LED Tail Light Burned Out - Repair or Replace?

My buddy was following me a while back and said one of the LED bulbs in my left tail light was not on. I checked it later and it was working so I thought maybe he was just messing with me. Today, when I left work, I was walking around the back of my truck and noticed the bulb is indeed out.

Can I somehow replace the little bulb? Can it be taken apart and soldered? Does the whole assembly get replaced because it is built in to the tail light housing? I'm still under warranty, but I'm a good 4 hours from the dealership. If I can fix it quickly myself, I'll go that route.

 

Risk vs. reward sounds like you should just buy a new one. These headlights are sealed and unsealing them makes it fill full of condensation, (I would think).

Also, its just one, looks fine to me.

 

Anything is fixable. Would be open the sealed houseing, get to the pcb the leds are on, get replacement, solder in, reseal houseing.. but like @Hondah said "Risk vs Reward"
-You dont know the led intill you take it apart
-You might have condensation inside the houseing after you re seal it
-Risk breaking or damaging during repair

A replacement might be the way to go, if it bothers you that much.
I am a stickler for details but I would warranty it, if applicable

 

I have this problem on my truck as well. Sometimes the light is out sometimes it is not. I just ignore it. The rest still work when I hit the brakes.

 

THIS. Your truck is only 3 years old, right?
Call the dealership and see if they can get a replacement and then you're all done.

Chances are the solder joint may have gotten broken/gone bad or possibly the LED just simply died. Don't believe the claims about 50,000 hours of life for LEDs. They test them to about 10,000 hours in enclosed environmental chambers at high temps and based on the response, create a curve of projected lifetime but not on 100% of the time and only under "average" temps. Think about it this way: If the product keeps 70% of it's luminance for 5,000 hours 24/7, a manufacturer can claim 50,000 hours -but only being actually "on" for 10% of the time. All light sources (LED, CFL, Edison bulb, Halogen, etc.) dim because the byproduct of photons (light) is heat and heat is the primary killer of these devices.

The older vehicles are that have LEDs the more often you'll notice one LED out in an array which could be for many reasons but they are all dimming -at a slow rate- over the course of their lifetime. Also if the resistance of the LED or inline resistor changes it can cook itself and go out quicker.

Sorry for the long winded reply. I work for a semiconductor company that manufactures LED products... which I'll be headed to in a little while to talk to clients about this same type of thing all day.

Contact a dealership if it bothers you enough. The rest of the LEDs in your tail light will probably work for years and server their function but fixing it yourself? Almost guaranteed not worth the effort for one diode.

 

I wonder if they'd be willing to ship it to you even if on your dime..worth a try

 

I just called dealership. They're claiming it wouldn't be warrantied because it is a bulb and bulbs wear out like tires and belts. I cried BS and said I'd understand if it was a bulb I could remove and replace. I called warranty co. (bought extra 100k platinum warranty) and they say the dealership has to diagnose the problem and send them a repair estimate before they can decide if they'd cover it. Dealership says I have to come in so they can do that. I guess emailing a pic isn't the same as seeing it with their own eyes. Jeepers.

 

I remember I did this one time and had them diagnose my rear taillight because it had a short. I did this partly because the old man was giving me shit and said he would front the bill as it wasn't under warranty either. Wound up with new turn signal bulb that would go out after one use when the truck was on (yes the one you can replace for 2 bucks) and a $280 bill. I told them this would not work...they said it would be additional money to invest to fix it further than that.

Honestly man, I know once you see something like this it will bug you forever, but it does the job and then some. I would try another dealership and see if they say the same bullshit. Then put out a WTB taillight, you might be surprised that someone might have one. After retrofitting my headlights and sealing them, its not bad to do, but would suck if you tore it apart and couldn't get the LED to be swapped out.

Moral of the story, just bought a new taillight and called it that.

Coot

 

You should be able to use the ExtraCare at any registered repair facility, not just a Toyota dealership. Got a good garage around that would make the call for you?

 

That would be to EASY!

They want you to come in so they can attempt to find any excuse to charge you something. Annoying that the "inspection" will take 2 seconds but you'll still lose at least an hour of your day...

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

Just read through the fine print on the service contract. Says they cover switches, harnesses, and relays but nothing aboutLED bulbs. I'll swing in this weekend just to make them look at it but I'm ready for rejection.

I'd leave it but I don't like giving the police an excuse to pull me over. It would be a major leap, but they technically could claim a bulb is out.

 

Man, I would be seriously pissed if a cop pulled me over for a single LED in an ARRAY out. That's hardly an equipment violation but I get it anal cops be anal.
You have one out of 10 gone so it's still going to signal to drivers "look out, slowing down/stopping here".
You have redundancy in your tail light which would be the same thing as having 10 old school incandescent bulbs. One goes out, you have 9 left merrily doing their job.

Therein though lies the inherent issue with LEDs used this way: If one goes out there's no practical way to fix it without possibly breaking the whole damn thing in the process.
I really like LEDs for different reasons but on the other hand I also like how on my '06 I can pull the old bulb if it goes out or simply replace it WITH a little tiny LED cluster.

Hoping that you get a complete new unit but if they refuse to budge, you then have the opprotunity to upgrade...!

 

I had the same thing on my headlights before the recall.so called Toyota Platinum warranty didn't want to pay.go in,bitch,raise hell,threaten to make a scene with every local news outlet.they'll fix them.

 

It's a single LED out on a housing. The police probably won't notice, and that doesn't violate any laws either way.

You can buy a set of taillights for $80, which is cheap money compared to a 4 hour drive to a dealership to be declined. Lighting is a disposable item.

 

It's a diode, not a bulb. They would cover any other diode that stopped working, why should this one be excluded because it emits light?


From the warranty booklet:
If the dealership does not address your
concern to your satisfaction, call the
Toyota Customer Experience Center at
(800) 331-4331.
Please have the following information
ready when you call:
• Your Toyota’s vehicle identification
number (located on the driver’s side
corner of the dashboard, under the
window)
• Current mileage on your vehicle
• Name of your Toyota dealership
A Toyota customer relations representative
will assist you in working with the
dealership to find a satisfactory solution.

 

Depot LED Tacoma taillights are a nice aftermarket replacement. I had a broken one and got a new set , so they match. About $130 on ebay. If you dont get any help from Dealer

 

I managed to get to a dealership yesterday. They wrote up a work order and sent it in to the warranty co. They denied me stating the warranty doesn't cover any "lighting." I tried to argue the bulb vs led thing and they said both fall under "lighting." Dealership said $285 to fix it. I asked for my keys and left.

I'm half tempted to convert to an older all incandescent unit since I've never really thought the led circles fit in (only leds on the whole truck). Anyone know if this can be done? What would work and how do you deal with the electrical plug for the led unit?

 

I actually have a busted up left side tail light. Besides the plastic it is perfect. If you are up for removing the plastic on yours and putting it on mine you can have the sucker.

Coot

 

If you go this route I'd be interested in the passenger side!

 

Dude fuck that, call Toyota Corporate. So just because its a tail light its not covered under warranty? If the bulbs behind the instrument panel go out are those on you as well because they are bulbs? Side note, I had an "extended electrical warranty" that didn't cover the radio when it died. I told Toyota Corporate that the warranty wasn't meeting my needs and they ended up paying me back the price I paid for the warranty.

Also, I've never been impressed with aftermarket tail lights. The lens plastic seems to be "softer" and shows swirl marks way more than the OEM units.