The OEM LED light package is dangerous in snow.

[MikeEIB]

BS. I live in snow country.

Jeep isn't responsible for providing better light with LED and then on the hook for when they don't work better than halogen. You bought a vehicle with LED. My JLR has halogen, is it Jeep's fault they don't provide light as well as LED?

Buyer, no, people, are responsible for at least some things. Life isn't a life of convenience. I strongly believe people should be a little more inconvenienced, a little more often. If people can't drive in a blizzard without heated headlamps we may as well pack up and go home.

The halogen lights are terrible and shouldn’t even be offered in 2023. Standardizing with heated LED’s would likely be the engineering team’s preference, but the $5-$20 extra cost probably couldn’t be justified. I see this all the time working in R&D for a major OEM.
To your point; why buy a winch? Why a lift? Why carry recovery gear? In order to NOT be inconvenienced by getting stuck.

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[acsak]

I’m loving my Jeep—so everyone please don’t dogpile me, but I’ve got a hot-take on the LED headlight package:

It’s dangerous in snow. I can’t believe it even got DOT approval.

i had to drive through a blizzard the other night. But never fear, I have a Rubicon! Right!? Wrong. Within minutes I was driving blind. The LED headlights (which are fantastic otherwise) were COMPLETELY packed with snow. I couldn’t even see the reflectors on the sides of the road. I kept having to pull over to ‘unpack’ them.

DoI need to spend an additional $800 on a pair of heated headlights to drive safely during a snowstorm?

I think this is an epic fail on Jeep’s part. ‘A million miles of testing’ didn’t reveal that the recessed headlights were vulnerable to being packed with snow when coupled with LED lights?

Hope much is the LED package? How much more would it have cost FCA to include heating elements? About $50.

I have had this exact same problem in moderate snow fall.

 

[Cowboy from hell]

When i ordered my jeep I declined the led over halogen. Halogen lights have been fine for years and years and years....not spending big bux for led thank you, ill take the free standard halogen lights!.....

 

[toothirtyj]

"Fix my problems because I can't be bothered. Your fault not mine. I shouldn't have to deal with it because I am entitled that way. "

I'd purchase the LED package over the stock halogens no matter where I live because they're better nearly all the time.

If there was an issue that absolutely needed to be remedied I guess I'd pay the $800 to figure it out.

 

[toothirtyj]

The halogen lights are terrible and shouldn’t even be offered in 2023.

Evidently they're better than LED in heavy snow because they keep the lenses clear.

...so now not only are they cheaper, but they also have a purpose.

 

[MikeEIB]

Evidently they're better than LED in heavy snow because they keep the lenses clear.

...so now not only are they cheaper, but they also have a purpose.

Yep they are indeed better in the 1% of time spent driving in heavy snow. I’ll go the logical route and pick what works best for the other 99%. The point you’re failing to grasp is that Jeep has the option to use heated LED’s instead of non-heated for a trivial sum. That cost can either be reflected in lower profit or passed along to the consumer. But you know this and would prefer to keep doing the ‘old man yelling at clouds’ shtick.

 

[Bulletbill]

I’m not a fan of oracles design, but I have considered investing in a set due to similar concerns as the OP. The JL’s headlight design is by default a snow catcher and just saying don’t drive in the snow isn’t exactly an option for some of us.

The headlight cover idea that some of the other posters discussed would be an option I’d consider. I’m actually surprised with as long as the JL has been out that someone hasn’t offered that yet.

 

[Smoke Showing]

I do.

I’m doing the exact opposite with decent results. Halogen headlights with led bumper lights that I spliced to my fog light button. It’s not great because I still have crappy stock headlights but I have real light when I need it. I can see the eyes of white tails and the un-lit bicycles at night. I do kill them with oncoming cars since its a low wide spread and don’t want to be “that person” with the bright led lights. I was planning to upgrade to led headlights but now I’m reconsidering just getting better bulbs.

 

[Wbino]

I usually spray Rain x on my headlights when I remember as I'm doing the windows.
Not sure if that would help in winter conditions.

 

[Chupacabra]

If it's snowing that hard that it's packing the recessed headlight area with snow, are the halogens really that hot that they'll keep that entire area melted? I doubt it.

Now they might melt some lighter snow that accumulates on the front of the headlight where the LEDs may not. But keeping that recessed headlight well melted in a blizzard seems like a stretch even for the halogens.

Mine came with halogens and after the first nighttime drive with them I upgraded to LEDs. Maybe it's because my last few cars have had LED headlights that they seemed so bad. If you're accustomed to halogens and have never "seen the light" as they say, you don't know what your'e missing by not upgrading to LEDs. My 2 cents anyway

 

[aldo98229]

Hmmm...driving in a blizzard is a rare occurrence that no one should expect a vehicle, Jeep or otherwise, to get you through without special considerations.

 

[Bulletbill]

Hmmm...driving in a blizzard is a rare occurrence that no one should expect a vehicle, Jeep or otherwise, to get you through without special considerations.

To be fair, heavy snowfall isn’t always from a blizzard.

 

[toothirtyj]

Yep they are indeed better in the 1% of time spent driving in heavy snow. I’ll go the logical route and pick what works best for the other 99%. The point you’re failing to grasp is that Jeep has the option to use heated LED’s instead of non-heated for a trivial sum. That cost can either be reflected in lower profit or passed along to the consumer. But you know this and would prefer to keep doing the ‘old man yelling at clouds’ shtick.

Good, you're logical! Buy what works for you. I'd rather have good LED lighting 99% of the time. I'm also not going to bitch because my JL's LED headlights need to be cleared from snow. It is what it is. I'm not failing to grasp anything.

I'd guess that if Jeep could implement "heated LED headlights" to get ahead of the competition for a "trivial sum" than they would have. (I'd also guess that if Jeep could charge you an arm and a leg for heated LED headlights, they would have...) That said, there is NO option for heated LED headlights and you wanting it doesn't make it so.

Complainers going to complain...

 

[mwilk012]

I had to drive through a blizzard the other night.

No, you didn’t.

 

[Noaharkmd]

I have had plenty of cars where the halogen lights create thick ice which drops the light output. Not sure how long it takes snow to accumulate in the Jeep led light but most likely will only take a second to brush out. Spending plenty of time driving in blizzards/ice/mixed preciptation, snow doesnt really seem to accumulate on hoods, bumpers, sides of car much. while moving. Ice does though.

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