Rear Brake Lights Dim on 2004

Check simple things first, dusty bulbs, reseat in socket, then check ground connections. If you have a multi meter you could check the voltage at the socket. Have they ever been changed?

 

Most likely a bad ground. But if you don't know what a voltmeter IS.....you should take it to a shop.
Hopefully the fix will be easy (cheap).

One suggestion though: Test them at night when it's dark and be sure you are squarely lined up in the back and not looking at them from off to the side.

Some of them these days don't look too bright in the daylight.

Any chance that a previous owner had "blacked them out" ??

 

LEDs are bulbs......just a different kind.

Once you are sure that the lenses haven't been painted to make them darker, then you need to find the wires behind the lens assembly and trace them. Hopefully there will be a connector there where you can check the voltage and ground.

 

LEDs weren't stock on gen2. Inferior bulbs?

 

Center light 3rd brake light may be, but the bulbs certainly can be accessed in the trunk behind the two panels.

 

Tail light is a 2 filiment bulb. Running and brake light. Maybe you have after market tail lights.

 

How many times will one person repost wrong information despite being repeatedly corrected?

 

Thanks for the info. Live and learn. Saw 3 bulbs.

 

LEDs do go bad after a while. I have never heard of it on this car, but it's not impossible. Is there a way to pull the lights and bench test them with a known good supply?

LEDs are NOT bulbs, they are diodes, that is semiconductors. They could not be more different than an incandescent bulb. They function as diodes, allowing the current to only flow one way and having a junction voltage drop of some kind. As they get old the junction may become damaged and the voltage drop increases and light output decreases. I would look and see what kind of LEDs they are and if there is a way to replace just the bad LEDs instead of the whole light assembly. Some soldering may be necessary, but may very well be a DIY project.

 

There exist some posts from people who have done that.

 

Visit those connections again.
But it is NOT unusual for LEDs to become intermittent for a while right before they die completely.

Now that we know what you are dealing with, the only really good solution might be to replace the whole tail light assemblies.......because the LED strips probably are not available individually. I'm sure you won't like the price of new lens assemblies......if they are even available.
Looks like another "good idea" that turns out not to be so good after all.

Note: Have you noticed how many elements are "dark" in the great new LED traffic lights ??
Almost every one of them has 10% or more gone; some a lot more.

 

A mostly meaningless distinction, because most are now "packaged" in a bulb-like housing so they can be replaced when necessary.

The "engineers" made a BIG mistake with the original "non-user replaceable" designs.....when they WAY over-estimated the useful life......and/or the manufacturing quality.