Meso Customs, what's the deal?

I have a love hate relationship with Meso Customs products. I generally like the form, function, and finish. I find pricing to not be super crazy for what you're getting.

Except on some things it seems the failure rate is pretty high.

I've had to warranty my v5 switchback mirror lights as well as both of my puddle lights. One being Morimoto OEM, the other Vleds OEM, both being a Meso product. I'm sure they're bound to fail again, so I guess I'm just SOL once the 1 year warranty is up?

I've seen other people ditching meso products due to failure as well. What gives?

I have both Morimoto and vled products separately as well and no failures, only the meso products have failed. Is it just coincidence? Is he opting for lower quality to meet certain prices?

 

I also had one of my puddle lights and one of the V5’s warrantied and replaced. The puddle light was after the VLEDs partnership and was with the MESO markings. A few diodes went out then the pod died completely. I replaced with VLEDs but I also received a replacement from MESO. So far the VLEDs are holding up well.

The V5’s had three white diodes dead from the get-go when I finally had it connected with the puddles for DRL function. It got replaced and no issues since then, going good for two years now!

 

What actually changed when you connect them together? I have them both installed separately and couldn't figure out what difference it would make, or how I would even connect them together in the first place

 

I kind of feel the same way. I've had two set of map lights go bad and now my dome is losing some leds.

 

Haven't bought anything from them since my map lights shit the bed and I got no response when trying to get them warrantied. there are plenty of other options for imported junk that solves non existent problems.

 

The DRL function of the V5 signals just comes on.

 

Meso’s design/development work leaves a lot to be desired. His rear cab 3rd twilight design using the KC round LED’s as an example are a mess. The alignment holes to screw the body onto the back of the tab it are misaligned and the 3rd light body doesn’t match the curved contour of the cab either so you have to use RTV to seal around the edges.

for the cost and the lead times, it’s basically prototype level work and either he farms out the development work and whoever is doing it sucks as a designer/engineer. And while I know he 3D prints a lot of his stuff, it’s just sub-par quality. No more Meso for me.

 

It’s boutique Tacoma accessories. Like the early map lights were good for the molded housing itself however the led boards were the same cheap shit you can find on eBay/Amazon. His later runs with custom circuit boards were good but for example the festoon base was incorrectly sized on the 2nd gen Tacoma version.

The products fill a niche market but large scale polished business it is not. They are more akin to enthusiast pieces. Some are good, some are not.

 

My 3rd gen Meso map and dome lights have been good enough that I bought another Meso dome light for my 4Runner.

As I understand the Meso-partnered exterior lights do have a high failure rate. I haven't bought any due to cost.

 

I can't complain. I have had a set of total tail stage 1 and V2 or 3 Mirror turn signals for 4 years without an issue. Got a set of puddle pods a few months ago and so far no issues. I have several of the interior trim parts, and love them. The stealth ect switch for the Pro shift knob has worked flawlessly for years.

 

I’ve had his dual colored map and dome lights for 2 years now, no issues.

 

I’ve had the v5 I think mirror lights in for a bit with no issues. The dome lights I got awhile back, one of them came with the cable not soldered in but I fixed that myself.

 

The current state of both my puddle pods lol

 

There’s a Me-So-So joke here somewhere but I’ll be damned if I…

 

Mine were a perfect fit the first time.

 

That's the same issue I had. VLEDs was better in my opinion.

 

My front and rear dome lights, mirror signals and LED tail lights have been good to go after a year and a half of use. Fortunately those are easy pieces to replace. I love the idea of the puddle lights as my last truck had them but the amount of work invested to install and questionable reliability made it a no-go for me.

If you think about the superior life span of factory sourced LEDs, it makes you question why some of us are bothering with aftermarket parts.

 

I've had a good experience and have been running the following for close to 4 years (and moved from old truck to new):

- Total Tail Stage 1
- Puddle Pods
- Smoked Mirror Turn Signals
- Map Lights
- Dome Lights

The only issues I've had are that the puddle pods housing has popped out a few times but I can't rule out that someone could have hit my mirror and caused problems. The other is that my dome light won't snap in all the way. However, I had to have my headliner replaced a while back and I don't think the piece that is having issues is part of what Meso sells. No LED/board problems so far.

It is hobbyist work to some extent but there are no alternatives to some of those products and as far as I know he's always delivered... unlike that one individual and their a pillar handles

 

I’d get in contact with him and allow him the opportunity to hear your concerns and make it right.

 

I think I bought my red Start button from them. It still works! And it's one of my favorite and most used mods.

PS: I try hard to avoid electrical system mods, just too many gremlins!