GMC Hit With Lawsuit Over Sierra's Headlights

Aaron Cole
by Aaron Cole

A lawsuit filed in Southern California said that GMC’s headlights in their 2013 and 2014 pickups are too dim and that the automaker knowingly expanded the use of its headlights to other trucks and SUVs, despite customers’ complaints that the cars were unsafe to drive at night.

The lawsuit, filed on Oct. 19, was first reported by Law 360.

According to court documents, the trucks were fitted with a single bulb for low and high beams, rather than three bulbs normally used for fog lights, low- and high-beam lights. According to the lawsuit, the truck owner paid for aftermarket lights to make the truck safe to drive.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit aren’t alone either.

In the lawsuit, the complaint details many other complaints made by truck owners who reported similar low lights.

“The stock projector headlights on my new $60,000 GMC Denali 2500HD really SUCK! Could not see a damn thing 100 feet in front.”

“This truck is very dangerous to drive after dark. I wish that I would have read the complaints about the 2014 trucks. My dealer seems to have no fix.”

“My 1989 Toyota Pickup has better headlights then this $50,000 truck. Just spent over $150 to upgrade to LED lights and still not good enough. GM should take action now before someone gets hurt!!”

Complaints registered on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website mirror those in the lawsuit:

HEADLIGHTS ON MY 2014 GMC SIERRA 1500 SLT ARE TOTALLY INADEQUATE ON HIGH OR LOW BEAM. THE LIGHTING DISTANCE IS INADEQUATE AND IS SO DIRECTIONAL THAT THERE IS NO SIDE FLAIR LIGHTING FOR TURNING LIKE YOU HAVE WITH CONVENTIONAL HEADLIGHTS. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE AND NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED IMMEDIATELY BY THE NHTSA. I HAVE HAD THIS VEHICLE FOR 1 1/2 YEARS AND THE PROBLEM IS ONGOING SINCE I BOUGHT IT. THE DEALER HAS NO SOLUTION.

(NHTSA’s complaints are filed in all caps in case you want to hurt your eyes too.)

A spokeswoman from GMC didn’t immediately comment on the lawsuit.
Aaron Cole
Aaron Cole

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  • CrackedLCD CrackedLCD on Oct 22, 2015

    I think there is something to this beyond the fact that the headlights on these trucks are too high off the ground. It has been my experience that GM vehicles of just about all makes have crap headlights, as evidenced by the fact that a good 50% of them seem to have their bright lights on continuously after dark. GMC and Chevy trucks, Buicks and Chevy cars seem to be the worst offenders, regardless of age of the vehicle. Nissan drivers do this a lot, as well, but are a distant second. Everyone else is just noise. To me, it doesn't matter whether or not their lights are DOT certified and meet all applicable guidelines, if the users of these vehicles are going to run their brights all the time and blind all oncoming traffic, there IS an issue that needs to be resolved. Why the police don't stop and harass these people on a regular basis is beyond me; they *never* respond to a headlight flash by dimming their own lights. It's "f-you, I gotta see." Where I come from, people who tend to drive with the brights on are more likely to be drunk drivers, yet I doubt drunk drivers only drive GM product. And while we're examining the safety and efficacy of headlights in cars, can we please convince the automakers to spend the tenth of a penny per lens to coat them in something protective so they don't turn yellow and fog up after three years' exposure to sunlight? Fords of a certain vintage are the worst in this regard, although my VW lights are damn near as bad. And they can't be fixed with a polish because the fogging is on the INSIDE of the plastic lens as much as it is the outside.

  • Shedkept Shedkept on Dec 05, 2015

    Having had all the updates done the lights in my 2500HD are still poor at best. The lights cast patterns and shadows and the peripheral lighting is poor. I owned a 2014 2500HD and the the lights were far better than these as they were a standard 2 bulb system. For $65,000 you would think GM could have done a better job. Chevrolet still uses a 2 bulb system which imho is the only way to make decent light on a tall vehicle like a truck. For now I'll wait and see because unlike some folks I don't think it's my job to fix their problem. I'm not buying into he aftermarket HID or LED kits because GM should fix this. GM also has an issue with the turn signal marker lights on the drivers side mirror which will blind you at night. They came up with a fix for that as well which is better but shouldn't have ever been an issue to begin with. It is quite dangerous imho.

  • Syke Kinda liked the '57, hated the '58. Then again, I hated the entire '58 GM line except for the Chevrolet. Which I liked better than the '57's. Still remember dad's '58 Impala hardtop, in the silver blue that was used as the main advertising color.
  • Dartdude The bottom line is that in the new America coming the elites don't want you and me to own cars. They are going to make building cars so expensive that the will only be for the very rich and connected. You will eat bugs and ride the bus and live in a 500sq-ft. apartment and like it. HUD wants to quit giving federal for any development for single family homes and don't be surprised that FHA aren't going to give loans for single family homes in the very near future.
  • Ravenuer The rear view of the Eldo coupe makes it look fat!
  • FreedMike This is before Cadillac styling went full scale nutty...and not particularly attractive, in my opinion.
  • JTiberius1701 Middle of April here in NE Ohio. And that can still be shaky. Also on my Fiesta ST, I use Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires for the winter and Bridgestone Potenza for my summer tires. No issues at all.
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