NHTSA Complaint #10265402 — 2004 BUICK RAINIER

THE DASH CLUSTER LIGHTING IS TOO DIM IN THE DAYLIGHT AND NON EXISTENT AT DAWN AND DUSK. THERE IS NOT A MANUAL OVERRIDE THAT ALLOWS YOU TO SELECT NIGHT LIGHTING DURING THESE TRANSITIONAL TIMES AND ON CERTAIN DAYS SO YOU CAN NOT SEE THE SPEEDOMETER OUTPUT NOR THE DRIVER ADVISORY DISPLAY. I DISCUSSED IT WITH SEVERAL DEALERS AND THEY SAY SOME WORK THIS WAY AND SOME DON'T. THEY HAVE NO WAY TO TELL WHICH WORK PROPERLY AND WHICH ONES WILL NOT. THEY ALL REFUSED TO REPLACE IT UNDER WARRANTY AS BUICK SAYS THAT IS THE WAY THE SYSTEM IS SUPPOSED TO WORK. FOR UP TO 15 MINUTES IN MORNING AND NIGHT THE DISPLAY IS TOTALLY UNREADABLE WHILE IT IS SLOWLY TRANSITIONING NIGHT TIME VISIBILITY. YES, I HAVE THE LIGHTING SET AS BRIGHT AS THE SYSTEM WILL ALLOW AT ANY GIVEN TIME BUT IT IS STILL NOT VISIBLE TO ME OR ANYONE ELSE THAT DRIVES THE CAR. I HAVE FOUND QUITE A FEW OTHERS ON THE NET THAT HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM AND THE SAME COULD CARE LESS RESPONSES FROM BUICK ON THIS SAFETY ISSUE. THIS GOES ON EVERYDAY SO IT PROBABLY IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME UNTIL IT RESULTS IN A SERIOUS ACCIDENT AND/OR A SERIOUS MECHANICAL FAILURE THAT WILL BE MISSED BECAUSE YOU CAN'T READ THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER UNDER CERTAIN BUT DAILY CONDITIONS SUCH AS SUNRISE AND DUSK. *TR