2016 third brake light fix

Whenever I went through the car wash with my 2016 Toyota Tacoma I would get rainfall in my back window. I found the source of the leak, it is the third brake light above the rear window. I contacted Toyota about repair and they told me $750. This is due to the inside liner having to come out and parts. Me being me I want to be a cheapskate. After removing the light assembly without eyes on the installation nuts I realized I am not going back in with a new one . Instead, I broke off the other stud. This leaves two holes in your light assembly. I purchased some screws and speed nuts. I separated the clear plastic from the light assembly. I cleaned off all old sealant. I purchased a new seal online. Installed the speed nuts on the truck . Reattached the electric wire and screwed the assembly on the speed nuts. Lastly, I reattached the clear plastic with gorilla glue and taped until cured. I will keep everybody up to date on whether this works. Either way I'm out $10.

 

I wonder if you could have carefully drilled through the outer plastic, and put longer bolts with rubber o ring washes to hold the whole thing in and together?

 

I actually thought about that but with my luck I would have cracked the clear plastic.

 

Yep probably.
I replaced mine with one of Meso’s KC5 lights. I also used black silicone around the housing to make sure there were no leaks. You might want to do that too.

 

You appear to have found a creative solution to the problem, but there’s nothing difficult about dropping the rear of the headliner to do it properly.

 

I got the back half partially down but once I ran into airbags, I didn't feel comfortable. I am an aircraft guy, not an auto person. I had this image of an airbag punching me in the face.

 

I used Lexel sealant on the light itself. It's so sad that a part this simple can be this messed up.

 

Unbelievable

 

Just went through the car wash for the first time after the fix and everything went well, no leaks.

 

Yes, $750 is definitely unbelievable! The $10 fix is perfect and looks factory.

 

So true.

The 2nd gen screwed in from the outside, and worked to perfection. Why mess with it on the 3rd gen?

Lots of idle engineers reworking the basics so they can keep their jobs, I guess.