If one ran the head lights, or burned a bulb in their garage all the time, they too would fail. Since the daytime running lights get so many hours, the bulbs can/will last only so long. Not a priority of the owners to replace, I assume.
Day time lights are a source of controversies. They help visibility on two lane roads, but also get inadvertently used, without proper taillights, at night. That which is meant for safety creates other issues. Must be some Peter Principle.
This has gone on for many years...shouldn't GM have addressed this anyway by now? They have to be aware of the higher consumption rate...why not engineer them to last longer or eliminate them altogether?
Only seen it on GM trucks and truck based SUV's.Is the light problem just with the trucks? The lights on my 2003 Impala work fine...the right side has never been changed, but a deer changed the left side, along with the fender, a year ago. I can't really say I've ever checked the lights during the day, but they are the same bulbs used at night and they work then. In fact, if I get another car that doesn't do the automatic on thing, I'll probably be driving around without lights pretty often! I know when I drive my F150 I have to remember to turn on the lights when it is raining, etc. It's also nice when I drive into a parking garage during the day that the light are on in the Impala; I notice that in the truck as I often have to turn the lights on to see.
Chuck