"In that case he should blink away, they last a very long time. "
Well, you would think an LED would last a long time, right?
Last week I was driving from NC to Pennsylvania at 1 AM to visit family and got pulled over by a PA State Trooper on I-81. He told me I was doing 60 in a 55, which was no big deal, but said that him pulling me over was a courtesy because one of my LED license plate lights was out on my '15 Ultimate.
Some courtesy - like to give me a heart attack. But he was right - I had no idea the lamp was out (actually, it wasn't out but was very dim.)
I think, based on the questions he asked me, that he thought I had a trunk full of cigarettes to sell in New York because of my NC plate.
Anyway, helped by my spotless driving record (last "performance award" was in 1983 - K.O.W.), he sent me on my way w/o a ticket but with a verbal warning to get my license plate light fixed.
So I called the Hyundai dealer in Lebanon the next day and they told me to bring the car in. The tech wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, because he didn't check to see if they had the lamp until after he tore the trunk lid apart.
It wasn't in stock, of course, so the service writer told me they would overnight it - and by the way, the LED lamp module cost $80, not including the labor, which would be another $100 (1 hour)!
I thought that was pretty steep for a bulb, so I called my Hyundai dealer back home (Asheville Hyundai), and the service manager (Forrest- best service manager east of the Pecos) told me that LEDs are covered under warranty for 3 years.
Good to know. After I informed the PA dealer of that, they fixed it at no cost to me. I don't know if they really weren't aware or if they were trying to rip off a desperate traveller.
My GenSed has only 23k miles on it, and I leased it 2.5 years ago.
To be fair, I always drive with my headlights on, regardless of the time of day, so that may have contributed to the lamp failing prematurely.