Two Situations Where It's A Good Idea To Replace Or Repair A Car Headlight After A Minor Collision
Posted on: 27 August 2015
Since a sudden car headlight breakdown while you're driving in the middle of the night could be disastrous, it's important to address any visible problems with your headlights as soon as possible. While not every minor collision you get into will directly damage or endanger your headlights, it's always worth it to at least examine your car's lights for problems that aren't immediately obvious. After a minor collision that leaves a small dent in your vehicle, if either of these two situations applies to one of your car's headlights, it's a good idea to replace or repair it.
A Dent Has Bent A Section Of The Hood That's Directly Beside The Headlight
Even a very serious dent won't affect your headlights if the car panel sections immediately bordering them are untouched. However, any dent that even slightly bends a panel section next to one of your headlights inward is a serious manner.
This is because your headlight won't have as much pressure on it from your car's panels to remain in place while you're driving your car on the highway. Bad panels together with high speeds could rip the headlight completely off your car.
You might think that just smoothing out all the dents on your car will eliminate the problem. But if you don't also get repairs done on the exterior of the headlight, it'll be almost as likely to tear off as if you'd done nothing to fix the dents. This is because the exterior part of the headlight clinging to your car was probably torn up as soon as the collision created the dent in question.
The Headlight Is Slightly Dimmer Than The Other One When You Start Your Car
Minor collisions can still put enough force through a car to mess up its internal parts. Therefore, after a collision, any difference in brightness between your two headlights when you turn your car on is a cause for concern. Even if you think your car will be functional in the dark despite a dimmer headlight, dimness is probably a sign of serious structural trauma deep in the headlight's interior.
If your headlight is seriously damaged already, there's no telling when the problem will get worse. The light could start blinking uncontrollably or even shut off entirely.
Additionally, different brightness levels on your two headlights will create an unbalanced view of the road while you're driving at night. You could end up missing a fence or set of cones that you would've easily been able to see otherwise.
If you suspect something is wrong with your headlights, or if you need to repair body damage to keep them secure, contact a company like Widrick Auto Sales.
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