Your Toyota Tacoma third brake light leaking and causing mold? There’s a free fix

CHARLOTTE — Some Toyota Tacoma owners say they’re having water and mold issues with their trucks. One man even says the mold made him sick.

Jeff Ballard drives a 2016 Toyota Tacoma.

“I was feeling ill, shortness of breath … couldn’t get rid of a cough,” Ballard told Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke. “I went through a rough spell. I don’t want anybody else to go through it.”

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Ballard says he took the truck to a dealership for maintenance last year. The repair person noticed the third brake light was not sealed well and that it was causing mold in the truck.

“It was black. Solid black,” Ballard said.

“I’ve had my kids in the car. I’ve had my grandkids in the car, and when I look at my little 3-year-old granddaughter’s face, I just pray to God that I didn’t do anything or expose her to something when she was riding in Papaw’s truck,” he told Stoogenke. “And I don’t want somebody else to look at their granddaughter or their kids and go, ‘Did I do something to you because of what’s in this car?’”

Stoogenke found similar complaints online.

In 2018, Toyota issued a technical service bulletin for certain 2016-2018 Tacomas. It tells dealers about the problem and how to fix it.

Last year, the company issued a “limited service campaign.” This is not the same as a recall, but it is a free fix.

The service covers certain 2016-2019 Tacomas and says if you have one with a third brake light that leaks, the dealer will fix the light and clean up any mold for free until 2025.

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Advice from Action 9, no matter what you drive:

- Most of the time car insurance will not cover mold clean up, but the car warranty might.

- If your car is still under warranty, the dealer should fix whatever is causing the leak and, depending on the warranty, may even clean the mold and replace the fabric or carpets if necessary.

- Be sure to change the cabin air filter in your car on a regular basis.

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