Third brake light leak

I know this is a known issue and I’m just 40,000 miles into my 2016 Tacoma and just now I’ve noticed the third brake light leak. Toyota wanted to charge an arm and leg for the job. Any suggestions on a quick fix? This should be on the recall list. Thanks in advance.

 

I just used some clear silicone in the small squeeze containers to run a bead around the exterior and then used my finger to thin the bead down. Can’t really see it and I haven’t had any leaks since. I’m out of the warranty time frame also and wasn’t too worried about seeing the silicone anyways since I have a camper shell that covers it.

 

Drill the oem one out and install an aftermarket one from MESO

 

What is really amazing here, is another Toyota car I have, 6 years after owning it they sent me a letter stating that they had reports of the dashboard becoming sticky. Yes, sticky, lol. And if my dashboard got sticky within 10 years they would replace it free of charge.
And we have a third brake light KNOWN issue which imo is more serious, and they can't take care of fixing these.
Not the Toyota I use to know maybe ?

That design should have had a drip edge on the sheet metal imo.

 

I did take it to the Toyota dealership and they wanted to charge me $600 for replacing the light. Ridiculous.

 

I’m not sure which engineer thought that a 1/4” foam gasket exposed to the elements would keep water out over the lifetime of a vehicle.

 

I've heard of other people having the same issue. If I were you, I would get an aftermarket dome light. You'll most likely be saving money that way and it looks so much better.

 

That’s crazy

 

Not sure if it’ll work for you, but my truck was right at the same miles when it happened to me as well. The dealership guy was super helpful and gave me the TSB # for it and told me to call. He said that there was nothing he could do but he felt if I talked to them and was persistent enough it might work. I pleaded my case and told them it was ridiculous how much we pay for these trucks and how something like a seal, that should last the lifetime of the truck fails and it’s on my dollar? And it’s not covered under the extended warranty Toyota was super nice about it and within a few weeks, they said they would fix it as a “one time complimentary fix”. If I was you I’d give it a try. That is if you have the patience and time, haha! I’ll look through my paperwork tomorrow and try and find the TSB for ya, just a little more ammo to throw at em’ while you’re on the phone.

 

It's not just a tacoma issue. My Ram leaked and would constantly burn out bulbs. It was a pain in the ass. I eventually ran some clear silicone after replacing the bulbs with LEDs and it stopped being an issue.

 

Anyone try taping it off and flex seal?

 

I dropped the Head liner half way in the back, and resealed it with black RTV sealant,
I hope I'm good to go.
Took 1 hour or 2/taking my time

 

I just replaced mine. It’s not a hard job and the new gasket is much thicker. Buy some extra white clips for the panels because you will drop a couple. Count on a couple hours

oh!!! And look online . They sell just the replacement gasket for $15 if I remember correctly. I’ll probably do that if mine leaks again

 

I have a feeling when the 4th Gen Tacoma comes out they will move the 3rd brake light down to the tailgate.

 

Gross

 

Not sure of DOT regulations for that. But I doubt they would. Someone has the tailgate down, or removed and they no longer have a visible 3rd brake light.

 

Good point.

 

Or they could just use a rubber gasket and it would be fix for good

 

I taped around light a 1/16 of a inch and used advanced silicone clear cure time 30 minutes purchased at wal mart. I ran a bead around light and truck cab and pulled tape immediately. 2 hours later I taped cab only around light and ran another 1/16 inch bead and ran my finger around both times. Pulled tape immediately and it fixed the leak perfect and you cannot see any silicone visibly. Make sure you use a cloth to wipe silicone off base of light fixture. It is clean and you cannot see any evidence of silicone . It is all under the base against the gasket. Simple fix .

 

The same one that got shot down a million times for asking for the proper part but lost to the money bag decision makers. Not his fault .
Re use . Re use . Reuse wherever possible