Cracked headlight NOT covered under warranty
- Thread starter Gshelbourn
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rock impact and it cracked, suck it up and file a insurance claim or replace it yourself, depending on your deductible
Gshelbourn
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The lens is perfectly smooth on the outside. It appears to be an inner lens that is cracking. Dealer agrees that there is no sign of rock damage or impact to cause the crack. Stated GM is trying not to replace a $1,000 headlight if they do not have to.
Blackcar
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If that crack is not on outside of plastic there is something wrong with assembly you need to see if service manager can have GM rep come to dealership and have meeting with them,
tom3
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Kind of amazing that a couple years ago a capable headlight was about $7. Now it's upwards of a thousand bucks. I'd get the owner's manual out and find a phone number and start calling higher ups. If you can get a working number......
jforb
Full Access Member
The good old H6024 (fits my 62 Chevy II) cost $8.88 at Walmart for years. I just checked, they're suddenly up to $12.88. Quite a jump. But still peanuts compared to my new Tahoe headlights, apparently. Oh well. At least we don't have state inspections here in Arizona, so I could run it for years with a crack, if they get cracked.
CMoore711
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I've read the thread and seen the pictures posted of the crack you're referring to and in question.
The reality is you're fighting an uphill battle no matter what. Obviously from the pics posted online we can’t touch and feel the headlight or cracked area in question. It is in an odd location and there are a number of things that could have occurred to cause it without necessarily leaving a sign of impact on the outside surface. I say that because it almost looks like some sort of stress crack. It’s hard to tell.
Without support from your dealer and a service tech that strongly agrees that it’s a defect or something that occurred during install/assembly of your truck and is willing to go to bat you need to be prepared for the GM Service rep to take the position that it’s not a defect since clearly this crack developed while you were operating the vehicle. It very well could be a defect, but I just feel that at this point it’s hard to prove either side of that argument definitively.
Get an apt lined up with a GM Regional Service rep and have them see and review the headlight they should be able to do this right in front of you somewhere in the service Bay Area. Approach the situation in a polite and professional manner and express your concerns and position on it. However, I would not expect a result of a 100% free replacement no cost to you resolution.
Your best outcome would be some sort of combination of maybe they offer a replacement headlight assembly for free, but you cover the labor to replace or maybe you split the whole cost of a new headlight and the cost of install.
Good luck in the process.
The reality is you're fighting an uphill battle no matter what. Obviously from the pics posted online we can’t touch and feel the headlight or cracked area in question. It is in an odd location and there are a number of things that could have occurred to cause it without necessarily leaving a sign of impact on the outside surface. I say that because it almost looks like some sort of stress crack. It’s hard to tell.
Without support from your dealer and a service tech that strongly agrees that it’s a defect or something that occurred during install/assembly of your truck and is willing to go to bat you need to be prepared for the GM Service rep to take the position that it’s not a defect since clearly this crack developed while you were operating the vehicle. It very well could be a defect, but I just feel that at this point it’s hard to prove either side of that argument definitively.
Get an apt lined up with a GM Regional Service rep and have them see and review the headlight they should be able to do this right in front of you somewhere in the service Bay Area. Approach the situation in a polite and professional manner and express your concerns and position on it. However, I would not expect a result of a 100% free replacement no cost to you resolution.
Your best outcome would be some sort of combination of maybe they offer a replacement headlight assembly for free, but you cover the labor to replace or maybe you split the whole cost of a new headlight and the cost of install.
Good luck in the process.
I went through this with my daughters Cruze. One of her headlights developed an area that had a hundred tiny cracks, almost like broken tempered glass if you know what that looks like. The dealer agreed it was defective. But they showed me the fine flint that headlights are one of the things not covered under any of their warranties unless they were a safety issue. It still worked so it was considered cosmetic and not covered. I went round snd round with GM Customer Care and they finally agreed to replace it for a substantial %off the msrp but they had to do the work, and she would have to pay for the headlight and labor. She had the most expensive of the 3 different options for headlights so their “deal” for her would have been around $900 installed. I bought one on eBay that looked like new for $150 and did it myself. That headlight was about $800 msrp. Ridiculous.
petethepug
Michael
Hey a loaner and swap it out with theirs
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