Leaking brake light recall

It’s OK, that 200 pound dude is me and I can easily get to the brake light by standing on my sliders and reaching under the rack and also can reach it from inside the front window of my shell (it swings down for cleaning). A template is a good idea, blue tape to the rescue!

 

See the writing by his thumb?


It is not a recall.

 

I wonder how long it would take me to get from my house to your dealership. Because if they are that thorough on service I want to take my Taco there for everything!!

 

I don't know where you are, but we are in VA.

 

Piedmont of NC.

 

I am having a hell of a time getting my recall repaired correctly. I brought it in last week after I discovered a slow leak into the cab coming off the headliner (rear passenger side). I didnt realize I had to take the shell off for the repair, so I rescheduled for today. I just got the call from the service tech telling me that the 5 minutes of spraying the seal with a pressure washer did not result in a leak, so they "know for certain" that the 3rd light seal is the cause. They are now questioning my prinsu rack as the cause of this... the rack that mounts in completely different part of the truck in the factory holes... What would suggest my next move be? I told them not to do the repair without me there so I guess this is being dragged out. Thanks in advance for any info/advice.

 

I have a rack with a tent on it, can't see that light anyway, so I just did the recall...

 

You have any pictures of where the water staining is on the headliner?

 

Sunroof?

 

I have a 26 second video showing the saturated headliner and subsequent leaks down the plastic storage behind the rear seats. I tried attaching it to my initial posting but it wont work. I went full Karen mode and reported it to BBB.org, my review below:

After noticing the headliner in my Tacoma was saturated with water after weeks of heavy rain, I looked online to see what the issue could be. Sure enough, after entering my VIN number, I see that there is a Toyota Service Campaign (almost a recall) on my vehicle that replaces the gasket around the third brake light directly adjacent to where the water in my headliner was most saturated. I assumed this would be as straight forward as it gets, however several hours after dropping it off, I am told they aren't able to replicate the leaking after using a pressure washer for approximately 5 minutes (their words). I am asked to send a video that I took previously that displays the wet headliner and subsequent leaking to the service manager, and thought that would be utilized to make sense of the musty/mildew smell, coupled with a dampness that was still present. The service manager told me that I would need to pay out of pocket to diagnose this issue further or just get the gasket replaced as per the service campaign. I told him that if Toyota wasn't taking responsibility for the moldy headliner, to not replace the gasket otherwise they are off the hook because the issue could not be replicated to prove otherwise. I asked if they opened the light up to see but he said all they did was pull the headliner slightly to look for water intrusion. After checking, the headliner is not able to be manipulated to merely glance for water but they state they didn't drop the headliner. I'm not sure why they would lie, as this could be a much larger issue as spores continue to develop. I'm appalled that Toyota would risk a much larger issue of putting their customer in a moldy truck, rather than take responsibility for the issue. I have nothing to gain by this work being done, they are making what should be merely an inconvenience, a potential legal issue. I hope they make this right.

 

Negative. They did mention that my Prinsu rack could potentially be a cause despite it utilizing the factory rack mounting points.

 

I had the recall done. Mine was not leaking, but I assume the leak could start at any time. Dealer did a fine job. No damage to the headliner. The light now has a larger trim ring around it. They did require I remove my canopy prior to the service, which was a hassle, but I hadn’t had it off in since new, so I took the opportunity to inspect the bed rails and clean and wax all the hard-to-reach surfaces.

 

Yeah I wish I had this done proactively rather than waiting for it to get to this point.

 

@GoldenTaco27 They should have never done a "water leak" test. The recall is very clear. Inspect the headliner for water damage. If water damage is found. Check under carpets for damn or wet padding. If padding is wet or damp, inspect for mold. ( Mold can be on the seat backs, storage compartments, floor, padding, carpet, ect) If mold is present, they are to take pictures and submit them. They are to attempt to clean the headliner 3 times to get it clean. If they can not get it clean, submit pictures for replacement.

I have had to replace the carpet, padding and the sound deading material on the floors of 4 trucks. You also remove the headliner and replace the third brake light assembly. And Serve Pro comes out to do the mold removal from all them metal surfaces. I have done dozens that just required cleaning the headliner and reseal the third brake light

 

Thank you for the info, I truly appreciate it. That verbiage of "inspect the headliner for water damage" is exactly what they should have seen, correct? They were very clear that the headliner was not removed, I asked specifically. They were more concerned about proving that a leak could be recreated in 5 minutes of spraying it down.

 

Which are well known to leak unless the threaded hardware is really sealed up.

 

Correct. The recall even gives pictures of examples

 

Directly adjacent to the third brake light? The rack has been on for almost 5 years, and feel like if there was a leak from them, it wouldn't be next to the brake light and probably closer to the B-pillars

 

Water moves in mysterious ways!

 

I’m starting to notice water drip in above the back window during washes. I’ve also been having issues with the TPMS sensor system flashing on the instrument cluster and thought I saw where there is a TMPS receiver in the headliner near the third brake light. Does anyone know if that’s true? If so I'm thinking water got in a damaged the TPMS receiver.