3rd Brake Light

dfskinner

Member
:
2006 Mazda 5
Virginia
2008 Mazda 5 Sport

Anyone had to replace or repair the 3rd Brake Light?

Had my anual inspection today and my 3rd brake light is not working; went to the auto parts store, told me they didn't carry it, called a different store, got the same info.

Searched the forum but didn't see any info or anyone posting.......

Thanks in advance for any info
dfskinner
 
Heat, I hadn't really even looked at it other than to see that two bolts (I think) hold it in place with a plug on the right side behind the cover.

Are each "LED" a seperate bulb?

Do you replace the entire strip?

Anyone have pic's or instructions on how to take the brake light out?

Instructions on how to replace the brake light? or Repair the light?

Thanks again for info
dfskinner
 
The led bulbs can't be replaced individually. The entire housing has to be replaced. I was bored one day and took mine out just to see how hard it was to replace. It's fairly simple. Lift the tailgate, remove the cover behind the brake light, unscrew and unplug the brake light, done.

You only have two options, going through your local dealer or going online through onlinemazdaparts. Here is the website for onlinemazdaparts and they're probably a little cheaper than the dealer. LINK
 
Last edited:
thanks for the info, you're right easy to remove and you can't replace just a bulb; the entire things is sealed except for the fact that my connector. Seems my connector has some rust on it and the bottom post is not connecting or has caused it to short out or blow.

Stealer ----------------- - $ 154.00
Link you provided --------- $ 114.50
Online Junk Yard ---------- $ 45.00

I'll be calling the junk yard on Monday to ask them to ship

http://www.car-part.com/
 
Last edited:
Actually it's $89.32 + 6.50 shipping. If the junkyard route doesn't pan out, give them a try. Good luck.
 
thanks, I didn't look far enough to the right........ I'll certainly keep them in mind.....

thanks again for your help............
 
Received the third brake light from the salvage yard today; took about 5 mins to install, we're back in business, re-inspection tomorrow......... I've also put some silicone on and around the plug to prevent it from rusting out like the old one...... The salvage yard sent the plug and about 6 inches of wiring..... looked almost new........

If anyone is looking for parts I'd like to suggest you check the online search first; I couldn't believe the savings on just the "3rd brake light"........

And thanks to everyone on the board for you help........and answering my post........

dfskinner
Va Beach
 
Odds are the issue was the connector. LED's don't blow. they wear out, but a typical LED has a half life of 100,000 hours. IE 100,000 hours until it's half as bright as when new!!! you basicly can;t wear one out in a car break light! corrosion on either the plug or the board is more likely and as the unit is sealed and protected by the wing built into the tailgate I'd say you likely have a leak at the connector. a few minutes cleaning the connector would fix the issue!
 
was98strat, you were right, the connector was bad, but one of the legs on the light was rusted soo bad it broke off when I was trying to clean it..... I've since gone back in and reapplied silicone to make sure this does not happen in the future.......

Word of advise, if you wash your car a lot, make sure you check for a good seal where the connector and the light come together......
 
same thing here ... :(

I am having the same thing. I own my Mazda 5 for a year now and I remember, that about a week after we got it, we went through a car wash and ended up having some water dripping out of the top part of the back door inside the car.

Well, I just had that power steering recall done at a mazda place and they tell me my third brake light it out. Okay "thanks for letting me know, I'll will fix it", I said. "No. It needs a whole new harness since its bad too and will cost $1800." !!!! WHAT ?!

I looked at it and the pins from the light rusted away.
I think, if I just buy a new light I can still use the the connector.

Thanks for the used car dealer info, I will contact those first.

johenkel
 
FWIW, the 3rd Gen Nissan Maximas had the same issue but with them it was the resistors (capacitor) that usually rusted out. If you have soldering skillz you can replace them with the Radio Shack equivalent and be on ur way..something else to look at with our vehicles...
 
Putting thermal grease or anti-seize onto the connector contacts will help combat corrosion better than anything I've found.
 
Old thread, but same deal here. One of the posts was rusted/broken. We noticed water dripping inside while on vacation and I pulled the light to find that. New on order. I wouldn't buy used for this because it's obviously a design issue due to the frequency so any used one you buy may be close to failing. I'll seal it up before installing the new one once it gets here.
 
Can someone post a pic of a bad light? Is it not fixable? Courious what it look slike. I would not want to pay that much for the 3rd light...
 
Hello everybody, this is my first post here.

I just picked up a brand new 2014 Mazda5 and I want to remove the third brake light (on the top of the hatchback).

So I looked up the procedure in the user manual, and the manual says to take the car to the dealer.

I tried lifting the tailgate and looking for a cover or screws, and there is nothing. So how do you do it?

Thank you for your help!!!
 
From this picture it looks like it does have a wide cover, is yours similar?

2012-mazda5-rear-view-with-hatch-open.jpg
 
From this picture it looks like it does have a wide cover, is yours similar?

Yes, that's my model. Sorry, I was confused about which cover! I was thinking there should be a small cover, in a different position, but I guess this make sense too. Thank you for posting.

A fellow Canadian posted a video how to remove all the trim, I'll just follow the instructions to get to the light.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcPpHh90wuw
 
Back