2013 Cadillac Srx Exterior lighting Problems

The exterior lighting does not light up as warranted. It is impossible to see at night due to the lack of lighting from the headlights. The problem was confirmed with the dealership, however I was told to replace the bulbs which I had done. Replacing the bulbs did not fix the issue so I went back to the dealership and told them again. I was told I would have to replace the entire headlight unit in order for the exterior lights to work properly and that I would have to pay for it. It is extremely dangerous to myself and others if I’m driving at nite and I cannot see anything. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms prior to the failure of the headlights.

NHTSA ID

11739637

Incident

May 2, 2016

The contact owns a 2013 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that while driving at night, the headlights failed to properly illuminate the roadway, limiting the driver’s vision while driving. The contact stated that the passenger’s side headlight was inoperable, and the driver’s side headlight was very dim. Due to the failure, the contact was forced to use the high-beam headlights while driving at night. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, and the contact was informed that there were no recalls on the VIN related to the failure. The contact was provided with an estimate for the repair. Upon investigation, the contact discovered that there was a Class Action Lawsuit on similar vehicles for the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 105,000.

NHTSA ID

11712074

Incident

Dec 3, 2025

Mileage

105,000 mi

My father gave me his 2013 Cadillac SRX and I have noticed the headlights have dimmed significantly over the past few months. I replaced the lamps, but the same issue still exists. I spoke with my local Cadillac dealership and they told me of the known issue with the headlights. I did some research and see there was a class action lawsuit against Cadillac, but it does not seem to apply to vehicles registered in Wisconsin. I will need to correct this problem as driving at night has now become very difficult. If you have history of this issue with other drivers, any insight or direction would be much appreciated. Thank you for your time. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11710185

Incident

Jan 10, 2026

Vehicle Headlamps fail to project adequate light to see the road. Several hundred dollars have been invested in attempting to fix this, resulting in zero noticeable help.

NHTSA ID

11697680

Incident

Aug 16, 2021

Left front headlight is so dim I cannot drive my car in the dark. I have spent money replacing the bulbs, cleaning the lenses through professional shop(s) and still goes dim and unsafe. After researching this I see this is a ongoing problem with this vehicle. I am now having to spend over $1,000 to replace the entire headlight assembly and I don't even know how long that will last. From research from another person it looks like the assembly where the light get hot is chrome sprayed plastic. Cheap parts causing me so much money that should be reliable in my vehicle. I see GM reimbursement owners in Fl and CA for this issue for a few years. this is terrible as I am a working adult required to commute in the dark. Iw ant to be reimbursed for this unsafe headlight assembly and know the other is failing too.

NHTSA ID

11693034

Incident

Mar 3, 2025

I purchased this vehicle on January 1, 2025. I drove it last night for the first time after dark. The headlights were so dim I could hardly see to drive. I had to use my brights except when a car was coming towards me, then I put them on dim and slowed way down. Leaving them on bright would have endangered other drivers and myself. I purchased the car with no warranty so now I either drive only during daylight hours or I pay out of pocket to have them fixed which I'm sure isn't cheap. I am going to go to the dealership that I purchased it from to see if they will help me at all, but since there was no warranty, I'm not expecting them to give me any assistance with this. When you look at the headlights during the daytime, which is when I bought the car there is no visible sign of an issue with them. No warning lamp has come on to let me know there is an issue and since I just purchased the car I don't know when they first appeared so dim. I noticed there are numerous complaints about this issue. Why isn't GM doing something about it.

NHTSA ID

11636814

Incident

Jan 17, 2025

2013 Cadillac SRX has ridiculous (pointing down) low beam headlight issues. Adaptive forward lighting makes this impossible to be driven at night on low beams, because visibility is so poor! You have to drive with high beams on. These are barely decent and are like having weak low beams. No one flashes to have me turn them off, which is telling of how lame the high beams point. Visibility at night is paramount and this issue is quite dangerous. They (GM) know that this is a problem and have been sued. It is time for you to do your job and make them do theirs for safety sake.

NHTSA ID

11626031

Incident

Nov 18, 2024

Headlights not bright enough too dark to drive at night

NHTSA ID

11620888

Incident

Feb 1, 2024

The contact owns a 2013 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 45 MPH, the driver's side headlamp was brighter than the passenger’s side headlamp. The vehicle was taken to the residence and inspected. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

NHTSA ID

11583126

Incident

Dec 15, 2023

Mileage

80,000 mi

I cannot see when driving at night. I'm getting cars flashing me to turn my lights on but they are already on. If I drive with my high beams on I'm going to blind other drivers. I just bought the car 2 days ago and called the dealership to take it in. They said there is nothing they can do that it's a common problem. I'm not understanding why I these cars are on the road if there is nothing that can be done. It's an accident waiting to happen.

NHTSA ID

11570829

Incident

Feb 6, 2024

The headlights failed to provide enough light to see the road at night. This, of course, is dangerous when driving on the highway or country roads as we are unable to maintain the speed required on the highway in order to safely navigate the turns in the road, which could also cause a disruption in the traffic flow, possibly causing an accident if other cars were not expecting a slower vehicle on the road. Not to mention not being able to see any wildlife in the road in enough time to react. The problem, to my knowledge, has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center prior to our purchase of the vehicle. We have discussed the issue with the dealer but the service manager is unable to comment on the matter or any type of solution. The vehicle or component has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others. There were not any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. It first appeared the first night time drive after purchasing the vehicle, used, in 2021. We had discussions with the Dealer's service department and they would not speak to any "known" issue. We performed an on-line research that showed that there was a problem with the lighting system and GM decided to not issue a recall. I believe for a short time there was compensation provided for those that complained, but that time is long gone. These cars are still on the market and without a resolution to fix this issue there can be an accident or even death in an accident.

