2016 3rd brake light Leak

30 days in a loaner and I believe you can file for the lemon law. Check your state for details on the law. It differs from state to state.

I'm no lawyer... But from the looks of it, I'd think you have a solid case there without the 30 days. I don't see how it would even be possible to get rid of all the mold spores!?! Be your OWN advocate. Talk to an attorney if you're so inclined. I'd do it quickly. And don't rush the fixer at this point.

Maybe someone that knows more than me will chime in.

 

Well, an update. The dealer called me today to pick it up. Exciting right? I got there after the service shop was closed, but they were accommodating and and had one of the salesman stay to hand off the keys. The truck looked great, all washed up and clean, BUT as I started to take a closer look I noticed a few things that made me hesitate.

After looking in the back seat I noticed a few grind spots by the rear seat belt bolt on the floor. Went back in and got the salesman and asked him to come back out. I showed him the grind spots, however, he was unfamiliar with the repairs that were done with my truck. I proceeded to take out the plastic storage box under the rear seat which he help me do. It turns out that that the dealer failed to re-paint the floor!!!! The sound deadening material was replaced was there was BARE METAL still present where they had ground out the mold!! I refused to take the truck and was pretty irritated. I called up the service manager, while still in the dealers parking lot, that I had been working with who told me that that re-painting the floor was not part of the repair process for this issue.

This seems pretty fishy to me. Thoughts? I want others to be aware of this since I know this is a known issue for others as well. Has anyone else been though this? I am worried that over time rust might form from the bare metal that was un-painted. I am planning on heading in to the dealer tomorrow during the day to discuss this further..... more to follow with my journey I guess. I'll take some pictures when i get there tomorrow.

 

So I was one of the original guys with this problem back in July of 2017. My dealership replaced the assembly. Two days ago I noticed it was leaking again, I went and dug up the previous service order and noticed they just replaced the defective assembly with another defective assembly.
If you had this problem prior to July 2, 2018 you should check your service order. If your dealership replaced the assembly with part # 81570-04040 it is just a matter of time before it starts leaking again. Part # 81570-04040 is the problem assembly, it needs to be replaced with Part # 81570-04050.
Reference T-SB-0055-18


I have an appointment for Monday back at the dealership. We will see if I get any grief or if they correct the issue.

 

Mine was replaced with part # 81570-04050. So far after a few weeks it all looks like it’s keeping everything dry!

 

Going on a trip tomorrow. So I washed my truck and today went to do the inside. And noticed by back area wet and drips on the sliding window.

Headliner was watermarked stained. Cleaned it all up with Folex. Patted dry. Left windows open to air out. Took some flexible gutter sealant around it till I get back.

Plan is to caulk inside and out when back from vacation.

 

Does anyone know what the actual difference is between the two part numbers? A gasket made of different material or what?

 

What is the best option to fix this problem without buying the new brake light from Toyota ($140)? Is there a aftermarket light or is there a suggestion of using some kind of silicone or gasket maker?

 

Just get you some clear silicone caulk. Its what I did. Take your time and do it up nice. So far its held up

 

I bought a used 2016 recently and noticed a leak on the second day. Took it back to the dealership and they replaced the light under warranty. Service person said the've had to replace a number of them.

 

For those of you who have had your light replaced, how does your headliner look afterwords? I'm worried that Toyota is going to scratch/mess up my interior when they switch out the light.

 

Mine looks good. No indication of any removal. I rather doubt they need to detach the headliner to replace the light but I’m not certain. Get it done before mould issues commence.

 

Yes, they have to drop the headliner to gain access to the light.

 

There is 1 way around not dropping the headliner.. and it's very barbaric lol. Pry the lens off from the outside(more than likely will crack and brake) then drill the 2 plastic holes where the stuff mounts are. It will release the light(NOT SALVAGEABLE) from the outside.
Getting an OEM reinstalled is another story though

 

Just had this happen to my 16’ as well. Found a puddle on drivers side carpet under floor mat after heavy rain this weekend. Vehicle has been smelling a bit moldy for a few months now but couldn’t figure it out. Truck at dealership now and waiting to hear back from Toyota on whether it will be covered since it’s 1,000 miles out of warranty. Hard to believe a recall hasn’t been issued based on the scope and prevelance of the problem.

 

Not a safety concern so likely will never be recalled. Tsb already exists.

 

This happened to me, too. I am at 43k miles. I did not pay for an extended warranty. I did pay $130 for a diagnostic to confirm where the leak was coming from officially. They wanted about $500 total to fix the problem, I said no thank you. Toyota Corporate agreed to foot the bill, thankfully. I am out $130 but it's fixed. I asked them to clean the headliner and seats to remove the discoloration, but I got a B.S. answer from the service advisor about it. It looks awful. There's no mold, at least. I'm glad to have it fixed, but wishing my headliner didn't look like it's been peed on.

 

I’m having the same problem with my 16 taco. Toyota used a bad gasket, so they’re rotting. Of course I’m over 36k so no help from toyota

Does anyone have a solution? The Toyota gaskets are no good so replacing it with another Toyota gasket makes no sense

Also it seems the screw housing on mine broke so looks like I’ll need to replace the third stop light assembly. Does anyone have a recommendation for an aftermarket replacement?

 

Man that really sucks. Had mine done under warranty and so far its waterproof. Maybe they used same gasket from the leaking version instead of new ones?

 

I have an appt for end of June so they can examine the frame for that recall. I have 16 dcsb with 37k miles. I called service manager and corporate today. They will look at the light when it's there for the frame, I'm hoping they cover the light replacement. How did they approach them to get it covered?

 

Still boggles my mind there's no screws on the exterior of the housing, is there an engineer on here that can explain it? I'd rather have neon pink bolts showing that are accessible than to have to drop the headliner to change those bulbs.