Cracked tail light

[outlanderbz]

I was washing my Jeep today and noticed the top part of my LH tail light is cracked. The odd thing is it is on the top with no signs of any other damage. If it was impacted it would have had to come from the top, which is odd considering the tail lights height.

I noticed a post about a few people saying they have had cracked black surround around the tail light but not this.

Anyone know if this is just an outside cover or is the entire LED rear light one whole assembly? I don’t know how it happened or if The damage was started before I took delivery but looking to fix it. Anyone have any thoughts on cheapest / easiest fix?

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[Hootbro]

I would at least give the dealership a try for maybe a warranty replacement for workmanship? Given the numerous issues with plastic and the JL, it could just as easily left the factory or dealership lot that way.

 

[outlanderbz]

Yeah, I really have no other choice I guess because I haven't been able to find info on if that piece is just a cover or if it is one whole LED assembly. If it was just an order the piece and install I would and just move on.

 

[HHGadget]

Yeah, I really have no other choice I guess because I haven't been able to find info on if that piece is just a cover or if it is one whole LED assembly. If it was just an order the piece and install I would and just move on.

Hello folks, I just noticed a long vertical crack in my drivers side LED tailight. I haven't taken it off road yet (only had her 3 months). However I do live in Los Angeles and it has been extra hot. Is it possible this thing has failed due to heat expansion? I see the other posts about the housing cracking and I have noticed a slight "step down" in quality of the interior plastics compared to my older JL.
Not happy that a $50,000 vehicle is having plastic issues 3 months in and no warranty support.

PS> outlanderbz, did you ever find out if we can order just the red plastic "faceplate" for this? The dealer told me to take a hike as it is considered "wear and tear". Shocking as all my dealer experiences with Jeep dealerships in SoCal have been so great in the past (sarcasm).

 

[outlanderbz]

Hello folks, I just noticed a long vertical crack in my drivers side LED tailight. I haven't taken it off road yet (only had her 3 months). However I do live in Los Angeles and it has been extra hot. Is it possible this thing has failed due to heat expansion? I see the other posts about the housing cracking and I have noticed a slight "step down" in quality of the interior plastics compared to my older JL.
Not happy that a $50,000 vehicle is having plastic issues 3 months in and no warranty support.

PS> outlanderbz, did you ever find out if we can order just the red plastic "faceplate" for this? The dealer told me to take a hike as it is considered "wear and tear". Shocking as all my dealer experiences with Jeep dealerships in SoCal have been so great in the past (sarcasm).

I took mine off and got the part number. I also looked at if there were ways to remove just the red faceplate. no go from what I can tell. If you have the blind spot monitoring the part number is 68297589AH for the driver side. I found it for $477.66 on moparpart.com. Without the BSM it was about half the cost and a different part number. I did not want to break anything further but I thought about seeing if I could buy the non-BSM version and move my working BSM to the new one. It is really easy to take off if you want to get the part number. 1 screw from the inside of the jeep.

The dealer and @JeepCares were both not helpful in any way. @JeepCares helped schedule the appointment but did nothing to help get it replaced. I was told that with 1500 miles on my jeep that it is my fault. I am still driving with it cracked due to the cost. Your story sounds just like mine. I had a crack like yours show up out of nowhere and then it got worse after I left it out in a hot parking lot. My 1st visit to the dealer it was a hairline crack, my 2nd visit it was worse after sitting out in the sun. Add in steering issues and other stuff and it makes me wish I would have waited another year or two.

 

[HHGadget]

Sorry, I forgot to follow up on the resolution on this thread for me.
I ended up getting the replacement tail light from a body shop after taking it in for a minor fender bender paint repair.
Just to confirm it was around $240-ish (without the blindspot sensor).

Thanks again outlanderbz!

 

[JimL]

My left rear was broken by a pedestrian who's elbow bumped it while walking between parked cars. Dealer quote is $699 for the replacement part. I took it out and super glued it together and it is holding. The fragile material choice, combined with the exact height of little old ladies elbows is a very unfortunate situation.

Jeep saves a few pennies by not making the lens replaceable AND they get to make big profit selling the entire unit. That is the way of modern business (and sadly....modern morality, if you see what I mean). Unfortunately, incidents such as mine are not covered by the insurance because I did not ask the lady for personal info and the insurance considers that negligence on my part. She was embarrassed, upset, her elbow hurt, and I refuse to hassle somebodies grandma (would you like your grandma written up in a police report?) I don't feel like sinking to that low.

Somebody at Jeep probably got a nice spiff for coming up with such a cheap, fragile part that is so easily damaged.....but don't worry.....they don't care and neither does their boss.

$699 for a flat red plastic lens is EXACTLY the same as stealing. You have to wonder if some people actually have any shame, at all.

 

[Shenanigans]

The black colored plastic housing between the lens and the body is showing some stress cracks along the top of mine.

 

[FWB FL]

What a shame this lens is not replaceable!

 

[NathanG]

Your light is also cracked at the inboard corner of the light, not just the top.

 

[keith.gowan]

All, thanks for posting, as I've found this forum more helpful than anywhere else online.

So, I backed my month old Rubicon into a tree in Big Bear. Cracked the red plastic and have a piece of the tree still lodged in there. Strangely all lights and sensors are working perfectly.

The OEM replacement is like $600 due to the sensors within the unit. But I'm wondering is anyone has had any luck removing the censors and mounting them into the cheaper unit that doesn't come with the sensors built in?

Basically, does the cheaper one have the mounts for the censors OR can I use the mounting pieces off of the broken tail light?

 

[Rhinebeck01]

@keith.gowan

Actually, the sensor is not exactly, inside the the tail light itself.

YES, there are currently aftermarket offerings that you can take the sensor out and install with the aftermarket tail lights.

Here is one offering from CJ Pony. I can't vouch for them. They just came out so not many have installed them..
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...tail-lights-by-cj-off-road.54463/post-1182807

You can also find JL, tail lights (used and new) on eBay.

 

[keith.gowan]

@keith.gowan

Actually, the sensor is not in the tail light itself.

YES, there are currently aftermarket offerings that you can take the sensor out and install with the aftermarket tail lights.

Here is one offering from CJ Pony. I can't vouch for them. They just came out so not many have installed them..
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...ail-lights-by-cj-off-road.54463/#post-1182850

You can also find JL, tail lights (used and new) on eBay.

Dude, thanks for the quick and awesome reply!!! You likely just saved me a few hundred bucks.

 

[DarthDug]

I broke my driver side tail light with blind spot monitoring. Got a with out BSM OEM light from a junk yard. Swapping the BSM sensor and its wire harness into the non-BSM light did not work. Marker lights would not illuminate. Brake, Turn, and back up lights did work.

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