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GM Pickup Headlight Issue Validated By IIHS Testing

Gorehamj

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Andy Seibel Enthusiast

Andy Seibel

Posted
Posted

"The 11 trucks evaluated have a total of 23 possible headlight combinations. Fourteen of them have excessive glare, contributing to their poor ratings."

 

Yea, I can vouch for this. When I'm not driving my truck, I have a beater Grand Am that I rack up mileage for work. Sitting low in that car, I am cursing at vehicles frequently for blinding me. Just doesn't happen in my truck. Pick-up truck drivers don't seem to realize that their headlights are 2 feet higher than cars, pointing directly into the mirrors and windows of the cars.

 

Everyone's opinion of their headlight output is based on previous vehicle experience. For me, my Silverado has the best nighttime view of any vehicle I have owned.

Waaazooo Senior Enthusiast

Waaazooo

Posted
Posted

But this is why many manufacturers places the lights lower. GM just isn't one of them. Look at the f250. They are dumbly low.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

HawkeyeSierra Enthusiast

HawkeyeSierra

Posted
Posted

2015 Sierra. I would rate mine as adequate. But for 2015, they ought to be a helluva lot better than they are.

SouthernSilveradoGuy85 Senior Enthusiast

SouthernSilveradoGuy85

Posted
Posted

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

 

Never had a problem with mine int he country, even on VA back roads which are the worst country roads I've ever been on. Do you have the projectors? I have the normal ones.

Dnt Senior Enthusiast

Dnt

Posted
Posted

Coming from a weak eyed 2014 Sierra I am very happy with the 2016 Denali LEDs. One of the deciding factors for me to trade was to have better headlights and of course the 6.2 8spd haha

SouthernSilveradoGuy85 Senior Enthusiast

SouthernSilveradoGuy85

Posted
Posted

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.

 

I hope the headlights wasn't the only reason you invested in air bags.... Especially since headlights can be adjusted unless they stopped letting you do that for the K2 trucks.

Dnt Senior Enthusiast

Dnt

Posted
Posted

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

I thought all the Denalis had the LED headlights? These 2016 LED headlights are kick arse, check your RPO codes maybe you got a Denali that does not have the LED's?

I think the LED headlight RPO code is T4L

f5fstop Enthusiast

f5fstop

Posted
Posted

 

I hope the headlights wasn't the only reason you invested in air bags.... Especially since headlights can be adjusted unless they stopped letting you do that for the K2 trucks.

 

Why would it bother you if I did?

 

Yes, there is an adjustment under the hood for the LED projectors, but no, I would not spend the time to adjust them every time I connected or disconnected a trailer, which during 7 months out of the year, is quite often.

 

However, there are numerous reasons such as when carrying something heavy in the truck, smooths out washboard dirt roads, and the fact, I prefer the truck level even during the daytime.

SouthernSilveradoGuy85 Senior Enthusiast

SouthernSilveradoGuy85

Posted
Posted

 

Why would it bother you if I did?

 

Yes, there is an adjustment under the hood for the LED projectors, but no, I would not spend the time to adjust them every time I connected or disconnected a trailer, which during 7 months out of the year, is quite often.

 

However, there are numerous reasons such as when carrying something heavy in the truck, smooths out washboard dirt roads, and the fact, I prefer the truck level even during the daytime.

 

 

Well it wouldn't bother me since it's your money, just would seem a bit much if that was the only reason. If you also want the truck to stay level then fine. I mean just 1" drop isn't that big of a deal. You could just air up the rear tires a little to make up for the drop and then let the air back out. Not only would it give the ride (not exact, but roughly and close) and contact patch as the front and without a load but it would raise the rear back up a little. Wouldn't take long and thought that was something you were supposed to do anyways. But, I'm often wrong so don't follow my advice.

chieffan Enthusiast

chieffan

Posted
Posted

One thing I have not seen mentioned in any headlight test is the fact of trying to look through a light beam into a lighted area. Headlights shine in all directions, so the driver has to look through the light rays into the lighted area. Years ago I learned that when driving in snow or rain, if you cover the top half of the headlight with a light blocking material like black tape, your visibility is much, much better. Newer vehicles have corrected this to some extent. But most of the test deal with distance the headlights will shine.


One thing I have not seen mentioned in any headlight test is the fact of trying to look through a light beam into a lighted area. Headlights shine in all directions, so the driver has to look through the light rays into the lighted area. Years ago I learned that when driving in snow or rain, if you cover the top half of the headlight with a light blocking material like black tape, your visibility is much, much better. Newer vehicles have corrected this to some extent. But most of the test deal with distance the headlights will shine.


One thing I have not seen mentioned in any headlight test is the fact of trying to look through a light beam into a lighted area. Headlights shine in all directions, so the driver has to look through the light rays into the lighted area. Years ago I learned that when driving in snow or rain, if you cover the top half of the headlight with a light blocking material like black tape, your visibility is much, much better. Newer vehicles have corrected this to some extent. But most of the test deal with distance the headlights will shine.

redwngr Senior Enthusiast

redwngr

Posted
Posted

My 16 Sierra has the LED's. They are way better than the 15 SLT, even after the bulb/voltage TSB.

 

But they are now where near as good as the 2011 SLT I drove before the 2015 trucks.

 

 

I hate the cut-off that is created by the shutter to get low beam function on the projector type headlights.

MikeNH Senior Enthusiast

MikeNH

Posted
Posted

I merged the topic in the K2 section into this. No need for two separate threads.

flewpastu Enthusiast

flewpastu

Posted
Posted

You guys arent reading this correctly. I've had 14 LT a 14 ltz (big difference between them headlights) a 15 LT & now currently a 16 LT and the 16 is by far awesomely bright compared to previous models and I too was getting flashed well before adding the 2" level kit so like most others in here I was shocked by the title but if you watch the video they're also basing the poor rating on how much glare they cause to oncoming vehicles and let's face it they certainly do but I'm not changing anything I love them

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