If one ran the head lights, or burned a bulb in their garage all the time, they too would fail. Since the daytime running lights get so many hours, the bulbs can/will last only so long. Not a priority of the owners to replace, I assume.
Day time lights are a source of controversies. They help visibility on two lane roads, but also get inadvertently used, without proper taillights, at night. That which is meant for safety creates other issues. Must be some Peter Principle.
This has gone on for many years...shouldn't GM have addressed this anyway by now? They have to be aware of the higher consumption rate...why not engineer them to last longer or eliminate them altogether?
Only seen it on GM trucks and truck based SUV's.Is the light problem just with the trucks? The lights on my 2003 Impala work fine...the right side has never been changed, but a deer changed the left side, along with the fender, a year ago. I can't really say I've ever checked the lights during the day, but they are the same bulbs used at night and they work then. In fact, if I get another car that doesn't do the automatic on thing, I'll probably be driving around without lights pretty often! I know when I drive my F150 I have to remember to turn on the lights when it is raining, etc. It's also nice when I drive into a parking garage during the day that the light are on in the Impala; I notice that in the truck as I often have to turn the lights on to see.
Chuck
Gonna "blame" GE or Phillips for producing bulbs that only last 2000 or 4000 hours? Shrug. Don't see it the same way you do, apparently. These same operators never check their brake light bulbs either, to my aggravation. Don't see this one as being pinned on GM.
And the rub here is that this is such a prevalent problem that everyone knows what we're talking about and it only effects one line of their vehicles. GM trucks. Don't see it on the Chevys.
Listen, it's simple...it is obviously a quality control issue that GM has to be aware of...one would think that they would have learned their lesson about quality control through the NUMMI joint venture with Toyota. The bulbs don't last and they don't care...the burden is left to the consumer to deal with. Then again, GM was under the watch of Jack Wagoner, who rose to the head of GM through the financial wing of Corporate GM...in other words, a bean counter...GM sank into financial straits under HIS watch...yeah, the financial wizard. How did that work out.Since those GMC and Chevy trucks are typically built on the very same line, with identical parts, including bulbs, I find this fascinating.
No defender of GM here, so I'm outta here. See ya 'round the forum.
Any of you remember when GM had a downsized Chevrolet Nova product and they also had a Cadillac version that looked like the downsized Nova?
I could be mean and say I never notice the lights because I'm too distracted by the peeling paint, but I wouldn't sink that low.
Have any of those GM vehicles been a truck or truck based SUV? I haven't read where a '99 Malibu has been mentioned as one of the problematic vehicles.Of course Ford would never use a platform for more than one thing. Like make a Lincoln out of a Crown Vic? Ever see rust and peeling paint on a Ford?
All my vehicles since '88 have been GM and all with DRL and never replaced a headlight bulb yet, even on the '99 Malibu that is still on the road.