Pickup Truck Headlights Could Leave You in the Dark

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released the findings from its first test of pickup truck headlights today and the results leave manufacturers with lots of room for improvement. IIHS — an independent, nonprofit safety agency supported by auto insurers — will use headlight ratings as criteria for qualifying for model-year 2017 Top Safety Pick Plus awards, the group's top rating. Pickups are the third category of vehicles IIHS has tested; the first were mid-size cars followed by compact SUVs.

IIHS tested all the mid-size and half-ton pickups, 11 in all, measuring how well or poorly low- and high-beam headlights illuminate the road ahead as the pickup travels straight and in a curve. The test also measures glare from oncoming low-beam headlights.

As you might imagine, the testing is complex given that many truckmakers offer different headlight types depending on trim level. Several models received different ratings depending on the type of headlight offered.

IIHS evaluated 11 model-year 2016 and 2017 pickups equipped with 23 different headlight combinations and awarded ratings of good, acceptable, marginal and poor. The vast majority of the pickups received a rating of poor. Only the 2017 Honda Ridgeline with its high-tech LED projector headlights (only offered on its top trim levels, RTL-E and Black Edition) scored good. The 2016-17 GMC Sierra 1500 was the only model to receive an acceptable rating. To receive IIHS' Top Safety Pick Plus, a vehicle must receive a headlight rating of good or acceptable.

To read the full IIHS report and view a video of the testing, click here.

Of the 23 different headlight combinations, 17 received a rating of poor. Here are the results of IIHS' pickup truck headlight testing:

Mid-Size Pickups

2016 Chevrolet Colorado with halogen low beams and high beams:             poor

2016 GMC Canyon with halogen low beams and high beams:                       poor

2017 Honda Ridgeline with LED projector low beams, halogen high beams: good

2017 Honda Ridgeline with halogen low beams and high beams:                 poor

2016 Nissan Frontier with halogen low beams and high beams:                   poor

2016-17 Toyota Tacoma with halogen low beams and high beams:              poor

Half-Ton Pickups

2016-17 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 with xenon HID low beams and high beams:     poor

2016-17 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 with LED low beams and high beams:     poor

2016-17 Ford F-150 with halogen low beams and high beams:     poor

2016-17 Ford F-150 with LED low beams and high beams:     poor

2016-17 GMC Sierra 1500 with LED low beams and high beams:     acceptable/marginal*

2016-17 GMC Sierra 1500 with xenon HID low beams and high beams:     poor

2017 Nissan Titan with halogen low beams and high beams:     marginal

2017 Nissan Titan with LED low beams and halogen high beams:     marginal

2016 Ram 1500 with halogen low beams and high beams:     marginal/poor**

2016-17 Toyota Tundra with halogen low beams and high beams:     poor

*Acceptable rating with high-beam assist technology; marginal without.

**Marginal rating with halogen reflector headlights; poor rating with halogen projector headlights.

Cars.com image by Angela Conners; IIHS image