[LalyPacifica]

So this might be a dumb question but I can't find information anywhere! I assumed that when I was breaking, all of the RED tail lights would brighten to show that I am braking. But a friend drove behind me to work and told me that the center red lights (on the lift gate) are just on and never brighten when I brake.

Forgive this terrible "paint" job on the image below but I circled the lights that DO NOT light up when you brake in red and the ones that DO get brighter when you brake in blue.

If the middle/lift gate lights do not turn on when you are breaking...what the heck are they for?!?!

 

[Waldo]

That seems normal to me. The tailgate lights are just rear night driving lights.

 

[LalyPacifica]

That seems normal to me. The tailgate lights are just rear night driving lights.

But they don't light up! The center of the red; the outline lights up in red but doesn't darken when breaking but the center doesn't light up at all?!

 

[Waldo]

Either I'm not following you or you're expecting something that was not part of the design.

 

[stop-eject]

The LED outline is the parking light, the bulb in the outer section is the stop/turn combo.
The inner red parts are probably reserved for the European real fog lights.

 

[hawkfan]

They probably didn't bother putting brake or flashing lights on the liftgate because if you were pulled over on the side of the road, say to change a tire or other car troubles, nobody would see your flashing hazard lights if that hatch was opened.

 

[Mike E]

@LalyPacifica


The LED lights, the narrow, bright "beak" shaped lights are just your taillights. The brake/turn signal lamps are located on the outer periphery of each tail lamp. That's pretty common these days. Some of the premium automakers like Audi, BMW and Mercedes have LED brake lights as well, but Chrysler probably felt the higher cost for making those was prohibitive.

 

[pachyderm]

They probably didn't bother putting brake or flashing lights on the liftgate because if you were pulled over on the side of the road, say to change a tire or other car troubles, nobody would see your flashing hazard lights if that hatch was opened.

That's exactly right. Visibility when the liftgate is up.

The Bolt has an interesting workaround with this since the brake lights are mounted on the hatchback. They added a second set of lights down on the bumper that only turn on when the hatch is in the 'up' position.

 

[stop-eject]

BMW does the same thing.

 

[Bond007]

That's exactly right. Visibility when the liftgate is up.

The Bolt has an interesting workaround with this since the brake lights are mounted on the hatchback. They added a second set of lights down on the bumper that only turn on when the hatch is in the 'up' position.

That's an interesting but expensive solution. Why not just place the entire lights on the bottom....?

So this might be a dumb question but I can't find information anywhere! I assumed that when I was breaking, all of the RED tail lights would brighten to show that I am braking. But a friend drove behind me to work and told me that the center red lights (on the lift gate) are just on and never brighten when I brake.

Forgive this terrible "paint" job on the image below but I circled the lights that DO NOT light up when you brake in red and the ones that DO get brighter when you brake in blue.

If the middle/lift gate lights do not turn on when you are breaking...what the heck are they for?!?!

I've noticed that blank area too. I guess they have reserved it for future LED upgrades (may be mid-cycle refresh).

 

[tsax6010]

Some vehicles have separate, dedicated running lamps and others combine the running and brake lamps. Such is life...

The brake lights on the Pacifica are inspired by the racetrack design used on Dodge vehicles for a while now. The middle does not light up on the lift gate in keeping with this design, only the LED outline.

I find the brake lights on the Pacifica are plenty bright and see no issues with their cosmetic or functional design.

 

[shikataganai]

They probably didn't bother putting brake or flashing lights on the liftgate because if you were pulled over on the side of the road, say to change a tire or other car troubles, nobody would see your flashing hazard lights if that hatch was opened.

This in turn is due to federal regulations.

https://www.autotrader.com/car-news...5-and-q7-have-two-sets-of-brake-lights-258377

Second set on bumper is one solution, while others have a second set on the part of the car exposed by the trunk or hatch.

 

[LalyPacifica]

Some vehicles have separate, dedicated running lamps and others combine the running and brake lamps. Such is life...

The brake lights on the Pacifica are inspired by the racetrack design used on Dodge vehicles for a while now. The middle does not light up on the lift gate in keeping with this design, only the LED outline.

I find the brake lights on the Pacifica are plenty bright and see no issues with their cosmetic or functional design.

The Charger example helped! They are going for a "look" and not thinking "let's maximize the lighting to make these as safe as possible".

I'm not saying the lights we have currently aren't enough and I'm not trying to be picky. But the intensity between lights ON and BRAKING didn't seem like enough (candela) to me. I experimented at dusk with my son pumping the brake pedal for me and the brightness from the TRUE brake lights vs the always-on glow from the LEDs didn't seem like very much.

Maybe just at that time of day particularly??, the light at the top (that is NOT ON unless you are braking) was the only CLEAR sign of braking to me from the rear. And, in fact, the brightness of the LED strips was distracting from the brightness of the side brake lights (as they cover more area of the vehicle than the true brake lights do).

 

[monza]

You might consider one of the led brake light replacements that some users here have suggested. They can be a lot brighter.

 

[LalyPacifica]

Had to add a hilarious note. I was telling my friend this (that owns a Dodge Durango) and he was like "that's a bummer. Mine has that same design but it lights up." I said, "are you sure?" and we went out to his car. He got in, pressed the break, and sure enough--no lights!! He got out and made me press the brakes down because he refused to believe that entire area didn't light up when he was braking.
"What the heck?! That's a terrible design!" LOL That's what I said!

 

[kohyuta]

Yup. It's all in the name of styling. The use of dummy red lens inserts goes back decades. I don't mind it so much on the Pacifica, but some cars just make me shake my head. I'd actually prefer the LED outline on just the outer portion was the brake light, and the inner portion was the turn signal (see video). Might have to investigate some wiring diagrams to see if that's possible

 

[SWPacLim]

Very typical. Pay attention to brake lights on other cars while you're driving around.

 

[Bond007]

Yup. It's all in the name of styling. The use of dummy red lens inserts goes back decades. I don't mind it so much on the Pacifica, but some cars just make me shake my head. I'd actually prefer the LED outline on just the outer portion was the brake light, and the inner portion was the turn signal (see video). Might have to investigate some wiring diagrams to see if that's possible

The problem again would be hazard lights visibility when parked with hatch open (as discussed previously).
Not going to happen.

 

[PacificaMinivanFan]

You might consider one of the led brake light replacements that some users here have suggested. They can be a lot brighter.

Yep, that's what I did. BIG improvement.

 

[jerry17]

What bothers me is that they went backward from the T & C design with yellow directionals independent of the red brake/tail light design. Also the elimination of the mirror directionals on all but the limited -- both changes reduce safety/visibility in my opinion. (And another design stupidity by Kia/Hyundai putting the rear directionals down in the bumper -- you can't always see them.)