Chevrolet Colorado, Silverado, GMC Canyon All Fail IIHS Headlight Testing
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Previously, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety broke the news that many passenger cars’ headlamps weren’t all that great. Now, it’s back to tell us the same thing about pickup trucks.
The IIHS recently conducted its latest headlight tests and, no surprise, many trucks outright flunked it. According to Motor Trend, out of 11 pickups (and 23 possible headlamp configurations) only the Honda Ridgeline managed a “Good” rating. The rest fell into the “Acceptable”, “Marginal” and “Poor” categories. Most fell into the latter.
Specifically, the Chevrolet Colorado was singled out for downright terrible performance. The Colorado’s halogen headlamps illuminated just 124 feet in front of the truck. The Ridgeline, in comparison, illuminates 358 feet ahead.
Cousin GMC wasn’t left out of it either. The GMC Sierra 1500 with LEDs and automatic high-beam assist scored an “Acceptable” rating, but leaving out the LEDs, and swapping them for HIDs, led to a “Poor” rating for the full-size truck.
The Chevrolet Silverado didn’t quite match the Sierra’s ratings, also receiving a “Poor” grading. Ditto for the GMC Canyon.
The U.S. has long been overdue for new automotive lighting standards, which lacks behind innovative applications found in European vehicles. As the IIHS continues to tell the tale of poor lighting applications, maybe it will change sooner rather than later.
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124 feet for the Colorado’s headlights. That should be enough most people don’t look past 100 feet anyway.
Headlights go out too far and too bright become a hazard to others.
I had aircraft landing lights in one car and they were great for me but illegal because they were not great for others.
The truth is the new headlamps are light years ahead of the old T3 bulbs we used to have. Pun intended.
The Insurance group is a headline grabbing hyperbole agency for the most parts. They like to use shock value to draw attention and sometimes they end up crying wolf.
Headline makes it seem like the Chevy/GMC trucks have sub par headlights when for the most part they did as good or better then the competition (besides the Honda)
How ever its sad that the big 3’s biggest money makers haven’t received better lights. My 2002 Silverado with a set of silverstar bulbs were brighter then my 2016 silverado. I find the light adequate on my 16 but adequate is a bit of a disappointment with how far led lighting has evolved.
Now I know it’s not my imagination. Lights on my Silverado seem dim. On rural roads always on the hi-beams. The way top of light beam seems just cut-off? Anyone try upgrading bulbs?
The cut off is there to help avoid blinding on coming, I believe only low beams do it.
I tried upgrading bulbs, researched and bought the best. Philips hir for one and I don’t remember what I used for the other beams but they were a expensive highly rated bulb.
No difference. Maybe a slight tint change but zero difference in brightness.
But I believe if you have a 2014 or 2015 they came with different bulbs that weren’t so great and were even upgraded for free by gm if you complained.
Might note all these lights are DOT approved and meet regulation.
Some may be better than others but none are unsafe or inadequate.
Keep this in mind.
Good point Scott.
I know the high beams on my 2007 NBS are amazing. But I live in a big city so I may have the high beams on a few times a year.
I tried the fancy PIAA’s and other brands but would never last more then 16 months.
We owned a 2015 GMC SLT with the halogen bulbs for a short while and it was absolutely dangerous, they were so dim. We complained to GM and they upgraded the bulbs, but still very poor. So we traded it for a 2016 Silverado LTZ-Z71 with the LED headlights and we are very happy with those. We drive lots of two lane highways with no traffic and lots of wildlife so good headlights are important. Really surprised us that in this day and age, there are some subpar headlights on new vehicles.
Dangerous, haha. They are in no way shape or form dangerous, that is a grotesque over statement. The headlights on those trucks were ten times better than anything twenty years ago. So you traded poor headlights to poor headlights? Nice trade, you could have just put in tome LED bulbs in your 2015 projectors…
Tyler, I’ve owned new trucks since 1970 and trust me, those projector halogens were in no way, I say NO WAY better than previous lights. Sorry I offended your sensibilities, but those “one bulb wonders” in the 2015 GMC were dangerous driving in rural two lane roads. You think my statement is a “grotesque over statement”, telling me that those lights were, as you say “ten times better than anything twenty years ago” does qualify for a “grotesque over statement”. Irregardless of your opinion, the LED units in the 2016 Silverado are substantially better than the ones in the GMC. Not sure you have owned either of these vehicles to make such claims….I have.
ehm… regardless**
Tyler you’re wrong. I have a 2004 Chevy Duramax 2500HD and the headlights are at least twice as good as those on my new 2016 GMC Denali 3500.
I have 2015 sierra head lights is poor before I have a 2013 Acadia and the light was very good , ,,gm have a excuse why the light is so,poor ,,,
The linked article about European innovations mentioned an LED solution made by a GM subsidiary and sourced from Sylvania, but due to “legal red tape” it’s not coming to America yet? This wouldn’t be about import problems – GM and Sylvania already sell products here – it would be about the government, right? What would the government or DOT have against better solutions? Putting replacement bulb makers out of business?
As our population ages, and the majority become more mature in age as drivers, and mature in vision– improved headlights for night time driving would help reduce these challenges. Adequate lighting vs. excellent lighting could make the difference between accident avoidence and actual collisions–exceeding regulations would make sense
Is this likely to result in a recall by GM to fix the problem? I haven’t noticed a problem with the lights in my 2015 GMC Canyon, but if there’s a safety issue and GM offers a free upgrade, I’ll get in line. Ron
I have a ’16 Colorado and have no issues with the headlights. They light up far enough ahead and frankly, I don’t find them all that different from my ’04 Colorado. The fog lights could be brighter, but the headlights are fine.
