The federal government has ordered GMC to recall about 725,000 GMC SUVs to turn down the brightness of their headlights.
Government Orders the Recall
The recall, which GMC hasn’t issued yet, will apply to 2010-2017 Terrain SUVs. The government’s safety watchdog has been investigating the brightness of Terrain headlights for several years. In 2019, GMC notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that Terrain headlights were “more than three times brighter than the designated maximum” under federal law. But the company asked the agency to waive the mandatory recall. GMC claimed that the headlights shined “far above the range where the reflection could cause glare for oncoming or surrounding drivers.”
The company said it had received only a single complaint about the brightness from a Terrain owner. Notably, they did not survey drivers of other vehicles.
GM Already Has a Fix
The agency’s order means that GMC will soon issue a recall. The move enables dealers to fix the headlights at no cost to owners. The company says its headlight supplier has already designed a replacement part that corrects the problem. The speed of the recall will probably depend on how quickly GM can order enough of them to swap out every 2010-2017 Terrain headlight.
The recall raises a point many drivers can relate to. The bright, tall lights of trucks and SUVs frequently trigger complaints in other drivers. They can temporarily blind other drivers with their glare. There’s a solution in sight.
Adaptive Headlights Coming Soon
Earlier this year, a mammoth infrastructure bill that passed Congress and was signed into law by President Biden contained a provision that would legalize adaptive headlights — a technology used in other countries to mitigate the glare problem. It will take years for adaptive headlights to become common, however. So, other drivers will undoubtedly appreciate the NHTSA’s effort to turn down the brightness on some existing headlights in the meantime.
Recall repairs are always free. Check whether your car has ever been recalled at our recall center.
