water leak issue :(

[Tom Slick]

Anyone else out there have a '14 1500 Big Horn crew cab loaded-up with options 4x4 with a water leak issue ? Just returned from a trip down south, where my truck was parked outside overnite in some fairly heavy rain. Got in the next day & the rear passenger seat bun was WET, as was the headliner in the passenger rear corner. This was a factory official, lease turn-in, certified truck that I bought a year ago with 26,000+ miles. It now has 36,000 miles. I was NONE TOO HAPPY, since it had NEVER leaked before & called the selling dealer service manager from down south, to see: a) what caused the water infiltration ?, b) what should I do about it ?, and c) was the repair needed covered under the extended warranty that I purchased when I bought the truck ?? His answers were: a) probably was the 3rd brake light, water has been known to get in around there in a rain. I asked if it could be coming in around the seam where the roof & sides of the truck joined together ? He told me that he'd only seen ONE truck of this gen that had leaked there, all the rest were around the roof-mount brake light. I thought it sounded like a design flaw to me, letting water leak into the cab in a rain storm. b) He suggested putting duck tape around the 3rd brake light until I got back to Mich. & could have the problem addressed. I told him I'd ALREADY done that ( after I dried the interior out with fans & hairdryer !! ) & I also taped the entire roof seam on BOTH sides, just to make sure that sucker DIDN'T leak ! c) turns out that this issue WASN'T covered under my extended warranty ( supposedly ). And even if it was, I have a $ 100.00 deductible on any repairs. So, after replacing the entire brake light housing for under $ 70.00, I'm back at it. I think this is a design flaw that FCA ought to re-engineer & cover the repair costs of the trucks out there that have this issue.

 

[JB1]

It’s an easy fix that you can do yourself for about $10, if your headliner or seat is stained that’s another issue

http://www.ramforum.com/threads/leaky-brake-light-fixed.91885/

 

[mohemipar]

Unfortunately this is something that has been happening for years and they never fixed. It seems the adhesive that makes the seal isn't thick enough and can dry out/crack and, yeah. Lets hope they FINALLY fixed it on the new 5th gen. All the big three brands have had trouble with some trucks having roof leaks. Be it the third brake, sun roof, roof seams, you name it.

First "mod" I did to my 2500 was the fix posted by JB1. The truck is never garaged (can't really fit in the garage) and I have never had a drop of water enter the cab. Through sheets of torrential rain and a foot of snow/ice sitting on the truck, etc.

 

[chrisbh17]

FWIW when my '17 leaked after having it for a month, I let the dealer handle it (supposedly fixed the seal and cleaned up the headliner as well)

Before I brought it in, though, I removed the third brake light and noticed a couple things:

1. The left side of the light stuck out a bit further than the right. The seal was nicely compressed on the right side, but not compressed as much on the left

2. When I went to reinstall the brake light, the left side screw felt like it bottomed out on something before it could be tight enough to compress the seal.

Moral of the story is I bet shortening the screw would have allowed me to tighten it enough to actually seal better. What the dealer did to fix it Im not sure (Im afraid to look and find out they just RTVed the whole thing on lol) but it hasnt leaked since and there have been some pretty heavy, windy rain storms.

 

[jasonw]

FCA did actually do something to fix it... they made the seals thicker. Earlier part # revisions of the 3rd brake light had thinner, weaker seals. I bought the latest revision brake light (55372082AF) on eBay for just under $16, and when it came, compared it to my original. Much thicker. My old one was 55372082AB or 55372082AC, cannot remember.

Some fix it with RTV, and the official dealership fix is usually just that. However, I wanted something less "messy" if I ever had to change bulbs. Here is a thread (not mine) from 2016 comparing the old seal and the new seal.
http://www.ramforum.com/threads/replaced-3rd-brake-light-due-to-water-leak.90673/

Funny note: when I went to preemptively replace my father's 2015 Ram's third brake light (no reported leaks or anything yet) with the newer part as well, he already had it. So some dealerships may have already taken care of it this way.

 

[mohemipar]

What the dealer did to fix it Im not sure (Im afraid to look and find out they just RTVed the whole thing on lol) but it hasnt leaked since and there have been some pretty heavy, windy rain storms.

I believe the dealer fix is to spread some Mopar RTV silicone adhesive around the existing seal and reinstall.

Jason beat me lol.

FCA did actually do something to fix it... they made the seals thicker. Earlier part # revisions of the 3rd brake light had thinner, weaker seals. I bought the latest revision brake light (55372082AF) on eBay for just under $16, and when it came, compared it to my original. Much thicker. My old one was 55372082AB or 55372082AC, cannot remember

I remember reading about this when I got my 2500. I still replaced the seal out of peace of mind. Didn't want to test it.

 

[jasonw]

I remember reading about this when I got my 2500. I still replaced the seal out of peace of mind. Didn't want to test it.

Nothing wrong with that. That is my plan B if the newer part revision ever leaks, a thicker seal from a hardware store. But so far no leaks. Mine is usually garaged, but has seen her fair share of rain driving. She is occasionally been parked at the airport during work trips, and once last winter saw over a foot of snow or so piled on (multiple snow storms while I was in San Francisco). Parked her in my insulated garage at home, where it all melted. No leaks.

She also now sits outside at my new job. Old job had a parking garage, new job does not. So she will experience the brunt of weather events now. So far so good.

 

[JB1]

I changed it on my 2017 before it leaked. That revised gasket was nothing compared to the weatherstrip I replaced it with.

 

[-B-]

happens on all the brands