I have a 2018 75d that has had both headlights replaced due to the running lights in the lower corner burning out. This happened on both lights in the same spot within a month of each other. Now only 2 months later a replaced one has burned out again. Do others keep having this problem? I worried how long they will last after my warranty runs out!
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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-23930675
Ok, that idea seems far fetched to me.
LED failures seem rare, and to have both lights and fail multiple times is really strange. Something else is going on.
https://forums.tesla.com/forum/forums/headlights-eyelid
Failure typically is not the full DRL band around the headlight, but starts at the inner edge (toward center of the car) and most typically what I've seen result first in yellowing, and then ultimately most of the upper band going out completely. I had both of my headlamp assemblies on my mid-2016 refresh MS fail short of 2 years and both were replaced at 25 months/32k miles in service when my car was in for another issue. Here are photos of mine taken in the dark to make it easy to see the failed section.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=108KfmtRqgbOd7d1OsEU6LrA5DYQKscDA
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1QtIHnBxGhZRFXgJigwCgf6O8Pg0lVQEN
It's tougher to see in daylight, but here's a shot.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1H1ImszGqAlcO5F0Q2llGalT6LnU95jYP
I've started to view this for the refresh models almost like some of your 2012-2014 owners view door handle failures as something that most can expect to encounter with the question being mainly a matter of when, not if. I noticed a few days ago that the eyebrow on my passenger side is starting to show signs of yellowing now after 11 months and 16k miles. Am curious whether I can get them to replace it for me a second time when I take it in for my 4 yr service just prior to my 50k mile warranty expiring. Information I've seen suggests that each headlight is about $1,100 to replace when done out of warranty.
Do you live in a hot area (i.e Phoenix)? It should be designed for any climate, but I can see hot areas having more failures than other area. Then again, perhaps the LED vendor is not meeting the needed specs.
https://www.tesla.com/support/vehicle-warranty
The short version of it is:
The Tesla Parts, Body & Paint Repair Limited Warranty begins on the purchase date of the part(s), and coverage extends for a period of 12 months. Specific categories of parts have unique warranty coverage periods:
Sheet metal: Limited lifetime
Drive Unit: 4 years or 50,000 miles, whichever comes first
Vehicle High Voltage Battery: 4 years or 50,000 miles, whichever comes first
Wall Connectors: 4 years
Touchscreen and microcontroller unit: 4 years
Yikes. Sounds like Tesla's not very confident about their rebuilt HV batteries. So it's very conceivable that one could have an HV battery fail at 35,000 miles, replaced under warranty, and then be SOL at 85,000 miles when that replacement fails. Notwithstanding the "unlimited" warranty on the original.
That just makes zero logical sense, given the new warranty.
But yes, either way, failures after 8 years go to owner responsibility. But it does at least give you some coverage for work down outside of warranty.
I see at least 5 Model S refreshes a day (Bay area, the most Tesla dense area). I can't say I've seen a single DSL light out. I wonder if it's a regional thing - perhaps cold/hot cycling is taking them out? There is clearly something wrong if it's happening to some multiple times.
A quick look at the parts catalog show they are are version D (1053570-00-D for left headlight), but that doesn't state what was changed, and it may have nothing to do with the DSL LEDs. I tool a look at my Dec-2016 S, and it is using 1053570-00-B, which is original with the car. Generally Tesla replaces bad parts with the latest version. Hopefully the redesigned part will be better.
If enough of these die out of warranty, I bet someone will start a repair service. I suspect it's less than $10 in new LEDs and maybe an hour's labor after headlight removed from the car. It may be difficult to source the LEDs, but perhaps not. Someone could make good money, even charging $200 for the repair. Not sure what it takes to remove a headlight - I suspect the bumper needs to be pulled, so perhap 1-2 hours assembly/disassembly labor just to get one headlight out of the car.
He also said it is NOT LEDs going out. The light source is at the upper corner of the DRLs, and shines along a tube that stretches the length of the top eyebrow and bottom line. Failure occurs when the tube develops cracks and stops transmitting the light all the way.
This explains why we have some of the dimmest running lights of all cars. Poor design for sure.
@Bill - They don't seem dim to me - just right. Much better than DRL in most cars that run the high-beams at low power, which I find somewhat annoying - especially at dusk, as often they leave them on instead of using the headlights - so too bright and aimed right at your eyes from a oncoming car.
Some failed due to turn signal not working and daytime running light fading from the inside.
I don't consider daytime running lights and turn signal as cosmetic.
Tesla needs to get Mexican supplier to replace these headlights with a Revision.