2014 Hyundai Equus

On November 2014, purchased Hyundai Equus from Bob King Hyundai located in Winston-Salem, NC. Within a month, our headlights flashed on and off for a brief second. Occurred more often after that and the dealer checked the car to resolve problem. Nothing found. Months later, problem got more severe and once again dealer tried to fix and could not find a problem. Two or three times car went back to dealer and also a Hyundai dealer in Hickory, NC and once again, nothing was found defective. Over the past year, car has experience longer periods of light going off. Recorded on Dash-Cam at 1:00am on Interstate 77 lost of lights for 5 seconds at 70mph. I can supply a copy of that event if needed. I would say that I traveled over 300-500 feet without lights at that speed which could have been fatal. No warming lights or messages about the fault. I wrote the President of Hyundai Motor Company on December 3, 2022 with certified mail and return receipt and have not heard or been contacted by the company. I think this is a possible accident waiting to happen and injuries being incurred. Please help me with this issue as the safety of me and my family are at stake. Thank you for your attention into this matter. Cordially, Fred Crump 4958 River Bend road Claremont, NC 28610 Cell: 828-244-5555 hom: 828-459-7080

Headlight provides inadequate lighting, car not in compliance with FMVSS 108. Caused by the reflector bowl in the low beam HID projector losing its reflective coating. Heat/UV emitted by the bulbs burns it off. Visibility reduced to 38 feet. Happens on all years/trims. No known repair. Replacement headlight assemblies also affected.

Which vehicles this affects: 2011-2016 Hyundai Equus. All trim levels. This affects every Hyundai Equus, as all headlights are identical throughout all model years and trims. I am the administrator for the Facebook group of this car, and am part of the automotive lighting industry. I can confirm that everyone I’ve asked (several hundred people) have experienced this issue. I have owned 3 of these vehicles, all different model years, and can also confirm each vehicle had this issue. What happened: I came within inches of hitting a pedestrian crossing the road because the distance vision my headlights are supposed to offer has effectively been eliminated. My reaction time is now greatly reduced as I can no longer identify hazards beyond 38ft in front of my car using low beams. Why did this happen: The reflective coating on the bowl of the HID low beam projector is incapable of handling the UV/heat emitted by the stock HID bulb, and burns off. Complaints similar to this that resulted in recall: This is identical to what happened with the Acura RLX LED headlights, in which they had to issue a recall. Things I’d like to add: This is not a normal “wear and tear” item. The reflective coating of the headlight is THE most important part of the headlight, as without it the light can not be formed into a beam whatsoever. It is not a user serviceable item, nor is it accessible for repair. The entire headlight must be replaced, and the brand new headlight has the same issue. My headlights now only provide enough light to show me things up to 38 feet away, even while being aimed properly. This is a critical failure that has no viable solution without NHTSA’s intervention. Image of the problem: I have attached an image of the reflector bowl to show how the critical reflective coating has nearly entirely burnt off. For reference, the bowl shown in the photo SHOULD have a completely mirror finish. I have also attached their response to my report.

HEADLIGHTS ON THE CAR WILL GO TOTALLY OFF FOR TWO/THREE SECONDS. IT DOES NOT OCCUR EVERYTIME I DRIVE AT NIGHT BUT HAS HAPPENED 3 TIMES IN THE PAST TWO WEEKS. I HAVE HAD IT INTO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAY THEY CANNOT FIX IT UNLESS IT HAPPENS WHILE THEY ARE DRIVING THE CAR. LUCKILY IT HAS OCCURRED WHILE I WAS DRIVING ONLY AT 30 MPH ON A LOW VOLUME ROAD. I DO NOT WANT TO HAVE THIS HAPPEN WHEN I MIGHT BE DRIVING ON AN EXPRESSWAY AT 70 MPH. I SEE FROM FORUMS THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED TO OTHER OWNERS AND WANT TO SEE WHAT COULD BE DONE TO REMEDY THE SITUATION BEFORE I END UP IN AN ACCIDENT. THERE WAS NO PARTICULAR WAY OF DRIVING THAT BROUGHT THIS ON, IE TURNING, DRIVING STRAIGHT OR STOPPING.