My 2004 TL just failed inspection because the third brake light it out, the garage sent me to a dealer to get the part. It seems pretty straightforward to replace, but from what I've read it's extremely rare that the third brake light on a TL will fail since it's an LED light. I can't find any relevant discussions on this site.

Has anyone ever had one go bad? I'm afraid that i'm going to spend $60 on a new light only to find out that it is something else.

 

Check if it's connected properly first, it's easy to access.

 

thanks, I did pop the cover off earlier and everything looked as it should.

 

Mine was partially failed just after I bought it used in '08. Dealer swapped it out and haven't looked back. I know there are some older threads out there relating partially dimming brake lights to one of the switches on the brake pedal. I don't recall if that was the 3rd brake light or the main tail lights.

 

I took it to the dealer before buying a light, it Turned out it was the brake switch.