Third Brake Light

I am so mad! I received a recall for the third brake light, the light above the back window, stating that if it’s leaking, then Toyota was going to replace it. So, I took it in today and they come back and tell me that since it didn’t have any organic matter in behind it from leaking that Toyota would not cover it under the recall. What the hell kind of sense does that make? The fact of the matter is it’s leaking. Why would it have to have mold or some organic matter behind it to prove that it was leaking? I will be writing a letter to Toyota for sure cause that is just BS in my opinion! Anyone else ever have a recall issue like that this? I talked to the service advisor and asked him if I could just put a bit of silicone around it to stop the leaking, but he said that if it ever had to come off, it might strip the paint off the truck so it might better try putting it on the inside somehow because you can pull it away a little bit and it’s not supposed to do that.
They wanted to charge me $500 to replace it and I refused!

 

It's a TSB (technical service bulletin) not a recall.

That's pretty much the fix. The dealer puts a bead of silicone around the outside edge of the light and this black trim ring.

There's a new light with a different part number. It's probably in this thread below posted somewhere. Toyota just added a thicker foam gasket to the back of the light. It's up to you if you want to replace it yourself or try another dealer.

You have to pull the headliner down to access the 2 bolts holding the lamp. It's a royal pain to replace the light.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-brake-light-safety-recall.732883/page-28#post-29704621


Here's a video showing how to replace the light.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti8Syz-MXyI

 

It is a free replacement not matter what. The dealership told me that they rarely see this problem but if i want it done bring it in. but i'd have to take my lonepeak camper off so that didn't happen. i just used lexel silicone and called it a day