The headlight location is dangerous in snow

[PungoteagueDave]

It's not a made up issue. The location of the headlights recessed above the bumper and the fact that LED headlights don't give out any heat. Creates a dangerous situation where the headlights get completely blocked out by heavy wet snow.

LED headlights don’t give out any heat? Try again. LED headlights are quite hot. They are significantly hotter than halogen. Every car can have headlights obscured by snow and ice. It’s basic and the Cybertruck is NOT special or unique in this respect. It is not dangerous and no action is needed except driver diligence.

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[PungoteagueDave]

The problem is. Snow slides down hood. Lands on bumper. Freezes.
No heat from led lights.
I was in heavy rain. Then fog.
Headlights are useless. Actually very dangerous. I added roof and under bumper lights bars last August.

Factually incorrect. Snow does not slide down the hood while the car is in motion. The opposite occurs. The headlights are quite hot, much hotter than halogens. Look it up. The myth of LEDs being cold is just that, a myth. I’m no Tesla fanboi, but this is simply someone complaining about having to clear their lights a few times when driving in a heavy snowstorm. Duh. I’ve done it with every truck and car I’ve ever owned with a bumper placed just under the lights. It is a thing. And it is normal. Sheesh. The delicate flowers around here expect the car to do everything for them. And then post clickbait titles whining about a thing that isn’t a thing. Carry on.

 

[Crissa]

I was in heavy rain. Then fog.
Headlights are useless. Actually very dangerous. I added roof and under bumper lights bars last August.

Those don't help (and aren't legal on pavement) in fog or heavy rain.

LED headlights don’t give out any heat? Try again. LED headlights are quite hot. They are significantly hotter than halogen.

This is incorrect. An LED uses 10-15% of the energy of incandescent for the same light; a Halogen bulb uses 60-75% of the energy of incandescent. That's alot of extra heat the Halogen is producing vs the LED.

It is true icing over is exacerbated by LED lighting; but so does aero covers on lights, moving the exterior surface away from the heat of the lamp. So many vehicles - even old ones! - have this problem.

It can easily be solved with a defrosting strip mounted in front of the headlights.

-Crissa

 

[Outdoors]

LED headlights don’t give out any heat? Try again. LED headlights are quite hot. They are significantly hotter than halogen. Every car can have headlights obscured by snow and ice. It’s basic and the Cybertruck is NOT special or unique in this respect. It is not dangerous and no action is needed except driver diligence.

Yep. I have a light that says its warranty is not valid if you point it down on a surface as it will heat up and wreck the LED. Also says it can start a fire. So much for LED's being cold.

I really think many expect the Cybertruck to levitate and transport through all perils. I am really more ashamed of all the folks that live in my neck of the woods that are so weak. Yes all you Mountain West folks. I think they have cushy 9-5 jobs that never really do anything other than drive home in the dark on paved roads. If you drive in the snow and are scared. Well stay home. We smart folks don't need you on the road. If one is scared to drive in a snowstorm at night. Don't. I don't unless I have a guy that chopped his arm off and a tourniquet is on it.

Do we have to we all have to listen to the headlight mumbo jumbo again on another thread?

 

[HaulingAss]

It's not a made up issue. The location of the headlights recessed above the bumper and the fact that LED headlights don't give out any heat. Creates a dangerous situation where the headlights get completely blocked out by heavy wet snow.

Are you new to driving in heavy wet snow? I've been doing that for over 40 years here in the North Cascades and it's common to have to clear your headlights at night in a snowstorm. In the daytime I just let it build up. I even had a Volvo with wipers on the headlights and I recall a couple of times when they iced up and required manual clearing at night.

What's dangerous is blaming danger on the vehicle. Take responsibility for your actions and drive safely.

 

[WheresMyCybertruck]

Every car can have headlights obscured by snow and ice. It’s basic and the Cybertruck is NOT special or unique in this respect. It is not dangerous and no action is needed except driver diligence.

