Fix water leak on Chevy Malibu 2016-18 model - 3rd brake light leak
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- Опубліковано 24 сер 2024
- I made this video to help other Malibu owners fix the water leak caused by the 3rd break light.
Official GM extended coverage for this issue for cars under 6 years old or 72,000 miles. static.nhtsa.g...
Update: There are 4 bolts
Bolt size?
@@MrSonjay03 5/16
What state do you live in?😅 fix mine ill pay
Thank you so much for this video. I went to the dealership about the leak issue. They wanted $380 to repair. I said no thank you. Stopped by auto parts store for a 5\16" wrench. I tighten 2 of the 3 bolts. Took the car thru tue car wash. No more leaking. YEAH!!!
GM's answer to us was buy the hole new third light due to the gasket wasn't sealing the light...no thanks I'll just tighten the bolts 👍
Did the bolts stay tight?
@@PositivevibesT if you tighten the bolts too tight the studs will give way eventually and pull out of the plastic light assembly if not while you are tightening them. Trust me it has happened to many.
Pos en juarez no avia llovido y en estos tres dias ya llovio y vi q esta mojado el techo pero la luz esta quebrada mañana la quitare ,,gracias por tu video bro me salvastes
Btw anyone having trouble getting plastic clips out:
use a beer bottle opener, once you pry it enough to get it under there you can yank them out pretty easy.
The retaining clips require no turning
They yank out not unscrew?
Thank you
Man I like to thank you so much I've been dealing with the Chevy dealership for over three years and they couldn't figure it out. you just made my wife happy
You are welcome! By the way, Chevy came out with a recall notice, so they should fix it for free if you haven't fixed it yourself yet.
@@markeeuu soon as I watched your video I went out and fixed it. literally missing two nuts and the other two were loose enough to take them off with your fingers
@@pakmanlowbudget5599 Awesome! Which size bolts did you purchase? I’m having a hard time with that. I have 1 bolt missing and the other 3 were so loose!
This video was way more helpful than the dealership. I received a letter from chevrolet stating this brake light was an issue after finding a trunk of water. Took the letter to the dealership where they where going to charge me $300 just to assess if that really was the problem. I went to lowes and paid $3 and fixed it myself.
Great video! I wish I would have seen this before my trunk, rear seats and carpet was completely soaked after a heavy rain. Everything was replaced and fixed under warranty, but this type of flaws make me doubt to buy a Chevrolet again.
UA-cam
Mark, thanks for posting. I checked, my light is missing 2 bolts completely! I then saw your link, and luckily, I am still under the mileage for my 2017 Maulibu- thanks again for posting the GM link of the extended warranty- a life saver!!
Same here, no nuts at all on the bolts! Must have never been installed because they should still at least be there in the headliner after falling off.
totally awesome. I can't wait to go do this to mine. I went to the dealer and the guy told me to silicone the crap out of it, or hope for a hail storm to destroy it so it can be replaced. They were completely useless. I even talked to GM directly, useless as well, total waste of time. Thank you for posting this video!
@UA Services, LLC not yet, I'm having a really hard time getting those plugs in the headliner out. :(
Hi: there is another video that shows the same problem you are explaining, but it recommends to replace the original 5/16"0 nuts with 10/32" lock-nuts. Lock-nuts tends not to get loose due to vibration. Chevy's original nuts get loose due to vibration. Also, he suggested to apply some silicon around the 3-4 bolts, as well as, to the rubber gasket of the brake light
That's a good info as I'm having the same issue but I'll put silicon around the nuts & the rubbt.
Are they course or fine thread?
Haven’t quite read all the comments here. But I actually was searching for this topic in particular because just recently I noticed my 3rd brake light is cracked on both ends and one side is actually lifted up a tad bit. So I’m gonna need to replace this entire assembly. I’m gonna say mine just cracked on the ends over time because of the sun beating down on it and also vibration. But what I did wanna say is I noticed a lot of people saying they had really bad leaking problems due to this brake light coming loose from the nuts. But this is why I hate driving my car into car washes that go over the roof of your vehicle. Day to day vibrations and your usual drive-thru car wash will cause this problem for sure. Thanks for the video! Now I have an idea on what to do to replace mine!
Great video man
Just had the same issue on a 2017 I removed the 4 bolts removed the light put on some clear silicone all around put the bolts with lock washer 👍
Omg I’m having same issues it’s must be all Chevy Malibu wow and my daughter has same car and has same problem too
My 2016 Malibu was repaired at my local Checy dealership free of charge today. It's a know issue. They replaced the brake light and deep cleaned the headliner. Good as new. It's still covered if the warranty is up.
