NHTSA Complaint #10096001 — 2004 CHRYSLER PACIFICA

THIS COMPLAINT RELATES TO MY PROFESSIONAL OBSERVATIONS CONCERNING TAIL-LIGHT VISIBILITY DEFICIENCIES ON CHRYSLER PACIFICA VEHICLES (I'M AN ACCIDENT INVESTIGATOR AND FORENSIC PHOTOGRAPHER). THE TAIL LIGHT DESIGN ON PACIFICA VEHICLES IS LARGE, HOWEVER, THE AMOUNT OF RED LIGHT ACTUALLY TRANSMITTED THROUGH THE TAILLIGHT IS ONLY A THIN CIRCLE. FURTHERMORE, THE CIRCLE OF RED LIGHT CAN ONLY BE SEEN WHEN DIRECTLY BEHIND THE VEHICLE...FROM ANY OFF-AXIS POSITION, SUCH AS IN THE NEXT LANE, ONLY A SMALL ARC OF RED LIGHT CAN BE SEEN. IN BRIGHT DAYLIGHT CONDITIONS, BRAKE LIGHTS ARE ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE UNLESS ONE IS FOLLOWING DIRECTLY BEHIND THE PACIFICA; AT NIGHT, THE TAIL LIGHTS AND BRAKE LIGHTS ARE EASIER TO SEE, BUT REMAIN EXTREMELY HARD TO SEE IN COMPARISON TO ALMOST EVERY OTHER VEHICLE ON THE ROAD. THAT IS, OTHER VEHICLES EASILY TRANSMIT THE RED ILLUMINATION ACROSS THE ENTIRE REAR QUADRANT OF 180-DEGREES OR MORE, SO VEHICLES FOLLOWING CAN SEE THE LIGHTS NO MATTER WHAT LANE THEY ARE IN BEHIND A VEHICLE. THE PACIFICA ONLY TRANSMITS THE FULL EXTENT OF RED ILLUMINATION ACROSS A VERY NARROW RANGE...MAYBE 10 OR 20 DEGREES...DIRECTLY BEHIND THE PACIFICA. OFF-AXIS VEHICLES IN THE SAME OR ADJACENT LANES DO NOT SEE THE FULL RED ILLUMINATION, AS THE TAIL LIGHT DESIGN HAS SOME TYPE OF PRISM EFFECT THAT LIMITS THE TRANSMISSION OF THIS LIGHT ACROSS THE ENTIRE REAR QUADRANT. I'LL BE HAPPY TO PHOTOGRAPH THIS DESIGN ISSUE IF NEEDED FOR YOUR INVESTIGATION.*AK