2013 CX-9 Daytime Running Lights - Mazda Dealer Quote to Repair/Replace at $1,350 !?

2013 Mazda CX-9 has a non-functioning passenger-side daytime running light, DRL.

My Mazda dealer this morning provided an estimate of $1,350 to replace the entire headlight assembly, since the LED portion of the assembly is apparently not serviceable.

Questions in my head;
1) The service manager kept a straight face when he handed me the estimate... how did he do that?

2) LED bulbs should not be failing at 51,000 miles. Is this a product flaw?

3) Who on the engineering design team at Mazda thought this was a great design, and further, who signed off on this lighting package for production?

4) Is this indicative of other delicate engineering and short-sighted design being manufactured by the Mazda nameplate?

5) What options exist for repair myself, as a consumer, short of disabling the DRLs?

I really do like my CX-9, but this is inciting a serious pause for my preponderance to the brand.
Any other CX-9 owners sharing the repair sticker shock of my quandary?

Thanks. (pissed)

Someone else on the forum had this issue recently but got it warrantied. Aftermarket is available if you want to go that route. Having the same questions as you I looked into this a few months ago. There are some OE ones available on eBay.

Here's the thread I mentioned https://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123856169-2013-Grand-Touring-Headlights-LED-trouble

Painful.
My first four questions above still apply to anyone at Mazda who cares...
I am unfortunately venturing down the 'disable function' route.

I'm not from Mazda but....

1) It's his job.
2) Anything can fail. It's electrical and it happens. Could be something as simple as a loose wire.
3) it's not a bad design. I've seen a lot of these on the road with both lights working. I'm sure the failure rate is lower for this than for transmissions, engines or transfer cases.
4) Doubtful.

Buzz Dengue said:

2013 Mazda CX-9 has a non-functioning passenger-side daytime running light, DRL.

My Mazda dealer this morning provided an estimate of $1,350 to replace the entire headlight assembly, since the LED portion of the assembly is apparently not serviceable.

Questions in my head;
1) The service manager kept a straight face when he handed me the estimate... how did he do that?

2) LED bulbs should not be failing at 51,000 miles. Is this a product flaw?

3) Who on the engineering design team at Mazda thought this was a great design, and further, who signed off on this lighting package for production?

4) Is this indicative of other delicate engineering and short-sighted design being manufactured by the Mazda nameplate?

5) What options exist for repair myself, as a consumer, short of disabling the DRLs?

I really do like my CX-9, but this is inciting a serious pause for my preponderance to the brand.
Any other CX-9 owners sharing the repair sticker shock of my quandary?

Thanks. (pissed)

Click to expand...

51,000 miles is well past the warranty mileage, so it would probably be hard to argue that they should make a "courtesy" replacement. It's worth a shot, though. I agree--it should last longer.

The flipside to having the DRLs as an all-in-one unit with the headlight assembly is that it makes the vehicle cheaper. You will find this with lots of parts--you can't just replace one component of the part that breaks. If they built the car so that each small component of a larger assembly was an interchangeable part, your car would have cost a lot more to begin with, rather than having the potential repair down the road be more expensive.

It's similar to your TV. I had a flat screen TV that wasn't working, out of warranty. I could have the internal switch replaced for $300. Or I could buy a newer, better, lighter, clearer TV of the same size for $450.

It's an unfortunate fact of life in today's society.