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

a new gasket would work. You can get a thicker one on eBay for $10 last time I checked. Just not sure how thick it is. Just says it’s thicker. It’ll take a little more time to make sure both surfaces are clean, but that’s the rout I plan on going if/when mine leaks again

 

Found this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/3rd-Third-...With-16-19-Toyota-Tacoma-Pickup-/264776171179

I think this along with some aircraft grade sealant will do the job.
Saw your write up here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...rake-light-thread.558122/page-4#post-23417843

Should be helpful. Thanks for your response!

 

How do I contact you? They want $695 to fix the leak.

 

Wasnt this a Double cab problem mainly? I have an AC so wondering if i need to do any preventative maintenance

 

I just purchased a 2017 Tacoma XSP and took it thru tha car wask and wayer leaking through the 3rd brake light...what do I do?

 

I just ordered a after market gasket for my 3rd brake light (leaking) can anyone tell me exactly how to replace this gasket. 2017 crew cab. People say remove the headliner, but not detailing how to get this done. Thanks in advance.

 

I had the same problem on my 2017 Off-Road, took it to the dealer and said $500.00 "WHAT"???
No way was i going to pay that for them to replace the light that leaks - don't you think it should have been a warranty claim?
So i went to Home Depot and picked up GE 100% waterproof silicone (77027 00500 UPC).
The light bolt/nut must have come loose or was never tighten all the way causing a loose seal big enough for me to be able to insert a credit card on the right side. I pried it back and used the tube of GE clear silicone all the way around the seal - actually I squeezed a lot within the light, after it drier; I went over it on the outside of it with my finger with the same sealant accept "black" - so far "LEAK PROOF" for under $10.00...

https://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-Adva...one-Sealant-Caulk-Squeeze-GE500-3TG/100179996

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Silicone-2-Kitchen-Bath-Caulk-GE284-Clear-2-8-oz/19902080

 

Just noticed the dreaded 3rd brake light leak on my 16 the other day. Had just got home from a 2 day business trip in which I had a rental car. Got home to a power outage at the house and a rain storm, went to grab something out of the back seat of the truck and noticed right off the bat the seat was soaked and the water was coming from the brake light. Called my local dealer as I have the 10yr/100k warranty (only applies to mechanical I guess but worth a shot you know) plus I had read about the TSB so was hoping it would just get covered and fixed. Oh and I had pulled up the seats and such to see a ton of mold on my seats and seat covers (which I like a bonehead forgot to take pictures of and the dealer cleaned some of unfortunately so now it doesn't look as bad). Anyways they were super cool and said that the TSB and my warranty doesn't cover the repair but that they'd just eat the cost of the fix and said to call corp in regards to getting the mold cleaned and damage fixed. So just spoke with Toyota corp, Extended warranty dept and toyota customer satisfaction team and the only thing I got was get the dealer to do an estimate for repair of all the damage. So hopefully I'll get them to do that and then just go from there. If not my company's work benefits package has a "legal plan" and I'll just get a lawyer to write a letter because like one of the previous posters has said this is a "product liability" issue, same as if toyota had designed a vehicle where there was an ungrounded wire that caused you to get shocked every time you touched the vehicle you know and my father in law's a lawyer so hopefully he can help in a pinch. Either way as long as the repair happens (which the dealer said they'd cover) and the truck gets cleaned and is free of mold and moisture then I'll be happy, I'll be super stoked if I get a new back seat cover out of this but will just be happy to have a dry and mold free vehicle. My biggest advice/take aways from this so far is this (like previous poster said) "product liability", a health hazard and if all else fails contact a lawyer, Toyota would rather fork out a small amount of cash to fix this than cash to the legal team to fight something as stupid as a couple grand at most id believe repair bill, esp since they've already admitted it's a design flaw with the issuance of a TSB. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to me and good luck yall, I'll post my results when I go back into the dealer. Also wanna give some cred to Malloy Toyota in Winchester, VA esp Matt Bell in the service dept as he was the one who got the dealership to cover the repair. Take care yall!

