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I just picked up a 2016 GX with the luxury package and the passenger side parking light appears to have fallen inside the headlight housing. It is my understanding that this light is a LED and cannot be changed but is there a way to open the headlight housing and reposition the parking light LED? The LED is still working as I can see a faint orange glow but it has fallen behind something and appears to be angled down towards the front of the car. The driver’s
side is bright orange like normal, of course.
I searched for help but the only thing I could find was confirmation that the light is a LED. Has anyone else had this happen or has anyone ever opened the headlight housing? If you remove the screws around the edge of the back of the headlight housing will the black plastic backing of the headlight housing come off just by releasing the tabs around the clear lens? Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
Passenger side Passenger side - appears to be angled down towards from of car
That's the side marker light - a mandated safety requirement in the US.
If your car is under warranty, then the dealer should resolve this. If the dealer says "the bulb isn't covered" then tell them that the problem isn't the bulb but the housing - which should be covered.
Thanks for the reply. The car is outside of warranty due to mileage, unfortunately, so I do not think I will have any luck getting them to repair or replace it under warranty. I was hoping to be able to repair or reposition the bulb inside the unit without having to replace it. Do you know if that’s possible?
Thanks for the reply. The car is outside of warranty due to mileage, unfortunately, so I do not think I will have any luck getting them to repair or replace it under warranty. I was hoping to be able to repair or reposition the bulb inside the unit without having to replace it. Do you know if that’s possible?
I'd have a shop (dealership?) take a quick look and give you an estimate.
Once you have that, call Lexus and say "I have this very unusual manufacturer's defect. While I realize that my car is out of warranty by mileage, it is still within the time portion of the warranty. Since this is a clear defect not caused by me, I request that you cover this repair under warranty as a goodwill repair."
I suspect (unless it is damage caused by an external impact) that Lexus will cover part or all of the repair.
Thank you for the advice. I greatly appreciate it! I have been a long-time customer of the dealership, the car was purchased new from them, always serviced by them, and never had any collision damage. I sure hope explaining the situation like you did that Lexus will goodwill the repair. Thanks, again, for your advice.
Thank you for the advice. I greatly appreciate it! I have been a long-time customer of the dealership, the car was purchased new from them, always serviced by them, and never had any collision damage. I sure hope explaining the situation like you did that Lexus will goodwill the repair. Thanks, again, for your advice.
Having a good relationship with the dealer really helps because they can support your efforts with Lexus.
If they say "yeah, that's pretty unusual", then you're more than halfway there.
Update - The dealership said they had never seen this issue on a GX, confirmed the LED could not be replaced, and thought they may be able to disassemble the headlight housing and reposition the LED as they have done on a few other models. Unfortunately, this was not the case after the headlight was removed from the vehicle and they quoted me $1700 for parts and labor to replace the entire headlight assembly. After explaining to them that the warranty was only expired for mileage and not for time and that this was clearly a manufacturing defect because the vehicle has no prior collision damage, they said they would get back with me. A little while later I received a call that the entire headlight would be replaced at no cost to me. When I picked up the vehicle the $0 invoice I got stated “WARRANTY” and has a goodwill authorization number next to it. It appears that Lexus either paid to replace the headlight or at least assisted the dealership with the cost. I am grateful my dealership handled this like everything else for me the last 15 years and for your advice, cb1111, on how to handle this situation with them. Thanks, again!
Update - The dealership said they had never seen this issue on a GX, confirmed the LED could not be replaced, and thought they may be able to disassemble the headlight housing and reposition the LED as they have done on a few other models. Unfortunately, this was not the case after the headlight was removed from the vehicle and they quoted me $1700 for parts and labor to replace the entire headlight assembly. After explaining to them that the warranty was only expired for mileage and not for time and that this was clearly a manufacturing defect because the vehicle has no prior collision damage, they said they would get back with me. A little while later I received a call that the entire headlight would be replaced at no cost to me. When I picked up the vehicle the $0 invoice I got stated “WARRANTY” and has a goodwill authorization number next to it. It appears that Lexus either paid to replace the headlight or at least assisted the dealership with the cost. I am grateful my dealership handled this like everything else for me the last 15 years and for your advice, cb1111, on how to handle this situation with them. Thanks, again!
Glad it worked. This is where it helps to have a good relationship with the dealership.
If there is an authorization number, then Lexus paid the bill.
When a dealership does something really nice, I usually reciprocate with a few cases of sodas. I just pull into the service lane, unload the sodas, say "thanks guys" and drive off. This is actually far more effective than tipping the tech because here everyone will talk about it. The service advisor that worked the deal? If they are someone who you've worked with before and won't be leaving next week, then you could give them something like a $50 or $100 Amazon gift card. Don't go overboard, but make it significant enough that they know that you appreciate their help.
The next time you go there you'll get the benefit of the doubt if there is another iffy situation.
2016 GX Parking Light
