me the 327CI, 375HP small block and I'll be one happy camper.

nordiskskier · October 26, 2016

For those of you who have a GMC Sierra 1500 of model years 2014/2015, and consider the headlights relatively dim - you should consider having a discussion with your GMC service dearler. The headlights on my 2015 GMC Sierra 1500 SLT (delivered November 2015) were so dim that it was dangerous to drive at highway speeds on a dark roads (I noticed the relatively poor level of headlight intensity, shortly after taking delivery of the truck).

I found an online article that GM had been involved in a class action suit regarding dim headlights for those model years of the GMC Sierra 1500.

http://www.carcomplaints.com/news/2016/gmc-sierra-headlights-dim-gm-class-action-lawsuit.shtml

When I brought this to the attention of my GMC dealer, the service techs looked this issue up and found that there was a GM "bulletin" about the dim headlights. Also, the techs found that the bulletin indicated a solution: a complete replacement of the headlight assembly with a newly designed assembly, which fixed a design flaw that caused the dim headlight issue.

After the replacement (free!), the headlights are outstanding with ample light projection on dark country roads at speeds of 60-65 mph. I am very pleased with the new headlights.

So, there is a fix for the dim headlights - at least if you have a 2014-2015 model.

johniii · October 26, 2016

My 2014 Silverado headlights are the worst,hard driving the back roads in the country.

MichBlueEagle · October 26, 2016

I am mistaken! I've only had my truck for about a month. I haven't done any long night drives until last night. I do not have the Intellabeam system as I stated earlier. I was sure the dealer told me I did. Maybe he was talking about the HID LED system. Again though my headlights are very bright. As posted earlier my Silverado does have the 4 bulb system.