NHTSA ID

11550121

Incident

Oct 16, 2023

The contact owns a 2013 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the low-beam headlights failed to provide adequate illumination while driving. The contact activated the high-beam headlights to be able to see the roadway. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ID

11542914

Incident

Jul 10, 2018

Headlights are dim

NHTSA ID

11521934

Incident

May 1, 2015

Same issue in two class action lawsuits against GM: moisture entered the headlight casing which eroded the plating reflecting the light, resulting in dim headlights, unsafe to drive at night. We have had this issue for year, but managed to drive other cars at night. Now we need to drive this car at night for work. We have replaced the light bulbs. But the issue remains. GM said they sent letters to Cadillac SRX owners in California in 2020 as a result of the lawsuits. After I told the GM rep that I had never seen such letter, she said the best she could do was to take a note on my file. GM should recall the affected SRX’s and replace the headlights, as it is a safety issue.

NHTSA ID

11512829

Incident

Mar 1, 2017

Low beam headlights are so dim it is extremely dangerous to operate during dark hours. Purchased this car this date from Charlottesville Mercedes Benz. The contact stated that there was a previous recall for the headlight issue but it expired in June 2022. Although the low beam headlights are too dim, the vehicle somehow still passed state inspections.

NHTSA ID

11506525

Incident

Feb 3, 2023

The contact owns a 2013 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that the low beam headlights failed to produce adequate illumination to see the roadway while driving. The contact was unable to drive the vehicle at night. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the headlight assemblies needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.

NHTSA ID

11505428

Incident

Feb 1, 2021

Mileage

80,000 mi

Back in 2020 I believe there was a known headlight issue with Cadillac vehicles. Communication was sent out to owners for a headlight reimbursement program. We unfortunately didn't receive any communication regarding this. Back in March 2022 my husband had a work trip which required him to travel hours away and during the evening. This is what prompted me to call the Cadillac Customer Service number regarding the headlights, and the headlight program once I discovered it searching the internet. Spoke to someone and a ticket was issued. Missed a call, called back and was told I could only speak that same person. So I called again, received a couple of emails, and was eventually ghosted. A week or so ago I seen on the evening news that once again Cadillac had a re-call of sorts with their headlights. This was so frustrating, Once again my husband had to travel for work and the same issue arises and his safety was in jeopardy. So this past Monday called again and spoke to someone regarding his dim headlights. Received a call back today and was told the GMC dealership (the dealership we get all work done) isn't an "official" Cadillac dealership and there's isn't anything they could do. We could go to a Cadillac dealership, but there's no guarantee they would fix the issue. The dealership that we bring our vehicle to (GMC) had told my husband a few times now that it would be cheaper to purchase the new headlights online, because they would cost him over $1000 each through the dealership. This information was also relayed to the customer service rep with Cadillac customer services. The Cadillac customer service rep then turned around and offered us a $100 gift card to use towards our future dealership services. I think this is absurd given the fact this is a known issue and had been made public twice that I know of. I would like them to honor the $1600 headlight reimbersburtment that they originally offered and we never received or was notified of.

NHTSA ID

11499021

Incident

May 6, 2022

The headlamps do not shine as brightly as needed to illuminate the road. Affects driving safety not to be able to see on unlit roads at night.

NHTSA ID

11498424

Incident

Dec 21, 2022

The contact owns a 2013 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that while driving at night, the headlights were not illuminating sufficiently to see the road. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that her husband replaced both headlights; however, the failure recurred, and she was only able to see the road while using the high-beam headlights. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it remained awaiting the repair. The contact was made aware of an unknown headlight recall; however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ID

11497317

Incident

Dec 1, 2022

Low beam headlights are very dim . Changed bulbs with no improvement. This is dangerous to occupants in my vehicle and oncoming traffic because we have to use high beams all the time at night.this was seen by dealer and I was told there was no problem.

NHTSA ID

11495796

Incident

Dec 2, 2022

headlamps fogging up inside , useless for Nite driving. can not see without high beams..

NHTSA ID

11494449

Incident

Nov 1, 2019

THE HEADLIGHTS ARE VERY DIM THEY SAY THE WHOLE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY IS BAD THE REFLECTIVE COATING BURNS DUE TO THE TEMP OF THE HAILOGEN HEAD LIGHTS THIS IS A KNOWEN PROBLEM WITH THE CADDY SRX

NHTSA ID

11474123

Incident

Feb 4, 2021

I just bought the vehicle. Headlights low beam are extremely dim. New bulbs installed and headlight brightness dim output remained the same. Research shows that several SRX owners are having same issue. Recall needs to be issued.

NHTSA ID

11468540

Incident

Jun 8, 2022

Passenger side low-beam headlight is very dim. Replaced bulb and headlight is still very dim. Reflectivity seem to be almost nil inside the headlamp assembly.

NHTSA ID

11457608

Incident

Apr 10, 2019

The contact owns a 2013 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated while driving at night, the headlights were extremely dim, causing a visibility hazard. The contact stated that the illumination was inadequate for nighttime driving. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer and she was informed that the repair would be an out of pocket expense. The contact stated that the manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

NHTSA ID

11455924

Incident

Mar 9, 2021

Mileage

80,000 mi