Man my dealership act like they never heard of it
Worked perfectly. Thank you!!!! I will add that I used a mirror to help me see the bolts and nuts so that way I didn’t have to pull too hard on the headliner. Worked like a charm
Thanks for the video. I was wondering why my back seats, floor and trunk was soaking wet. We had a bad storm yesterday and a pending hurricane on the way here in New Orleans. I’m tightening them today before more rain starts. Thanks a bunch.
Pulled mine back and was Missing two nuts. m5 nuts are replacement size
@@cykill9897 I have been having a hard time finding the correct size bolts/washers. My car is missing 1 bolt/washer and the the 3 were very loose! M5 is the size in bolt that I need to look for?
Update. After replacing all the loose and missing bolts with plastic lock nuts & washers. The car sat outside in 2 heavy rainstorms, No Leak. Problem solved. Thanks.
How many of us fell we should get a refund back from Chevy ? .. Btw thanks for the video. It’s a life saver
You are a life saver man! Thanks a ton for this video!
That NHTSA notice ONLY applies to 2016-17 models and NOT 2018 models. As I never received any letter from GM and I bought my 2018 new, but in 2019.
What everyone with this problem really need to do is , once you pull head liner out , remote lose nuts and go buy 10/32seconds lock nut 5/15 and replace them with those so they newer losen up again if you just tighten up original they will definitely come lose again and then running silicone bead around the nuts from outside and rubber seal will guarantee that will newer leak again
Thanks for posting the video, I thought the leak was coming around the back windshield
Thanks man, i got that issue too, and the agency want to charge me $300 for that fix, according to them, the work needed to uninstall all the ceiling and change a packing.
My leak is the chair behind the passenger side. I called the dealership and they told me its 150 to look at it. I can't afford that now but if the problem is those bolts that will not cost me at all and its something I can do myself. The leak is by that small window that is next to the bigger one. Will tighten those blots stop this leak.
Most likely it is. Check if the third break light moves up and down by pressing on the light from the outside. If the light moves a bit up and down, then the bolts are loose or maybe even missing. It's an easy fix.
Great help Mark!!,
Because of ur vid I know where to start.
My back seats and roof have been wet lately and haven't known why
Thanks for the video! Probably not buying GM cars again.
worked like a charm!!! trunk is dry dry dry.....a little tough to get to the nuts but its possible!!!
GM should've left the third brake light where it was; in the inside middle of the back window.
I just got a letter from GM. They are now doing this repair for free and reimbursing repair costs if you had it done already.
Hope this is true, haven't got a letter in yet but I checked and my cars missing 3 of the 4 bolts.
Do you have the letter
@@lisafleming1927 I got no letter but brought my vehicle to Chevy and they did fix it for free.
@@loud94 my light is cracked. I am positive one of the middle-two nuts came loose, and the light cracked. no leaks yet, thank god, but because of NO leaks, dealer wont warranty it as i am over 50K miles. Regardless, it's now cracked and I need to replace the lamp. :/
The nuts holding the light assembly on the steel studs should only be snug. Tighten them too much the metal studs will pull out of the plastic 3rd Brake Light assembly. They are all plastic. Better off taking the light assembly out and re-glue the gaskets. I also layed down some black Automotive RTV Silicone around the holes in the body the studs and line up plugs go through so the gaskets under the light while lightly tighten down would seat in position creating a seal so no matter how tight the nuts are they won’t pull out of the cheap plastic GM 3rd Brake Light that will cost you upwards of $100 for a replacement. Trust me I know. Mine was leaking and took it back to the Chevy Dealer and some idiot there tightened up on the nuts and 3 of them eventually pulled out of the light and I was out of warranty when I noticed it. Knowing cars myself I took it apart this time and worked on the light and glued back the 3 studs that pulled out and roughed up the area so it would give my Proseal Epoxy same as JB Weld some bite to hold the studs back in the light. So far so good but I made sure to tighten the nuts only a bit more then just snug. Not worth over doing it the Black RTV should keep the 3rd Brake Light in place. Saved a $100.
Thank you. I will give this a go when I get home. I'll update if it fixes my water leak issue
Thanks a lot for the video. I've had heavy rains lately and saw a leak in the back/top right of my trunk space. After one day of heavy rain it was enough to fill the spare wheel well. I suspect the water is getting in somewhere near the 3rd light so thanks. I'll be checking this out to see if I need to tighten some screws
That's what I was exactly looking for.
I really really appreciate your help,
bless.
