3rd Brake Light Safety Recall?

They replaced the entire third brake light?

 

No, just added a gasket/trim piece. Looks good. They called it a "Trim ring repair kit".

 

Well..... I read your post incorrectly. That's what i get for trying to read without glasses

 

It's Friday.

 

Update to the @tacomalifestyle third brake light...

It turns out the trim gasket (00948-CHSML) doesn't fit well with the tacomalifestyle third brake light. No matter how you position the trim piece there's a solid 1/4" gap on one side or all along the bottom. With that said, I removed the tacomalifestyle third brake light and installed the new OEM Toyota light I bought previously along with the silicone (00948-CHSML-HW) and trim gasket (00948-CHSML).

OEM parts for the win.

I did email my concerns to @tacomalifestyle about their third brake light not being waterproof and the nut posts being too short making the install more complex that it should be and got a response of "thanks, we'll take that into consideration." So much for customer service these days.

 

I had a different experience. Mine does not have the gaps that yours has. Mine was very minor and I sealed it up with black rtv sealant on the outside. I used sealant around the edges before I put the trim on and then on the trim itself where the minor gaps were. Hopefully I won’t have any leaking issues.

 

I attempted to have the 3rd brake light recall work done. Dealer (Hawaii) informed me that I am responsible for removing my camper shell so that the tech has easy access. They refused to work from the sides to access the 3rd brake light. The shell was put on with a forklift, so how to they expect me to remove the shell myself. Dealer also would not give me the recall kit to replace the gasket myself.

 

You used to be able to buy the gasket kit via Walmart from Fred Haas Toyota out of Texas, but they appear to be sold out. (00948-CHSML)
If I were you I'd pick up a tube of permatex black silicone about $5 and run a small bead around the existing light you have. The 00948-CHSML trim gasket really doesn't do much except cover the silicone.

 

Same everywhere my friend. I don't blame them, with the amount of whining online about leaking caps I'm not surprised Toyota doesn't want to step in that particular pile.

Call a friend, my neighbour and I took off my cap, and then put it back on after it was done. It's a one beer job.

 

Got it. This will be a diy job. Simple enough. Thanks.

 

Welp, it happened to me.

The inside of the truck has always smelled when the temp gets high. Always thought the owner before me had left the windows down or sunroof opened. I have used quite a few air fresheners but they only temporarily mask the smell. After seeing the issues on TW with the light, I decided it was time to do some investigating. Took the truck through the car wash last night and its when I discovered water literally poring into the cab. I have to believe there is mold or mildew under the headliner. I opened the back seat and I can see water residue all down it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT8KAccJAMo

 

Question, I was over thinking as I do most things.

I have a Prinsu roof rack installed. Will Toyota try to say that the brake light isnt causing the issue and that it is the roof rack? Just wanting to know what I am getting into before things could get ugly.

 

Took the truck in for the brake light fix this morning. Upon inspection, we found the inevitable. The whole interior needs to be gutted and cleaned. ServePRO will be the one doing the sanitizing. This includes headliner, all four seat, center console, dash board and carpet on the floor. Dealership put me in a rental Tacoma, could be up to 3 months they said. Pretty wild stuff.

 

Are they replacing the carpet and headliner I would hope instead of sanitizing ?
They ripped mine out for new.

 

I suppose I did a poor job explaining. Parts will be replaced. Remaining will be sanitized. What exactly those are remains to be seen as we don’t really know how bad.

 

Nice having a brand new smelling 2016 with new carpet, headliner etc. isn't it ?
I'm going to replace the weathertech mats I had in there just to complete it.

 

I had the same issue here in SoCal. I had a couple friends help me take my shell off. It’s currently sitting on some carpet in my driveway. Turns out my 3rd brake light housing is broken. Was told the part is on national back order with no date in sight. Until they call, I’m living without my shell. Several times already I’ve forgotten to remove my golf clubs…luckily they haven’t been stolen!

 

Literally sitting at a dealership now re something else when service advisor tells me about the recall. It’s 2022… weird that I’m just hearing about this from 2021. Technically, it isn’t a recall not from anything that I’m reading. Toyota themselves are not calling this a recall. I’ve input my VIN into various recall sites and nothing populates. It’s more of a service advisement. We don’t get a lot of rain in AZ and I don’t run my vehicle through a lot of washes, but since I’m here and it’s free…let them think they’re doing me some grandiose favor.

 

Update,

It's been over 45 days since I submitted the required documents (50 to be exact) and I hadn't heard back, so I called this morning. Toyota said my eBay receipt for the third brake light wasn't a valid receipt and that I didn't submit proper documentation showing vehicle ownership even though their recall letter states a copy of the letter would suffice.

I resubmitted a copy of my registration showing ownership and a copy of my banks credit card statement showing the eBay third brake light purchase and I received a standard response of we'll get back to you in 45 days or you can contact us.

I called them back this afternoon and now they're saying it takes up to three business days to review the most recent uploaded documents.

Fine, I'll call again next week.