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Customer Support Program 20TE08 (Water in taillights)

Discussion in 'Prius c Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Leadfoot J. McCoalroller, Jan 5, 2021.

  1. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    Today I received a letter from Toyota USA notifying me that there is a support program in place for "certain 2018 model year Prius c vehicles."

    The gist of it is that the taillight housings may develop small cracks at the lowermost, innermost corners, and these cracks may allow water intrusion.

    If this happens within 10 years of the date of first use of the car, Toyota will cover the cost of installing new taillight housings. It also says they may reimburse owners who have spent money on this problem already.

    Our car has no problem yet, just sharing the details of the letter for others.
     
    #1 Leadfoot J. McCoalroller, Jan 5, 2021
    minkus, RobAustin, skayaks and 2 others like this.
  2. Sonic_TH

    Sonic_TH Active Member

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    Thank you for sharing, my 2012 Prius C have already cracks on the tail lights, but they are internal for now. Since i'm from Puerto Rico i don't know if the support program works here.
     
    #2 Sonic_TH, Jan 10, 2021
  3. HiC

    HiC Junior Member

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    Right taillight on 2014 C lets in water. Have not seen any letter yet.
     
    #3 HiC, Jan 10, 2021
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  4. cutter44

    cutter44 Member

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    Hmmm...."certain 2018 model year Prius c vehicles."

    Ha! I've read about this issue for models going back to 2012, including mine which I've already replaced (the taillights, not the car).
     
    #4 cutter44, Jan 16, 2021
  5. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    Yeah I don't know how they're doing this- maybe different program codes for different model years?

    Probably worth calling your dealer in reference to this one, offer up your VIN and see if there's a similar program for yours. They might buy your receipts?
     
    #5 Leadfoot J. McCoalroller, Jan 16, 2021
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    toyota cannot figure out how to seal tail lights. it's amazing
     
    #6 bisco, Jan 16, 2021
  7. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    Parts like that are frequently outsourced. It's a relatively common problem overall- one of the few problems we ever had with the old Hyundai was... water intrusion through a molded lamp assembly. Come to think of it my old Subaru also had an illuminated aquarium on the back for years without impeding performance.

    Wouldn't be shocked if all those lamps came out of the same plastic molding factory.

    I like that Toyota is covering at least some remedies here. The leak on the Hyundai cost me over $100 to fix and they never did anything for me.
     
    #7 Leadfoot J. McCoalroller, Jan 16, 2021
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    that's all i've read about since joining up here, 16 years of water in the tail lights. i've never had it in any of the 30-40 cars i've owned, including 8 toyota's.

    it's always nice when a mfg covers defects after warranty, but is not always the case
     
    #8 bisco, Jan 16, 2021
  9. cutter44

    cutter44 Member

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    And I've never seen it in the 20 or so cars I've owned over the years. Until it happened in this one.
     
    #9 cutter44, Jan 16, 2021
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  10. RobAustin

    RobAustin Member

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    My 2012 Prius C tail-light (passanger side) filled with water 4 or 5 years ago.
    Last summer I replaced with OEM. $75 each

    Now I see that Toyota is running a Customer Support Program Water in taillights. Might worth a phone call to Toyota...
     
    #10 RobAustin, Jan 18, 2021
  11. mayfly

    mayfly Junior Member

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    mine were replace in 2016 due to leaks and now are leaking again. .. I wonder if they will still warrant my 2012 - hasn't been 10 years as of yet
     
    #11 mayfly, Feb 8, 2021
  12. minkus

    minkus Active Member

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    Just called Toyota about water accumulating in my 2012 C Two tail lights. They said there's no active customer support program for them, and recommended I take it to a dealership to diagnose. Yeah right.
    I'm gonna try sealing the inside edge with clear silicone caulk like in this video: 2013 Prius C backup light full of water 2 - YouTube
    If that doesn't work, I'll seal all around.
    If that doesn't work, I'll just drill a hole in the bottom.
     
    #12 minkus, Jun 29, 2021
    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller likes this.
  13. minkus

    minkus Active Member

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    Update: In mid-July I sealed the tail lights (top and most of the way down each side) with clear caulk. The leak seems to have been fixed, for now at least. If it happens again, I'll inspect the seal for holes and re-patch it.
     
    #13 minkus, Sep 15, 2021
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