Just bought a used 2017 and have stains in the head liner and it smells all musty. Called gm and they basically said tough shit.
They have a official extended coverage for the issue if your car is under 6 years or 72000 miles. static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/MC-10165439-9999.pdf
I got a letter in the mail from chevy stating that there was a problem. I took the letter to the dealership and they wanted to charge me 300 for an official diagnosis
@@markeeuu do you know if they are still offering this? I called my local Chevy dealer and they are telling me since it’s not under recall it won’t be covered
@@PositivevibesT I believe the recalls don't expire. I'd suggest you check Chevy's website for recalls or even call Chevy.
@@markeeuu thanks so much
Saved me a trip to the dealership! Thanks!
I wish I knew about this earlier. I have a stain now and I have two of these cars
Same
Mildew stain remover should fix it
Where can I order the 3rd brake light cover from in black?
Thanks Man! U just saved me like $300
Thank you I had a leak and 2 bolts were missing
As long as they've been building cars, you'd think that they'd catch problems like this.
I know. My headliner is fucked up from water damage
They knw its an issue I talked to multiple people from the service center about this issue and they said gm put a service bulletin that says to tighten those bolts down more. Well obviously somebody went crazy and tighten those bolts to tight cause Several cars are starting to come up with there brake lights cracked. Mine is completely split in half and my headliner is damaged from water
Just looked. Ours was doing the samething and growing mold. One side was loose, other side there was no nut!!!!!!
Wow smh I’m done with gm after this.
Mine is missing 2 nuts!
Thanks a mill. This post is Awesomeness
I found 1 nut missing and 2 loose. I replaced all 4 with nylon locking nuts. I'll see if it resolves the leaking after the next heavy rainfall.
what size nylon locking nuts did you use?
10-32
Just got done thank you for the video!
Bro i was about to replace my rear window ima try this first. $580 to replace before doing research,
Do I need to unplug the electric to that head light before doing anything or tightening it ???
Only disconnect it if you’re trying to add silicone. However, no need to disconnect it to tighten the bolts.
@@muffmcgruff8572 thank you, I’m also having issues getting the right nut locks. The 10/32 , 10/24 won’t fit and they’ve been out of the 5/16 originals too.
@@UnpredictableAri You’re welcome. I know what you mean. I’ve been in Home Depot as well as Auto Zone, trying to find bolts that fit. Lowe’s has more of a selection so that’s where I’m headed tomorrow. I figured if I take the 5/16 wrench into the store that I used to tighten the bolts, and remove a bolt from the vehicle, that should help me find the right fit. Hopefully! If so, I’ll let you know the size, brand, etc. 🤞🏽
El mío también lo boto por hay lo probé le Heche agua y al momento se boto para adentro del carro y me doy cuenta que los tornillos estaban flojos
5 stars my friend
Thank you very much for this
I have to replace my brake light completely.. I read that you need a gasket but I can’t find it anywhere. Do you know where I can find it? The part on Amazon doesn’t come with it I guess.
What year do you have ..I need to change mine also ..and I have no clue how to
Hello do you know how to change the 3 brake light cover?
I love you man
You help me so much thank you 😊
Good video, thanks!
What size are the bolts?
Damn, wish I’d have seen this before I paid to have my window resealed which was not the actual issue.
Thank you
Hey I have a water leak issue too. Quick question did you find that the headliner around the rear reading light was wet?
hi, not on my case. I found out there was a leak when the back seat on the driver's side was wet. I started looking around and noticed the 3rd brake light was loose
Thank you 🙏
Transliterates please I Russian , есть ли у твоих знакомых ,стук когда трогаешься на Chevy Malibu? Как устранить?
I’m having the same problem on my 17 LT. It’s not the nuts that worked loose. There’s a little black nub that seems to have come loose. So only the left side of the light had popped up. I can’t get it to stay down. Any ideas?
There are 4 nuts, have you checked all of them? When I had this issue, the light was popped up, and the only issue was the nuts that had come loose. If it's not that, then I can't help you, sorry.
@@markeeuu I checked the nuts, say you’re looking at the back of the car, the left side of the light popped up. There’s a threaded bolt that runs down with a small nut attached to it, but it’s not connected to the light fixture. It’s almost like the light separated from the bolt.
@@V3ganM3at yes actually I went to my local Chevy dealership and told them what was happening. They said it’s a known issue and a recall fix. They fixed it for free. They didn’t have the brake light in stock so I had to pay $100 for that. But it seemed to fix the problem.
Por qué ponen el anuncio en español?
For those that tighten the bolts did they stay tight over time ?
Good job dud
10-32
Typical GM crap.