2016 - 2017 Tacoma: Leaking 3rd Brake Light MOLD ISSUES

My 2017 Tacoma had a leaking 3rd brake light seal that let water into the passenger cabin undetected...this caused tons of mold to form under the carpet, in the headliner, and throughout the entire passenger cabin and A/C system.

If you own a 2016 - 2017 Tacoma, you may want to contact me. After a long fight, Toyota took very good care of me, but it took a lot of work to "convince" them.

Message me here if you want more info.

 

Lots of threads here about it already.

 

Thanks! Yeah, its a huge issue...HUGE.

 

This leaky brake light stuff.....does it only happen if the vehicle is parked outside and it always exposed to rain, or would one notice it right away if driving on a rainy day? Mine stays in a garage but it does get driven in the rain and I have noticed no leaking.

 

I dropped mine off maybe a month ago and they took care of it the same day, no issues

 

No. Mine happened while I was driving. You can probably look under your carpet and under your back seats...if you have a problem, you will see leak marks and maybe mold.

 

I only notice mine by luck after taking it through a car wash and it was only a minor leak. I had the rear seats folded down and noticed a line down the plastic. Had I had the seats up, I never would have saw it. I've had my truck for almost 2 years now and never noticed before

 

With mine, the mold had permeated the entire cabin. The Service Director told me that there was "an inch of mold" under the carpets all the way in the front seat floor. They told me that the mold had even found its way into the frame cement that adheres the frame together to certain body panels. They had to scrape the frame cement out and replace it. Then I searched online and found out how bad mold can be for kids...and I drive my kids around all the time in that truck...

 

I'm surprised Toyota even put up a fight; it's a very well-known issue.

 

I don't think the fight was fixing the leak. IT probably had to do with the whole truck full of mold. Bet OP may have even gotten a new one.

 

Speaking of, @TampaTaco4x4 what was the resolution from Toyota? Did you get a new truck?

 

How do you like my 2018 TRD Sport pictured in my avatar?

 

My wife had been telling me for sometime that inside my double cab 2017 tacoma, that it stunk...I told her
well it was a truck...Little that I knew that the 3rd brake light had been letting water leak in the cab for sometime..that stinch was from the mildew or mold ...
I was going to pickup some new glasses when pulled I up to the building it was pouring ...I keep my umbrella behind the headrest in the back of the cab..When I went to grab it ,it was soaking wet..Upon further inspection I discovered water pouring in, right on the back passenger headrest..Luckily if it were not for having my umbrella back there,I would still be driving the truck in that condition.
Even though my truck was a 17, I had 62,000 mile which put it out of warranty...I also found out that there is TSB....
The next morning I woke up , made a decision to get out the truck..I ended trading it in for an 2018 tacoma..
If anybody is reading these threads & you have a 16 or 17 tacoma it might be worth you while to check this 3rd brake light issue out.....

 

I had the same issue with my 2017 tacoma, water was pouring into my truck from leak in the third brake light. I didnt even notice it until one day when i was getting an umbrella out of my backseat storage in my driveway. The dealership says this issue is a known TSB as of September 12 2018 and impacts 2016-2018 Tacomas. They fixed the light and cleaned the carpet but I can still smell an odor at times. I recommend everyone to pour a glass of water over the third brake light and check if its leaking as Toyota will not inform you about this issue as its not an official recall yet.

 

They happily bought back my leaky moldy 17 and I replaced it with a cement 18 they also gave mea heckuva deal on my trade and the new purchse.

 

Awesome ! I should probably inquire about getting me a new one too!

 

Hi can you give me info on what they did on your Tacoma? What can they actually do about the mold and smell of mildew?? Thanks

 

Thanks for your post. I have a Tacoma that has the same problem. The smell in the truck is overwelling. My local dealer fixed the leak, but the smell is still there. The service Manager is giving us a lot of push back, saying that the smell is a result of a dog. The dog has not been in the truck for months, but the service manager still insists it is from the dog and not the leak.
If you could point us where to contact Toyota, we would appreciate it.

 

We had the same problem and they detailed our truck, after they fixed the leak on the middle brake light. It doesn’t smell as much.

 

Needing advice. Noticed my third brake light leaking very badly about a month ago. I called Toyota and they tell me they are not responsible to fix it. Am I not screaming loud enough?