Toyota Denied my 3rd brake light recall due to camper shell

Toyota denied doing the recall fix to my 3rd brake light on my 2019 tacoma. They originally asked if I had a camper shell on the truck. When I said yes, they told me that it would have to be removed in order to do the repair. My shell is siliconed and completely sealed to the bed. When I told them the shell is absolutely not coming off and that the 3rd brake light is easily accessible due to a cutout in my shell in that area allowing for the access to the light, they asked for pictures. I emailed the Service Manager the pictures showing the clearance. They told me they had to get approval from management in order to perform the fix while still having a shell on. The service manager said their tools would have trouble fitting in the space but he was confident they could get it done. After all that, I schedule my appointment, drive the truck/drop it off. 30 mins later I get a call asking if they can remove the shell or unbolt it and slide it back a few feet. Uh....what?

I again told them again do not do that, it's silicone sealed and I have stuff mounted to the bedrails that would prevent them from simply "sliding it" it down. It would have to be picked up and removed. Absolutely not. They refused to do the work, so I ended up just picking my truck back up with zero repairs done. Looks like I'll be handling the repair on my won since apparently I am more capable than the Toyota service techs.

Question:

Has anyone actually done the repair themselves or seen what is actually done. I'm trying to see if it's a gasket that is being replaced or are they just removing it, adding some silicone and putting it back together. Another question is would it be better to just order an aftermarket 3rd brake light with all new parts, and silicon that one properly to start fresh. Any help is much appreciated. Thanks guys!

 

They apply silicone around the outside of the light. Applying that silicone and ensuring it's a good seal would be difficult with a topper in the way obscuring the technicians vision. If I were the service manager I would have asked to remove the top as well, due to not being able to guarantee the quality of the job with the top on.

 

Seems kind of silly as I believe it is fastened from the inside. Of course the B of that is getting above the headliner.
You could also look for a more agreeable dealership.

 

x2

 

Instructions
https://www.tsbsearch.com/Toyota/21TD03

Part Numbers
TOYOTA OEM 00948-CHMSL
TOYOTA OEM 00948-CHMSL-HW
2016-2021 Tacoma Third Brake Light (DOUBLE CAB) Genuine Toyota OEM 81570-04051

 

Yeah thats not gonna be sealed correctly without removing the cap. You can do it yourself but you'll probably end up smudging the silicone or having it drop beneath the light.

 

Why you put silicone in between the shell and bed rail caps? Bad idea. Most shell dealers install rubber or foam tape around the bed real before shell gets placed on it. You can put silicone in the holes on front of the bed where the leaks come from.

It will be mess if you decided to sell the shell in the future. Unless you plan to sell the truck with shell, that is fine but it will look mess to the new owner and say wtf after he removed the shell off?!

 

When I had mine done, the dealer would not even entertain the idea of doing the repair with the shell in place, so I had to drive 45 minutes out to where I bought it from, pay them a hundred bucks to take it off the right way, store it for two days and put it back on. Inconvenient, yes, but that way it's done right. Sometimes life is inconvenient. Oh well.

 

I have taken a lot of campers shells off and on, sometimes with the aid of a forklift, sometimes with another person, usually by myself. It’s not easy and you have to be careful.

 

There isnt silicone between the shell and bed rails....there is the normal foam....but the front openings and any and all other openings around the shell have been filled and sealed. If removed...all of this would have to be redone as well as the chance of them damaging something trying to do so. If they cant handle a simple light repair, I for sure don't trust them with the shell and everything else that comes with it. I've watched plenty of videos of replacing a 3rd brake light and it can for sure be done without removing the shell. I'll probably have to access it through the removable front shell window and from above the shell, but it can for sure be done.

 

not worth it. I can purchase a whole new light and do the install myself for that price and amount of back and forth time wasted.

 

I should also mention... the refusal was given after many days of back and forth with them, approval from corpo to do it with the shell on, and being told by the service manager that he was very confident it could be done and I didn't have to worry. Only to be told the exact opposite once i took the time to bring the truck in AND asking questions as if they'd never spoken to me before about any of this.

 

I'm with the dealership and technician in this one. To do the job professionally and ensure it's done properly, the need full access. I had mine done, and it looks good, but they can't make it look as good without getting all the way around easily.

 

Oh ok. Your first post which it sounded like you had silicone installed in the shell... which you said "completely siliconed"... I thought you meant you got bed rails siliconed for the shell. But you didn't mention about the front end where the holes are in the first place.

I have had the holes filled with silicone by the dealer, no issues on removing/placing shell several times over the years.. No leaks so far.

 

You can probably replace the light, but that's not the work approved in the service bulletin. The service bulletin is to seal the existing light with silicone and add a new trim ring. The official work requires full access to be able to apply the silicon and trim ring properly.

 

Its a pain in the ass but I feel for you. I had mine done and they had me take my shell off for it. Like you, I was initially told that it would be fine and so I brought my truck down and they couldn't do it. Thankfully I scheduled it with routine maintenance so it wasn't a complete waste of time. Next time I went down I took off the shell and they did the work

As an interim fix I applied Lexel sealant around the top and sides of the light. If you do that leave the bottom clear so that if water gets behind it can still drain. I'm not sure exactly what the official fix is. I heard that they put a new gasket on which is more robust than the original but some others in this tread mentioned that they just silicone it on. Either way although removing the topper isn't ideal its better than having unwanted water entering the cab.

Good luck!

 

One thing to consider when working with the dealer is the are going to CYA on the side of caution. If they damaged or scratched your shell, smudged silicon or didn't get the fix just right then they would be responsible for the damage. They would be losing money at that point. I understand the frustration though and they should have been more forthcoming when talking to you about it before you brought it in.

 

I'm pretty sure you also have to pull down the rear portion of the headliner to get access to the bolts in the back of the light. The real question is how much is your time worth. While I do a lot of my own repairs (you outta try plugs and shocks on an old 911) there are some repairs better left to those who have done them hundreds of times, one of the times the dealer is actually recommended.

OTOH, I scraped my left rear fender lightly a couple of years ago and the body shop had to remove the shell, which I'm assuming they did with a forklift and those idiots ripped all the wiring out and never tested any of the lights or rear window locking. I figured it all out and got it all working, but you can see how easy it would be the dealer to fuck something up and then be liable for that as well. If a shell had no wiring and was just clamped on, you might make the argument for the dealer sliding it back a couple of feet, but every shell sold today and in the recent past has a third brake light and often locking mechanisms for the rear window which may also tie into similar circuitry for the tailgate.

 

Denied is honestly the wrong term here. I had the recall done with a cap in place. Guess what it had to move. I just bucked up and re sealed the 2 front openings after. Took 15 minutes. You have an aftermarket component that is blocking the affected area that needed repair. You didn't want to work with the dealer to make it accessible for a tech. After working in a dealership and watching the morons that complain snd blame techs for everything I wouldn't go near trying to do that job with a cap on simply for the liability issues of oh you scratched it now you gotta paint it. All for a warranty job that pays the tech so little it might aswell be nothing.
Your in the wrong not toyota.

 

Toyota didn’t deny anything. Your dealer did.