Help! Cadillac XLR Headlights

[johnchasxlr]

Picking up on your thoughts here.

I had Crimson Pearl in for her annual service last week. My dealer provided me with a 2015 SRX for a service loaner. It was very nice. The time before, they gave me a 2014 XTS for a loaner. I loved the CUE system and the safety features like lane departure warning, blind spot detection and the backup camera. Very nice vehicles.

When I went back to pickup Crimson Pearl, it was an adjustment going back to a car designed at least 10 years earlier. It would be great to have those features in the XLR, but the character of the XLR is so unique, within a few miles the new features in the XTS and SRX were forgotten.

I have a 2005 XLR, a 1989 Chevrolet S-10 Cameo, a 1976 El Camino and a 1966 Pontiac GTO. Each one of them is a generation ahead of the next, but each one has its own unique personality and charm. I drive a 2008 Tahoe everyday and it might be replaced in a year or two.

I'm happy to drive newer technology as a daily driver, but it's a lot of fun driving vehicles with unique personalities!

I totally agree the XLR was YEARS ahead and some of the latest Cadillac vehicles have styling and driver's features that were introduced with the XLR.

I am lucky to live in a city with two of the FINEST Cadillac dealerships.... If it not for their support I would have sold this vehicle years ago.

 

[Crimson Pearl]

Back to the headlights

Back to the original concern of this thread, the headlights.

Shortly after purchasing Crimson Pearl, I read about the headlight issue and the DRLs. It was mentioned that a good way to avoid the "crazing" problem would be to not allow the DRLs to be on. They suggested that you either manually turn them off each time you drive or turn on the headlights each time you drive, which would shut off the DRLs.

I chose to always use the headlights, it seemed the easiest and certainly improves your visibility to others. Crimson Pearl has about 19K miles now and doesn't seem to be showing any problem with the headlight housings.

 

[XLRATING]

GM is really dropping the ball on not supporting the XLR ...

I don't really expect GM to support the XLR as they largely seem to deny its existence. When I bought a CTS Coupe, Cadillac sent me a book called "Cadillac" by Assouline, covering 110 years of Cadillac. It's an artistic approach to Cadillac designs over the years, mostly photos & not much text. So, the XLR would be a perfect fit for that type of book, right? Wrong, NO WHERE does it even mention the existence of the XLR. They've abandoned it as a "halo" car & have no financial reason to support it.

CCClarke sets forth a sad truth. However, from the older rare cars that have been restored & I see sold at auction, I remain hopeful that ways to fill in the blank left by missing parts will develop - although it may require a winning lottery ticket to pay for it!

 

[rexster314]

Nothing technical to add here, but I bought the Xpel headlight kit just to be a little safer in protecting the headlights and fog lights. Took about 25 minutes total to apply the sheets. Wow, that's some thick protection "film". Definitely needs a heat gun or hair dryer to complete the application. But looks great, you really have to pay attention to see it.

 

[johnchasxlr]

I don't really expect GM to support the XLR as they largely seem to deny its existence. When I bought a CTS Coupe, Cadillac sent me a book called "Cadillac" by Assouline, covering 110 years of Cadillac. It's an artistic approach to Cadillac designs over the years, mostly photos & not much text. So, the XLR would be a perfect fit for that type of book, right? Wrong, NO WHERE does it even mention the existence of the XLR. They've abandoned it as a "halo" car & have no financial reason to support it.

CCClarke sets forth a sad truth. However, from the older rare cars that have been restored & I see sold at auction, I remain hopeful that ways to fill in the blank left by missing parts will develop - although it may require a winning lottery ticket to pay for it!

I agree .. and unless I am mistaken the XLR was the most expensive GM vehicle to date? Could be because the XLR was designed in Germany and not at Cadillac?

My XLR is a daily driver and honestly has NOT been economical to own in fact it's actually been more expensive to operate than the SL500 I owned prior to the XLR. But the XLR has been worth it and until this parts availability problem became worse I had no thoughts of selling it.

 

[johnchasxlr]

Back to the original concern of this thread, the headlights.

Shortly after purchasing Crimson Pearl, I read about the headlight issue and the DRLs. It was mentioned that a good way to avoid the "crazing" problem would be to not allow the DRLs to be on. They suggested that you either manually turn them off each time you drive or turn on the headlights each time you drive, which would shut off the DRLs.

I chose to always use the headlights, it seemed the easiest and certainly improves your visibility to others. Crimson Pearl has about 19K miles now and doesn't seem to be showing any problem with the headlight housings.

That's good information and IF I had a new set of headlights right now I probably would disable the DRLs to keep that inner reflector assembly from melting. Our extreme Texas weather is hard on plastic headlights and that's adding to the problem of maintaining the outer cover of the light housings.

 

[pure zen]

Gone, and forever forgotten.........

quote: "I don't really expect GM to support the XLR as they largely seem to deny its existence."


Pretty much covers all manufactuers once a specific model run has ended production, its support of parts and it's owner's concerns are jettisoned out into the dark abyss.

