LED Headlights are dangerous in snow/ice storm

[LANGeek]

I have a 2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon with the LED headlights. Last night I drove home in a snow and ice storm. The headlights got packed with snow/ice since LEDs do not produce enough heat to melt the snow and ice like the old halogen and HID bulbs can.

The snow and ice buildup is horrible, dangerous, and potentially life threatening. I had to pull off and clear snow and ice from the lights multiple times. I was doing this during a dark and stormy night. There is a danger in pulling off and clearing the headlights, you can get hit by a car especially in a dark storm.

There is also a danger of not being seen or not seeing something in the dark. In either case there is the potential to cause an accident.

FCA needs to address this. In fact the DOT should not allow the use of the unheated LED headlights on the road.

Someone adds a heater to the light fixture. The heater could be on a thermostat that triggers the heat to come on at a specific temperature uh as 37 degrees Fahrenheit. Also, add a button to the controls like the windshield and side mirror defrost.

I think FCA, and the other manufactures with unheated LED headlights, should have to conduct a recall of all of them and either fit them with a heating element or replace the head lamp with a halogen or HID version at no cost to the owners.

As for myself, I obviously paid a premium to have the LED lights. Now I am purchasing the halogen version, spending about $300. And I will pull the LED and install the Halogen lights. I am rather annoyed that I paid for a premium LED headlight that cannot be used during any storm with frozen precipitation. And now, I am paying again to fix this negligent design flaw.

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[LongTimeListener]

Halogen lights are more dangerous than LEDs under most conditions because they do not illuminate the road or potential hazards nearly as well.

So it's a trade-off, but halogens are not necessarily safer over the life of your ownership.

I do agree that the LEDs should have a heating element.

 

[LANGeek]

Halogen lights are more dangerous than LEDs under most conditions because they do not illuminate the road or potential hazards nearly as well.

So it's a trade-off, but halogens are not necessarily safer over the life of your ownership.

I do agree that the LEDs should have a heating element.

Last night the LEDs illuminated absolutely nothing. So, in the right conditions they are dangerous. The halogens might not be quite as bright but they do light up the road in all weather. Now, if you had an LED with heating element that would be better.

it is about risk analysis and acceptance. The halogens are bright enough to see in all conditions. The LEDs are brighter and allow for better visibility in the proper conditions. However, the risk spikes for LEDs during adverse winter weather. In these conditions the lights provide no visibility and force the operator to exit the vehicle in risky conditions. From this simplified risk analysis the LEDs are the riskier option.

For me, the use of the Jeep in adverse winter weather is a requirement. My other vehicle is a motorcycle. My Jeep is my bad weather vehicle. The LED lights prevent the Jeep from meeting one of my core requirements for these vehicle. Therefore the LED also failed a basic requirements matrix review as well.

Sorry, the engineer in me is coming out ;-)

 

[G8R]

I have had numerous instances over the decades of my headlights in multiple vehicles getting completely covered by snow and ice while driving in storms. I can't count the number of times I have had to pull over and clean them off in these other vehicles (less frequently than having to deal with scraping the windshield, most certainly). The headlights in my JT do get iced up but not to the extent that I felt there was a dangerous issue. I have been out in 3 decent storms so far with several other minor ones. In no case did I need to stop and clear off my headlights although in one storm I had to stop and scrap my windshield several times.

 

[DropW]

Sounds like there is money to be made in the aftermarket for an ad-on system to heat the LEDs . If any electricians and engineers want to make some easy side money, this would be a good route as it is a huge market with everyone buying LEDs these days .

 

[KennyKustom]

Ive had led jeep headlights for 10 years now. I can count the times ive had to stop and wipe them.
I cant count, the amount of times the windshield and wipers have needed to be cleared.

 

[TLife]

https://www.frostfighter.com/clear-view-defroster-special.htm

Wonder if these guys could make a small ring that would work on the headlights, could easily be controlled by the aux switches if you have them.

 

[jurfie]

My JK with halogens packed with snow when it we had a storm with thick, wet flakes. I eventually replaced them with heated Trucklites (mostly because the halogens had horrible light output, the heating feature just seemed like a good idea), but I'm not sure if they make any difference since we don't get a ton of snow around here and I haven't been in another storm like that (yet).

This has been discussed here and other (Jeep and non-Jeep) forums before; the shape of the Jeep headlight buckets certainly don't help, but LEDs inherently get snow/ice build up, so it's not just a Jeep problem. There are apparently element films that can be applied to the existing headlights, though I haven't confirmed whether they work or not.

 

[noside85]

Get halogen auxiliary lights to bumper and turn on in snow?

 

[jurfie]

Here are some threads that might be helpful:

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/lets-talk-about-winter-issues.25054/
https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/led-headlights-snow.23842/

 

[Oscar Indy]

Yeah this is a not an LED issue. this is a sunken headlight issue that unlike many other designs dont let the wind help clear them as you drive.
EVERY Jeep I've ever owned has had this issue way back to my 46 willys and all my CJs

 

[Slapping_Rabbits]

Being super poor most of my life, i always drove with a long hooked stick that could be used to clear the windshield and headlights from the comfort of the drivers seat. Maybe i should market such a device? Seems like there is a lot of people that want one.

 

[TheSolarWizard]

Just trade headlights s with someone don’t spend money

 

[Punkngladiator]

I would love to have the factory led lights. I would trade but we would be a week without our headlights. I would buy them outright if your interested in mailing them.

 

[jurfie]

Being super poor most of my life, i always drove with a long hooked stick that could be used to clear the windshield and headlights from the comfort of the drivers seat. Maybe i should market such a device? Seems like there is a lot of people that want one.

We Canadians invented those long ago.

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