 

Caught my leak when it first started. Early august when we had 7inches I’d rain! Noticed a drip down my rear window... folded down the rear seats and only found a couple droplets. Stuck my hand under the carpet and it be dry.... installed revised 3rd brake light assembly .... case closed

 

Luckily I live in Southern California (where it almost never rains) and caught it after washing the truck. I did the install myself one saturday morning.

 

I just figured out my leak the other day... accidently broke the 3rd bike light when trying to get it of (didn't know u had to undo bolts from inside the cab under the liner lol) its a learning process... Toyota wants almost $220 for the light assembly itself... got me fucked up.. anyone know where I can get the part... ordered one off ebay it said it was capable with my truck... yea not it was too small ugh

 

I bought mine on-line for about $125. It happened to be from my local dealer, so I went in to pick it up, but the on-line price was much cheaper than the walk-in price. Check dealers on-line by searching for the part number. You should get a much better price, even if you have to get it shipped.

 

Shop around online, usually can find a Toyota dealer that sells cheaper online than in store ....

 

I'm going through this right now myself, I didn't even realize mine was leaking! I was having an upgrade dash cam install and the tech came and got me and showed the damage! , I contacted the Dealer the next morning, my truck has 62500 mileage on 2016! They wanted 100.00 to do a diagnostic? Really, you can look at it and tell it's leaking, then they wanted another 600.00 to 700.00 to make the repair!, not this time I told them it was a rip off I would replace it myself. I do think I'm gonna contact Toyota Corporate about it!

 

This is 100% Correct! When I upgraded my Stereo to the Entune Premium I had to have the Center panel with the larger hole. Dealer wanted 400.00, MSRP was 260.00 I think, I got it from a Toyota Dealer online for 236.00

 

This is my fourth Toyota, had a 91 tacoma King Cab, 22RE, 93 T100 3.0 V6 loved the truck, but engine was undersized
95 Tacoma King Cab 4x4 5VZRE V6 Absolute best truck I've every owned second to the 91 Tacoma, this truck had 276000 miles on it when I traded it in on the 2016 Tacoma, and it still went 6000 miles between oil changes and didn't leak a drop, but maintaining it was getting expensive
Enter the 2016 Tacoma 4x4 SR5 I call it Bagheera, this is also the first Tacoma I lifted, actually a level lift, but I love it.

 

reviving this thread. interesting info. what are the chances of any repair from toyota corporate if it is an access cab sr5 (2017) with about 69k miles and the third brake light is aftermarket? could one claim to have installed an aftermarket after noticing leakage? could one not mention the aftermarket third brake light possibly get them to cover the repair cost that way? what kind of advice can one give in this situation? stain on headliner. not sure if there is a smell. i have a professional detailer that i can get to remove the mold for a couple of hundred bucks and i suppose repairing it myself but if i can get it done by toyota free of cost to me that would be much more ideal. also still have stock third brake light i could replace on truck before taking in for fix if i am successful

 

I would like to add that I am also having a leak issue from my 3rd brake light. I have created a case with the Toyota corporate office and have an appointment next week for a diagnosis. I really hope that this turns out alright. The dealership explained that just replacing the rear light will be $700 and the headliner is $1,200 for the part alone.

Details:
2017 TRDOR DCSB with 84K

 

Oh dear, I did get my replacement approved at my local dealer after contacting their General Manager since I bought the truck there and have maintained it there it’s entire life. Well out of warranty at 70,000 miles at the time but brought up that it’s a known issue and Toyota has been largely unhelpful with the issue.

That said, they just dropped the headliner and replaced the light and put the liner back up, that part was not replaced. It’s also black so if there is something in it, I probably couldn’t see it but it didn’t appear to be moldy. I did have some mildew on the towels that were behind my seat but it seemed the carpet was fine so I may have gotten lucky.

They did quote the light at about the same price parts plus labor, labor being most of it since it has to be swapped with bolts on the inside (so dumb! For Double Cabs).

Hopefully Toyota will help you out. Very much a problem on 2015-2017 built 3rd gens. Mine was built October, 2015.

 

If you guys can do this yourself, you'd come out so much cheaper. the only difference in the "new" light is a thicker gasket. I ordered a new gasket off ebay for $10. I, however talked my self out of replacing since it looks to be a headache and time consuming. I just ended up getting some good sealant and putting it around the light. Haven't had anymore leaking.