Automakers like Tesla and General Motors don’t think there is anything wrong with their illegally bright headlights despite the dangers they cause.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said last week that it was rejecting Tesla’s 2024 request to avoid a recall fix for around 20,000 cars with headlights that might be too bright.
Tesla contended that there was no need for a recall or customer notification because the problem had no bearing on motor vehicle safety. The NHTSA disagreed.
Tesla informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2024 that the headlights on approximately 19,900 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles exceeded the maximum brightness allowed by law. In some cases, the brightness nearly doubled the legal limit.
However, weeks later, Tesla filed a petition arguing that it shouldn’t have to replace the illegally bright headlights because the flaw was “inconsequential” to safety.
According to an NHTSA document, Tesla claimed that the headlights were only too bright in specific zones. The company also claimed that these zones were “positioned off the roadway both horizontally and vertically, keeping [them] outside of the driver’s or other road users’ natural line of vision.”
The NHTSA, again, disagreed, stating, “Certain weather conditions such as rain, snow, and fog could result in light from the noncompliant lamps causing veiling glare to the driver or other road users driving in the proximity of the vehicle having the noncompliant lamp(s).”
Blindingly bright headlights are a real issue to many drivers
Tesla argued it was unaware of any complaints or reports of accidents or injuries related to the headlight issue. The NHTSA replied, “The absence of complaints does not mean vehicle occupants have not experienced a safety issue, nor does it mean that there will not be safety issues in the future.”
It also pointed out that “these glare instances mainly occur at night when road users would likely look away and not try to identify the make, model, and year of the vehicle.”
The agency also noted that it denied a similar request from General Motors in 2022 regarding headlight issues. According to The Drive, the headlights on those vehicles were even further beyond the brightness limit than Tesla’s cars. GM also unsuccessfully argued that the problem was “inconsequential.”
However, the American Automobile Association conducted a survey in March that found 6 out of 10 drivers feel glare is an issue after dark, and over 75% think it has gotten worse over the last 10 years, according to Reuters. So the problem with illegally bright headlights appears to be far from “inconsequential” to many drivers.