I enjoy our XLR, but if it wasn't for a honest, independent shop, with a certified XLR tech owner within close distance, I would probably sell the car in the near future before it's value drops down into the Pontiac/Oldsmobile/Saturn/Mercury/Plymouth value of older cars.

p z

 

[bajarick60]

They are all the same part numbers 04-09

Shows in stock: https://www.parts.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=store.PartInfo&PartNumber=20779745&VehicleID=187117&diagram=BL04010&Title%3DCadillac-HEADLAMP-ASSY

<strike></strike>http://www.crateenginedepot.com/HEADLAMP-ASM-W-FRT-SI-MKR-PARK-TSI-20779745-P48801.aspx

I ordered these on Friday and on Monday they said not in Srock back ordered due to G M. Thanks for the info anyway...Rick

 

[johnchasxlr]

I ordered these on Friday and on Monday they said not in Srock back ordered due to G M. Thanks for the info anyway...Rick

Yea I have tried just about every GM parts dealer I can find. Many of the parts people I have talked to were aware of the parts shortages to keep the XLR's serviceable.

 

[bajarick60]

XLR Headlights

Glassrack.net has headlights assemblys just bought drivers side and passenger side to have for extras..(better then money in the bank)

 

[XLRATING]

Glassrack.net has headlights assemblys just bought drivers side and passenger side to have for extras..(better then money in the bank)

Did you find new ones on there? I only found used.

 

[bajarick60]

Did you find new ones on there? I only found used.

Bought two good used ones.. no one has New that I found.

 

[ald42]

That's good information and IF I had a new set of headlights right now I probably would disable the DRLs to keep that inner reflector assembly from melting. Our extreme Texas weather is hard on plastic headlights and that's adding to the problem of maintaining the outer cover of the light housings.

you can wet sand and polish the outer lens and it should bring back the orig. appearance,a body shop can help/do this for you,maybe then just using the headlights can save them?? just my thoughts, good luck Al

 

[johnchasxlr]

One of my local Cadillac dealers called me to come out and look a white 2008 XLR in mint condition with around 25K miles.

I actually would have bought that car on the spot if Cadillac was supporting this discontinued vehicle to a level where I felt comfortable buying another one.

If anyone is looking for a MINT XLR take a look at Ken Bachelor Cadillac's (San Antonio TX) website and you will find it listed.

 

[johnchasxlr]

Bought two good used ones.. no one has New that I found.

Please give us a condition report on those lamps when they arrive!

 

[bajarick60]

Please give us a condition report on those lamps when they arrive!

Ok will let you know. Your not going to believe this I found a
Right side on eBay for 80.00 and bought it it looks perfect..
Someone made a mistake on that one .

 

[ccclarke]

Make sure the headlamp assembly doesn't have a crazed DRL bezel - there are a lot of then for sale on eBay. Ideally, you want a clear DRL bezel with an amber bulb. The amber bezels are the ones most prone to crazing from the heat of the HID lamps. If it's a revised assembly, you'll need a pigtail adapter harness too.

CC

 

[johnchasxlr]

Make sure the headlamp assembly doesn't have a crazed DRL bezel - there are a lot of then for sale on eBay. Ideally, you want a clear DRL bezel with an amber bulb. The amber bezels are the ones most prone to crazing from the heat of the HID lamps. If it's a revised assembly, you'll need a pigtail adapter harness too.

CC

Totally agree. I have been looking for headlights for quite some time and I have found several brand new XLR lights with the wrong GM part number on them. Turns out these are European Only XLR lights and actually are not DOT legal in the US. The correct part numbers are GM Part number: 20779744 RIGHT and GM Part number: 20779745 LEFT (NA)

Now ... if the euro lights had been a super bargain I may have bought them just to see if I may be able to modify the primary headlight a little. Euro headlights are designed with the beams focused more to the left where our USA cars point more to the right.

 

[johnchasxlr]

Until I can get new headlights here's an option IF your DRL lamp plastic light diffuser is melted or has partially broken off inside the light housing.

If you follow this procedure do so at your own risk... and remember these lights are hard to find.

Protect your bumper!! I used some painter's tape

After removing the DRL lamp it's possible to reach through the hole and knock out the melted plastic insert. The melted / brittle plastic lens will break apart easily with a pair of long needle nose pliers and the pieces dropped out.

So does the bare bulb look better or worse than the melted lens insert? Well probably not but this is going to have to do for a while.

 

[David_B]

I had thought about doing this and putting an LED bulb in!

There are quite a few different kinds, one even has a lens on the front.

Until I can get new headlights here's an option IF your DRL lamp plastic light diffuser is melted or has partially broken off inside the light housing.

If you follow this procedure do so at your own risk... and remember these lights are hard to find.

Protect your bumper!! I used some painter's tape

After removing the DRL lamp it's possible to reach through the hole and knock out the melted plastic insert. The melted / brittle plastic lens will break apart easily with a pair of long needle nose pliers and the pieces dropped out.

So does the bare bulb look better or worse than the melted lens insert? Well probably not but this is going to have to do for a while.

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