The issue isn't that the CTs headlights can be obscured by snow/ice while others can't; it's that they accumulate snow/ice in front of the headlights MUCH faster than most other vehicles because of the design

Bunch of people have reported the same issue on these forums, and they've also said it's worse with the CT compared to their other cars

https://www.cybertruckownersclub.co...now-tested-fail-ice-covered-headlights.31532/

 

[PungoteagueDave]

The issue isn't that the CTs headlights can be obscured by snow/ice while others can't; it's that they accumulate snow/ice in front of the headlights MUCH faster than most other vehicles because of the design

Bunch of people have reported the same issue on these forums, and they've also said it's worse with the CT compared to their other cars

https://www.cybertruckownersclub.co...now-tested-fail-ice-covered-headlights.31532/

Simply silly. Snowflake stuff. Buck it up buttercup.

 

[Gaximus]

LED headlights don’t give out any heat? Try again. LED headlights are quite hot. They are significantly hotter than halogen. Every car can have headlights obscured by snow and ice. It’s basic and the Cybertruck is NOT special or unique in this respect. It is not dangerous and no action is needed except driver diligence.

LEDs, can get hot, but no where near halogen light heat, for the same about of light. And good LEDs, have massive heat sinks in the back of them to disaster that heat from the LEDs, so they will last longer.

 

[PungoteagueDave]

LEDs, can get hot, but no where near halogen light heat, for the same about of light. And good LEDs, have massive heat sinks in the back of them to disaster that heat from the LEDs, so they will last longer.

There’s no question that LED headlights put out more heat than halogens or quartz. Not even close. And yes, they have giant heat sinks for that reason. What matters is total heat production, which is prodigious.

 

[WheresMyCybertruck]

Simply silly. Snowflake stuff. Buck it up buttercup.

Very helpful, definitely added a lot to the conversation. Thanks!

 

[WheresMyCybertruck]

There’s no question that LED headlights put out more heat than halogens or quartz. Not even close. And yes, they have giant heat sinks for that reason. What matters is total heat production, which is prodigious.

The temp of the outer lens is much cooler with LED lights compared to halogen bulbs. Not sure where you're getting this information from, but it's not true

 

[SCTesla]

The temp of the outer lens is much cooler with LED lights compared to halogen bulbs. Not sure where you're getting this information from, but it's not true

I think they were confused. It's known, even one of the reasons that manufacturers use LEDs is because they produce very little heat and last longer.

 

[Gaximus]

There’s no question that LED headlights put out more heat than halogens or quartz. Not even close. And yes, they have giant heat sinks for that reason. What matters is total heat production, which is prodigious.

I had an old Halogen Work light that required glass 4" away from the bulb, plus a steel cage around that, because it got so hot thing would burn if it touched the glass, You could smell the dust burning off of it. I now have a LED version of that exact same work light, that requires no protective heat guards, produces more light, and uses a fraction of the power(Because 90% of the halogen power goes into heat).

A quick search will show a ton of sources showing that LED is way more efficient(less power converted to heat), than any type of incandescent bulb(halogen and quartz).

 

[IraS]

I'm not sure where the idea that LEDs burn hotter than halogen or incandesant bulbs came from, but the science doesn't support that. For the same amount of light output, LEDs consume far less power than regular bulbs. And most of that power (wattage) for any of these lights is given off as heat. So a light-equivalent LED generates far less heat than other types of lights. Yes, LEDs require a heat sink to keep the temperature of the semiconductor (that's the LED itself) down. But the heat sink is generally not forward facing (or it would obscure the light).

You can experience this for yourself. Try to touch a 100W household incandesant bulb that's been running for a while (well, maybe don't), then try it with an LED bulb with the same light output (typically 1600 lumens, 15 watts or so). You'll see the difference in emitted heat immediately.

This kind of issue is not unique to vehicles. When LED traffic lights first started to appear, the same kind of problem surfaced - the LEDs did not give off enough heat to melt snow that accumulated in the baffled (not sure if that's the correct term, maybe shrouded?) lights. And intersections controlled by LED traffic signals became a problem in heavy snow. Witnessed first-hand. Not sure how they solved it, but they did.

 

[Broski]

Why doesn’t someone invent a clip on piece of plexiglass you can clip on the bottom edge of the frunk lid and eliminate the shelf issue, if you believe that is an issue

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