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I have a 2002 GMC Envoy. Today I bumped into a pole in the parking lot. It was a "corner" bump, it bumped the corner of my left bumper. It busted out the tail-light lens, the bulbs still glow but the lens is busted out (but the assembly has good enough "integrity" remaining that placing a new lens on it will probably be easy), I know I will have to replace that.
The main issue is the backup lights, which are integrated as being part of the bumper near the bottom. The one on the left still lights up and there are no cracks, however along with the bumper itself it now is at a slight left-bending angle vs being "straight-head-on" as it was before. It's not at a HUGE angle and looking straight from the back you can easily still see it (it's not like it's pointing into the trees etc), but the angle is noticeable (at least from the sides) and looking at it straight-on from the back (as it you were a car following this one) you can't see QUITE all of it, I'd say probably 85% of it (the rest is "obscured" by the bumper around it). I worry that this will cause it to not pass inspection and that it will require me to do dramatic body work in terms of having a body shop pound out the dents.
(Update--I went back and looked at photos I took of the vehicle when I got it, even before today that side had a bit of a dent where it wasn't at an angle but the backup light was sort of "pressed down" deeper into the bumper on that side vs the other, due to a dent which was already there, and it apparently passed as it was that way.)
Am I worrying for nothing or am I going to have to pay big bucks for the body shop to unbend the bumper?
The only thing that they check on safety inspection in Texas is that the bulbs light up, and that the lens isn't cracked(no white light shining through)
You also really can't replace just the lens, you have to replace the entire light housing. The part is cheap in ebay, and the light assembly is only held in by 3 or 4 nuts.
Last edited by Me007gold; 12-25-2016 at 06:19 AM..
In our state, and I presume in others, the inspections are for smog emissions, not damaged vehicles.
In most states a cracked lens will fail. Some light assemblies now, the lens can not be changed, the whole assembly must be changed. During inspection, a damaged vehicle will be looked over even more carefully, to see if it is safe to drive. There are still some states with no inspections, 2 the last time I checked. I cant imagine the junk allowed on the road. Im sure the Highway patrol keeps a look out for vehicles that are just to dangerous to be on the road.
It really just depends on the shop you go to for the inspection. Some are more stringent than others. TX has both the emissions portion of the inspection, and the safety inspection, where they test the brakes, the horn, the lights, etc.
I've had some guys just do the emissions test and didn't bother doing any other sort of testing. I don't know whether they just figured that they didn't need to do anything else because of the type of car it was, or what.
I've been other places where they actually were very thorough and even looked under the car for anything out of the ordinary/safety related.
In most states a cracked lens will fail. Some light assemblies now, the lens can not be changed, the whole assembly must be changed. During inspection, a damaged vehicle will be looked over even more carefully, to see if it is safe to drive. There are still some states with no inspections, 2 the last time I checked. I cant imagine the junk allowed on the road. Im sure the Highway patrol keeps a look out for vehicles that are just to dangerous to be on the road.
Only 18 states have safety checks, most, but not all, have emissions tests. In our state a cracked lens or glass is noted on a citation from a traffic officer, and only if you're stopped for another violation. A front head lamp out at night will get you stopped and a citation right away. We have no body or safety inspection stations.
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