2014 McLaren MP4-12C Spider Problems
Owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA, grouped by component
Data refreshed
What this page shows
Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 2014 McLaren MP4-12C Spider, grouped by the component NHTSA recorded on the report. These are not confirmed defects, and they are not recalls. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a category with more reports in it is not evidence that a part is defective.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Reports by component
Ranked by how many owner reports name each component category
- Exterior lighting3100.0%
Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.
Each component in detail
What the reports in each category say, in the owners' own words
Exterior lighting
Reports naming headlights, tail lights, turn signals and other exterior lighting.
From owner reports, verbatim
ORIGINAL HEADLIGHTS DEVELOPED OPAQUE SPOTTING ON THE INTERIOR OF THE CLEAR HOUSING, WHICH IF LEFT UNCHECKED WOULD HAVE COMPROMISED THE LIGHT OUTPUT AND NIGHTTIME VISIBILITY. BOTH HEADLIGHTS WERE EVENTUALLY REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY. ONE OF THE REPLACEMENT HEADLIGHTS HAD A DEFECT IN THE OUTER LAMINATION WHICH WAS PEALING AS SOON AS IT WAS INSTALLED. BOTH INTERIOR SPOTTING/ MOLD FORMATION AND EXTERIOR DELAMINATION IS A KNOWN COMMON PROBLEM WITH MCLAREN 12C HEADLIGHTS. REPLACMENT HEADLIGHTS ARE NOT IMPROVED FROM THE ORIGINALS AND ARE PRONE TO EVENTUALLY DEVELOP SPOTTING AND OR DELAMINATION. RECENTLY MCLAREN HAS BEEN REFUSING TO REPLACE HEADLIGHTS EVEN UNDER EXTENDED WARRANTY, WHICH CAN LEAD TO A SAFETY HAZARD DUE TO COMPROMISED LIGHT OUTPUT.
THE HEADLIGHT LENSES ON BOTH SIDES ARE GROWING A MOLD AND FOGGING. THE FOGGING IS GRADUALLY WORSENING, AND, AT SOME POINT, WILL COMPROMISE THE LIGHT EMITTED AND RESULT IN GLARE. IT IS A WELL-KNOWN ISSUE IN THESE CARS, AND SHOULD BE ADDRESSED UNDER WARRANTY, BUT MCLAREN REFUSES TO REPLACE THE LENSES FOR ANYONE WHO HAS TRIED TO GET THIS DONE BY THEIR DEALERS, MYSELF INCLUDED. IT IS CLEAR THAT THIS IS IN VIOLATION OF YOUR REGULATIONS S5.1.2 (B) AND (C): HTTPS://WWW.GPO.GOV/FDSYS/PKG/CFR-2004-TITLE49-VOL5/XML/CFR-2004-TITLE49-VOL5-SEC571-108.XML IT IS ESTIMATED THAT, OF THE 3400 MP4-12C CARS IN THE US ALONE, ABOUT 40% OF THEM HAVE THE PROBLEM. I CAN NOT VOUCH FOR THIS NUMBER, BUT ON A MCLAREN FORUM, THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN NOTED BY MANY OWNERS AND THEIR DEALERSHIPS WERE UNABLE TO GET MCLAREN TO AUTHORIZE REPLACEMENT OR REPAIR. IT IS ALSO NOTED THAT KOENIGSEGG CARS HAD A SIMILAR PROBLEM, AND THAT NHTSA DID TAKE ACTION. PHOTOS ARE ATTACHED, BUT IT IS DIFFICULT TO SHOW HOW BAD IT REALLY IS WITH THE PHOTOS. APPROXIMATELY 30% OF THE LENS SURFACE IS INVOLVED ON THE RIGHT, AND 20% ON THE LEFT SIDE, AND IT IS PROGRESSING. THE HEADLIGHT DESIGN FAILED TO MEET THE STANDARD THAT IT WOULD NOT HAVE SUCH ISSUES WHEN EXPOSED TO THE ENVIRONMENT. MY CAR HAS HAD NO ACCIDENTS OR ANY SPECIFIC INJURY TO THE HEADLIGHTS.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Elsewhere on this vehicle
Data sources
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation — owner-reported complaints and the components recorded on them
Data on this page last refreshed .