Now, if someone were to ask me about the projector headlights on my wife’s ’14 Impala, my opinion is way different. The projectors are horrible. I’ve driven a few different vehicles with projectors and they all are terrible. So what I see people doing is switching to HID bulbs. I put crystal vision bulbs in the Impala, which helped. Maybe NHTSA needs weigh in projector headlight design to address the problem.
Funny that IIHS says the Ridgeline is rates good. I drive a Civic for work, the same platform as the Ridgeline, and those headlights suck too.
Ahem, The Civic has the same platform found on the CR-V
Do you have projector or reflector type headlights in your Colorado? I have a 2015 and the projectors are a driver hazard. Chevrolet dealer and Corporate are going round and round on the poor performance of these projection headlights.
I have a 2016 Colorado with the reflector headlights, and they are pitiful. Not as bad as the ’97 Dodge Stratus or ’89 C1500 Sierra that I used to own, but pretty close. My Nissans (a Versa and a Rogue) both had reflector headlights that were much better than the new Colorado. My wife’s RAV4 has projector headlights that are much, much better. I hate to admit it, but both of her previous Corollas had reflector lights that were probably better than any car I’ve ever owned.
Nice job GM…keep on adding driver monitoring systems and neglect the, very most basic, but crucial, safety functions of the vehicle! …Headlights? Really!…with all the technology available in lighting today. How about better lighting and less perimeter cameras on vehicles!
I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to share their GM pickup truck experiences. I waited about twenty years, to purchase my dream GM pickup truck. The usual obstacles, raising our three children, then raising two of our grandchildren, health stuff…then finally ? We had GM SUV’s over the past several years, one of which was a 2004 GMC Denali Yukon XL…that was a beautiful ride, nicely trimmed out, and a great cruiser, but the head lights were ‘dangerous’, and that is not an exageration. Moving forward to last December, I searched all over, and found my beautiful 2015 Chevy Silverado LTZ 4×4 Crew Cab, with the awesome 6.2 V-8, in deep ocean blue metallic. I really love my Silverado, and am only disappointed with two areas of my $53,000 dream truck…No rear vent for heat and air, on their top of the line Chevy 1500 series pickup, and the head lights are seriously behind the times, especially on the LTZ series!! I almost went with a 2016 model, but GM decided to cut their Warranty from 5 year/100k on the 2015 to 60k on the 2016…and they raised the prices to boot on the 2016 models. Besides, I much prefer the appearance of the 2015 LTZ. I guess our one hope, is that more folks write GM, and note there disappointment to their Service Advisors, so just maybe we can all get a ‘free upgrade’, to a safer, brighter system. We drive the rural roads of northern Nevada, and California, and constantly find ourselves switching from high beam to low beam, Thanks much GM Authority, for listening to all of us.
I bought a 2016 GMC Canyon crew cab diesel. Before the article came out about the headlights both my wife and I noticed how poorly the low beams illuminated. It is bad enough going straight with limited distance but actually DANGEROUS on any curve no matter how mild. No ability to see beyond what is directly in front of you, terrible peripheral illumination. I previously had a 2008 GMC Z71cab Z71 and before that a 2003 Silverado Z71 crew cab and both had superior lighting compared to the 2016 Canyon.
Glad the IIS published this report to place pressure on auto manufacturers to improve their lighting and Uncle Sam to update the regulations.
Jeff L.
I purchased a 2015 Chevrolet Colorado with projection headlights which are part of a luxury option package. The first time I drove the truck at night was an experience. The lights shine a horizontal beam about 40 inches off the road. Signage can not be read while driving. Driving into a hill loses the roadway as well as driving around corners. They are almost hypnotic! The projection beams are totally inadequate and a safety hazard. I discussed this with GM corporate and they said this is an approved headlight system and no changes will be made. The reflector headlight system is so much better. In the future, drive your new vehicle purchase at night before you buy, other wise you are stuck to a $1000.00 changeover to the reflector system.
I too have a 2014 GMC Sierra SLE and love it…with the exception of the above-mentioned weak headlights. I went to my local GMC dealership and after providing them the upgrade information on TSB PIT5374, they changed my original headlights out for the newer ones with new calibration (Jan-2016). Slight improvement but it still felt that at highway speeds, you were out-driving your headlights. Fast forward one year later (Jan-2017), my left headlight went out. Took to the GMC dealer and they replaced it under warranty…end of February, the right headlight went out. They replaced it at no cost. I am just wondering if other GM truck owners are seeing the same issue. My old 2005 Honda has better headlights and are original! I ask them if they have similar issues with poor headlight performance and generally respond that they have had very few issues.
I have a 2014 Silverado and installed a pair of 55W HID Morimoto lights. Made a huge difference over the pathetic stock units. They have a good cut off line, so oncoming vehicles are not blinded by them. They also switch to a secondary high beam when switched.
I’ve had my 2018 Chevy Colorado for about 3 weeks. Driving my new truck at night is challemging but being being caught twice at night in the rain, I’m horrified by the Pathetic excuse for headlights Chevy has offered. I mean really, how many of his test drive a vehicle at night time just to test the headlights? I will from now on! Radio shack used to give away flashlights that are brighter then these headlights!
I have to agree. I bought my dream truck- used, a 2015
silverado 1 ton 4WD to tow my rv. I am so disappointed with the lights. Every car I have ever owned (I am 69 years old) had better lights. Dealer told me i missed the free replacement period. The original owner put in a light bar behind the grill which i am sure was expensive. It works but I cannot use it if other vehicles are around because it blinds them. GM should be ashamed. I would think they would want to be concerned with the safety of their customers or at the very least protect their reputation as a quality truck manufacturer but i guess they don’t really care once you leave the showroom. This is my 3rd, and last, GM truck.