Another 2017 Tacoma Double Cab water leak at cab brake light!

Such a bummer. The truck (2017 4 door, 4x4 TRD OR) is only 3 months old. I noticed some dampness on the rear seats then lots more after a rain storm. Brought it to the dealer in RI and 2 weeks later this thing is a disassembled mess!

They confirmed that the rear light on the cab was the culprit and replaced it at once, and they pulled the entire interior out.

Toyota ordered a mold test (the cab smelled really bad when the pulled the carpet and headliner down) and now they are making the dealer hand scrape all of the black, tar like sound deadening material off the floors. They then need ServePro to come out and sanitize/disinfect the whole cab, reapply the sound deadening material, have another mold spore test done, then put in a whole new interior in! All for a bad $5.00 gasket at the cab light!

I'm concerned about the paint damage they will inevitably do to the interior cab floors while scraping all of that tar off. I would not be surprised if this truck starts to rusts prematurely from the inside out. 9 new Toyotas in 14 year purchases history, thinking of escalating to Toyota USA to demand a buy back and give me a replacement truck.

Keep an eye out for this!

 

I would. Find a doctor to confirm you get sick from mold spores.

 

Gonna be a tough sell if/when the mold tests come back negative after ServePro does their thing.

 

You’re worried about paint damage you will never see?

 

Not for esthetics, for corrosion years down the road.

 

2 months later, still no truck! Back ordered parts i guess. Im am getting used to the 2017 4Runner they gave me though. Wish I had my truck....

 

Wow, you would think they would be able to get a new brake light assembly a little quicker.

 

I really wish I knew if this was a manufacture defect with the seal or installer error. Seems way to many trucks are having this issue.

 

They're not waiting for the light assembly. They literally have had to replace every single piece of the interior. What took the longest amount of time was hand scraping all of the sound deadening material off of the floors and then having Servpro disinfect and do a bacteria treatment on the whole vehicle. They had to repaint the interior floors because the paint was scraped down to bare metal when they scaped the sound deadening material. I will freak out if this thing starts to leak again once I get it back! Haha.

 

There was an issue with the way the seals were packed for shipping. Some were kinked up hence the leak.

 

One of my friends has his brake light and sunroof leaking on a 50k Ram. It happens at least they are fixing it. Chrysler didn’t do crap for him.

 

I'd be worried about what they are spraying and you breathing in. May not be any short term effects, but long term?

 

60 business days out of service is a lot of states benchmark for lemon law, that and attempting to fix issue more than 3 times. Some states favor the consumer less though. Check your states law.

 

Didn't someone post what the seal was, or the aftermarket alternative somewhere?

When it's time for me to buy, gonna make sure they install it right away to prevent the same issue from happening

 

You should have zero worries about rust from the inside. That sound deadening stuff sticks pretty well anyway. Sucks about the leak, though.

 

I don’t know of an aftermarket alt, just a new seal from the dealer. Toyota has actually had to buy back a few trucks because of the mold issues. They are making it right with the customers at least. A pain in the ass for those that this has happened to but you just have to take it up the chain if you do have this problem.

 

Is there a way to do a spot check under the ceiling material for mold or leak clues? Some have said they did not have a large enough leak to make ceiling wet, but enough to cause mold underneath.

 

Wow I just found a leak on mine today and posted here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/rear-windshield-leaking.497951/page-3#post-17102778

How bad did your look before taking her in, my rear middle seat is most and the head liner is drooping.

Thats a long time no truck, nice that they gave you a 4runner though.

 

I purchased an Orange Inferno 17 Toyota Tacoma in Oct 2016 brand new off the lot. I have also have had the exact same issue! Took my Tacoma into the dealership and was told my warranty doesn’t cover brake light gasket seals. Also my airbag light is constantly blinking and they want to charge me $175 to cut that off! I told them to shove it! This has been one of the worst purchases for me EVER. Especially when I am stuck paying $607 a month. I am ready to drop the P.O.S. Off at the dealership and hand them the key and say F-it...

 

What! Take it to a different dealer, my local shop did the seal, with new light and had to replace the headliner.