GMC’s Newest Recall Highlights Need for Changes in Headlights
The feds have forced GMC to recall 725,000 SUVs over headlights. Here’s why that might not be an issue in the near future.
Written by Andrew Kidd
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
Many drivers have dealt with the headache of a tall truck or SUV with
ridiculously bright headlights
blinding them from behind or the opposite lane. But one automaker’s headlights were bright enough to force a federal recall
.That’s the reasoning behind the latest recall affecting GMC vehicles, specifically the 2010-2017 GMC Terrain. Per
Kelley Blue Book
, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ordered a recall of 725,000 of the SUVs because the headlights were “three times brighter than the designated maximum” under federal law.GMC has a headlight fix ready
GMC has yet to issue the recall, instead asking NHTSA to waive it, claiming its vehicles’ headlights shined “far above the range where the reflection could cause glare” for other drivers. The company defended itself, saying it had received just one complaint about headlight brightness from a Terrain owner.
Interestingly enough, it did not survey other drivers; it’s easy to see no issue with too-bright headlights when you’re
behind them
.NHTSA’s order means GMC will be forced to issue a recall soon, which would allow dealers to fix affected headlights at no cost to owners. GMC said its headlight supplier has a fix ready to correct the issue, and a timeline for repairing all affected vehicles depends on when GMC can get enough of those parts.
But what if there was a better technology that would make headlight brightness concerns a thing of the past? Spoiler alert: there is, and it was just recently legalized in the U.S.
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Adaptive headlights could be a long-term answer
Until recently, U.S. federal law required low-beam and high-beam settings for car headlights, and neither could be active simultaneously. But this binary has spelled trouble for pedestrians and other drivers, especially now that these bright headlights are higher off the ground thanks to the popularity of big trucks and SUVs.
Outside of the U.S., many countries have already solved the headlight brightness issue with adaptive headlight technology. Unlike standard headlights, adaptive headlights use an array of LEDs to create a beam of light that can be adapted to certain situations by switching individual LEDs on and off.
Most of these adaptive headlight systems use a front-facing camera to scan for others on the road. They then adjust the beam to avoid dazzling others without sacrificing the driver’s view of the road.
Adaptive headlights were made legal in the U.S. earlier this year as part of President Biden’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, which also earmarked spending for electric vehicles, clean energy technology as well as traditional infrastructure projects like fixing roads and bridges.
MORE: Is Canada's New Automatic Headlight Rule Coming to the US?
Still a ways to go for many automakers
KBB reports that it could take more than a decade for adaptive headlight technology to become common in the U.S., as the average car on the road is more than 12 years old.
Some automakers, however, have already been installing adaptive headlight technology on vehicles destined for markets outside of the U.S. Others have already installed them on U.S. vehicles, yet locked them behind software updates.
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