Help! Headlight issue - Not covered by warrant.?

[RickM]

Hi all:
Been out of touch for a while but need some help from this great community.

My extended warranty runs out on 19 Nov (5 year birthday ) and recently I noticed a number of "scratches/cracks" in (not on) my driver's side headlight plastic cover. At first I thought something had hit or scratched the cover from outside but when I run my fingers over it it barely feels like a scratch though visually it seems deep. It certainly looks more like the "cracks" are coming from the inside.

I took the car to the dealer recently and they were quick to "guess" it would not be covered. Of course, that is what happened otfl. My suspicion is that it had to do with the replacement cost ($895!) the warranty does not want to absorb.....

My question has three parts:
1- Has anybody seen this before?
2- Has there been a recall of any kind for this?
3- Do you know of a dealer that covered it under warranty?

Thanks for your quick help
Rick

 

[catbert]

I haven't seen that particular problem with headlights - except for those with protective film installed. Small cracks that don't "leak" might be considered cosmetic, and not replaced under any circumstances. I'd ask the dealer to find out for certain if it's covered.

 

[yellow_2002_germany]

I would imagine your headlight issue would be affected by the coverages of your extended warranty. If you take a look at it there should be information as to what is covered and, possibly, what is not covered.

 

[RickM]

I'd ask the dealer to find out for certain if it's covered.

I did, they came back the next day with "no". However, I'm not sure how they described the problem since they didn't take a picture or anything plus, is there an incentive for them to replace it?

 

[RickM]

If you take a look at it there should be information as to what is covered and, possibly, what is not covered.

I did, but legal "mumbo-jumbo" rules ad

 

[LLC5]

Contact GM cust service and get a case file started if you can, they will investigate and let you know if it can or will be covered. There should be a toll free phone number in your owners manual for the cust service department.

 

[diverdan]

The phenomenon you are describing is called 'crazing' and is unfortunately common to the plastic used in the headlight covers in most cars. I think it is caused by UV damage to the plastic. You should see the way it looks on sailboat windows.

Really annoying, but mostly cosmetic. You usually see it in cars that spend a lot of time in the sun.